I decided to travel the Post-Soviet space, and to talk to locals about their life in the Soviet Union and after its collapse. Let's explore Georgia with me :) 📍 Thank you for watching and here are more videos of mine on this topic: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q8ebh5iKrLSWe4U.html - Georgia before and after collapse of the Soviet Union (Big trip through the country) kzfaq.infoOGLegTp-eBQ - Russia of the Soviet Union vs now | What has changed since the USSR?

I'm a proud American, but I when I watch your videos in a weird way I feel like I'm in the room with you visiting your family or the people you visit. So I want to be respectful to the people even when I'm watching it on my phone. So I hang my ego up like a hat at the door and just listen. Always enjoy listening to other people's side of history. I think you do a beautiful job telling the stories of a place and people

This is one of my all time favourite channels, love from Iraq ❤

19:49 Oh I jumped out of happiness seeing Liya 😀 The wonderful lady hosted me while I was in Gori.Liya melted my heart with the warm Georgian hospitality and took care of me.One of the best homes I have stayed so far anywer in the world🥰

Eli you also look so happy and have an appearance of almost love about you!

My favorite composer is Sergei Prokofiev who died on the same day Stalin did. Apparently there weren’t any flowers available because they were all used for Stalins funeral so they ended up using flowers made of paper for Prokofiev.

That tune wakes up my husband to go to work 😅. He's in his forties and misses USSR a lot. I remember this tune on my granny's radio when I was visiting her (I was growing up in Greece).

England had sanatoriums back in the old days. When Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days in 1926, she was found inside a sanatorium under a different name, having lost her memory of what happened.

Now that Bald and Bankrupt is not doing too many videos in post-Soviet countries anymore, we are now lucky to have a native Russian do such videos! Thank you

It bothers me that people can let such a beautiful building turn into a ruin.

In the USSR, my father worked as a carpenter at a small enterprise. He had two vacations in similar sanatoriums. And both times at the expense of the company, with a very small surcharge. We probably judge the USSR by the stereotypes created for us by Hollywood.

Here in poland we have quite a few abandoned sanatoriums with 'healing waters', those rotten-egg-smelling ones, full of minerals. It`s unfortunate that people stopped coming there, now it`s super dangerous because most of the wells are in the basement and without proper filtration the whole underground level is full of co2, you will just collapse on the stairs down and never come up...

Tnis was a very interesting video! One can see how beautiful and grand that sanitorium was at one time. It's a shame it has fallen into disrepair, as well as some of those other structures. If a certain person in charge had focused on restoring and maintaining the land and structures he has instead of lusting for more land and structures, it would be a different world. As that old woman said, we all need to be friends. There's no need to be enemies, because our stay on this planet is very short. Anyway, I just love your sense of humor and your sense of adventure, Eli, as well as the fact that you seem to get along with everybody. You set a good example for all humanity.

I like your videos, showing different places in Russia and the former USSR. I am interested in soviet era history. I've never been to Georgia, but I hope one day to visit it. You just got a new subscriber :) Greetings from Bulgaria. Привет от България.

This is a proof of your improved modern journalism. Keep up with your nice work. Peace.

12:22 OMJ(o my jesina), I'm so glad my Uncle Vanya (Ivan the Righteous) doesn't know your channel and probably wouldn't like it either. He would freak out if he had to watch this scene. That was his "deserved" favorite sanatorium back in the Soviet days!!! 😥🚩🕵🛂🛡🗡🛃👮🚩😪

This was very interesting and there was so much I never saw. It´s a shame to let the sanatorium or the datcha from Stalin rot to the grounds. Especially the sanatorium is still some kind of beautiful, but if it´s restorated it would be precious. I was very curiuos regarding the Stalin museum, the old style bath house and the train waggon. There is a lot of history left. It is definitive worth a visit.

I’m from Quebec and i’ve been watching your videos a lot, i did not know much about Russia before! It’s so crazy to see this crossover episode i would have never thought Quebec and Russia would merge haha!

Eli, I am so impressed by your vocabulary and use of syntax - "... dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991..." Excellent! 👍

I think in the west, sanatorium would be called a resort!! Those are incredible!!

I'm delighted you are doing this series on former USSR feelings, people and places. The story will be lost soon as those who remember die away. Young people will forge their own way of economics and politics, yet hopefully some will carry the ideals of USSR with them. Of course, the ideals were not met exactly since people everywhere, especially leaders, fall prey to elitism and hubris. Thanks for just showing us what you see. Sanatoriums were popular for many decades until the idea of corporatizing "healthcare" came along with specialists and hospitals. Profit, not health.

Beautiful story - time machine. Very similar, to ex Yugoslavia and their nations living together, with a difference of being able to travel abroad. Thank you very much, and keep up great travel adventures Eli...

Everywhere you go is an interesting visit Eli. I am from Quebec, Canada like Dominic, so I asked myself: what is this fellow doing in Georgia? You both seemed to be having fun.

Thanks 👍🏻 Eli. Frequently watching your informative, interesting videos.... Best wishes from Sri Lanka 💐💐🇱🇰🇱🇰

Always look forward to your uploads. Interesting perspectives of the people living there. In US, we also had sanitariums back in the day but was mostly used for Tuberculosis patients - maybe other diseases too, but TB was the most.

Love my regular dose of adventure, inspiration and optimism , thanks Eli!

Another great video, Eli. I enjoy hearing the comparisons from people you interview, as to what was best USSR times, or Russian Federation, modern times. Lovely Destinations, interesting peoples. Thanks for posting, as some of us will never be able to get there, to have a look for ourselves.

Interestingly, the music in the first 10 seconds of this video was used on the old Radio Moscow international shortwave broadcasts in the 60's and 70's. I believe the song was named "Moscow Nights". All the best, Will.

Thankyou for showing us a bit of Russian history that would have otherwise been keep a bit too quite, it was good to see some nice Georgian folks and see the amazing Sanatorium.

Thank you for your videos, showing me parts of the world I will certainly never visit... and I love that you give expression to both sides, always. That's so, so important! It shows how complex history is.

..your smile Eli..Will disolve any Coldwar between us Thanks again for sharing

Gamarjoba Eli! Such a fascinating video of “Stalin’s Georgia!” Thank you so much for sharing your travel experience with us. I kept looking at a Georgia map to try track where you went to and try and picture myself there too. It makes it more real to me other than faceless names and lines on the map. The people you meet there seem so friendly and welcoming. Stalin’s history is so interesting. He is such a big figure in history yet he had humble beginnings. Whether good or bad we all share common human experiences. If only we can all be friends the world would be a much better place. Looking forward to the next Georgia adventure! Warm greetings from California! 🤩🤩🤩✌🏻🫶

I enjoyed this video, Eli. Thanks

The conversation at 16:20 got pretty intense. You politely and bravely stood your ground presenting facts in a non-overbearing way. Accolades for your delivery, your smile and what you stand for. Much love from Canada.

Thanks, Eli, for this amazing bit of history!❤

I must admit,this video was very interesting and informative,as usual.Keep up the good work!Thank you.USA subscriber

As usual, a good look at ordinary people and not politics. Thank you Eli.

давно мечтаю попасть! место безумно атмосферное😊

Eli, you know you give us a realist view without any propaganda of how things are in Russia and other places today and really broaden our appreciation of how things were and indeed are. We have learned so very much.

Eli's good manners and friendliness are adorable

Your are such a great people-story-teller, Eli. A rare pearl on KZfaq. 1 million subscribers in 2024. Wish you all the best.

I love your videos so much, I appreciate you sharing your journey with all of us

Thank you Eli for this interesting and historical video about the Soviet times in Georgia. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, full of joy and happiness❤⭐️🌲⭐️🌲

Thank you Eli for this lovely video i have visited Georgia before but didn't know about this place ..interesting town and love your videos as they are informative and fun at the same time .. love from Oman

Eli greetings from Albania. This is my first time commenting on your channel. I remember the days when our country and USSR were close allies. Now like many post socialist states we are sucked by Anti Russian mad propaganda and demonization of our socialist past and glorification of the West. This is not good. This is no less of a propaganda than Communist ones, not to say more. In your channel, you show us the real Russia, the real people, the real past and present experience based on ground reality. You are an ambassador of Russia and much of the places you visit than most people in power in Russia are today. Whether we like our communist past or not, admitting all its faults and crimes, compared to today, no, I would say today's situation is far worse than those times. Some might disagree. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Despite all, I will not hide my sentiments, and say Glory to the Red Army, Glory to the USSR, to the russian and soviet martyrs, and glory to Stalin for whatever good he did without forgetting his bad and for freeing Europe from nazi bestialities. But certainly Nikita Krushchev who was passionate about de-stalinization was not that kind of a good guy either. But better than Gorbachev. Gorbachev sold out USSR, Russia and this entire conflict Ukraine vs Russia, Armenia vs Azerbaijan originate from Krushchev's times and became full blown during Gorbachev's rule. My point is, while we must not forget much evil that socialism might have had, its good surpassed its evil, in my opinion. We must not fall into idiotic historical revisionism and demonize all our past, a tragic reality many countries of the former Eastern bloc suffer, and some are pathologically obsessed with especially if they join NATO or the EU. Let's focus on the present and future, learning from the past from its mistakes and from its achievements unless we do not want to make the world a worse place than what already is. Wish you all best for your time and efforts you put to produce these priceless videos and documentaries.

Through you, I see wonders and rare moments I never knew could be out there until I hit "run" on just about any "Eli" video. So appreciative. And your themes, framing of people interactions a a most natural way, and your team's editing are 1st rate. This video of ruins, having a sidekick to explore with for added fun, the Stalin sites and the Georgians reflecting on the USSR - it was breath taking at times. I hope more enjoyment and success await you.

Thank you EliI , I really enjoy your travels. I really liked the nice lady at the end who played the piano. She seemed very nice, just like you 🙂

Fascinating! Thanks you!! Looking forward to more videos about the former Soviet republics.

Eli, this was a terrific video and history of the sanitoriums! Thank you 😊

Happy holidays from Canada Eli, and wishing you and your family a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year from Canada!! 🎄☮️🇨🇦❤️🇷🇺🙏

Georgia 🇬🇪 is a Independent Country. Love Georgia 🇬🇪 ❤ 🇬🇪

Another great production! Thanks, Eli. ❤

WOW! This is really interesting Eli! Awesome video! And with a fellow Canadian). It gave me chills when you were walking down the stairs of Stalin's dacha because I just pictured him also walking down those stairs. Very interesting. I look forward to seeing more of your Soviet adventures) On an unrelated note, I am a cartographer and for a fun project I decided to recreate an old red army map from the Great Patriotic War. It's a map showing the red army attack on Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). When I watched your video about the fort there, I didn't realize how many forts are around the city! It's incredible!

I hope all of these beautiful places can be resurrected to their former glory!

I visited Sanatorium Metalurgi in September and I talked to both of those residents. So cool to see them again here. Thanks for sharing

Thank you for providing some history and including the voices of the residents.

You make even abandoned places seem interesting!. Thanks.

I would love to visita Georgia, It looks a very interesting place. Thank you for those Amazing content, you have a very good way to show places and talk to people.

it's exremely interesting hearing people who preferred the USSR. We grew up thinking everyone hated living under the Soviets and everyone was thrilled when it ended. But how that guy spoke reminds me of hearing americans talk about how the 50s were better and today everything is crazy prices and generally sucks now. Global prosperity to depression is relatable in every country

Back in the USSR. Song by Beatles 1968. I love your channel.

გმადლობთ საქართველოს ჩვენებისთვის, ელინა! \\Спасибо, что показали Грузию, Элина!

Thank you Eli, another great travel exploring awesome video 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😌😌🥰🙏🤲🏼🕊️🎄⛄💐👍

You are enjoying as you traveled all over the world 🌎 stay blessed always ❤

0:00 I remember those chimes from my teen years in the 1960s. They were on the radio.

Hello Eli its first time I see your video and first of all thank you for visiting my country, I enjoy to see how you promote Georgia and Georgian people it's so nice. Also, I see you always ask questions about USSR, as a Georgian I can say that older people are more nostalgic for those who lived a peasant life mainly in the villages, because during the Soviet Union, farming worked collectively and the peasants were used to such a life, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were many conflicts in Georgia, first a civil war, then 2 wars against Russia (latest war between Russia and Georgia was in 2008, and lot of people still remember it very well). I can confidently say that more than 80 percent of the population do not even want to hear the word "Soviet Union", because our fathers and grandfathers paid with their lives for our independence, we immediately understood that independence would not be easy, but we were ready for it, I am writing this because the video shows that, it's like people are nostalgic for the Soviet Union and they had a better life there. But if you see others, you will understand how much repression, death threats and persecution they had to endure during the Soviet Union, there was no freedom, there was dictatorship and communism, the intelligentsia disappeared, they mercilessly shot and evicted the population. There was repression, and finally in 1978, by Soviet decree they wanted to make the Georgian language disappear and introduce Russian as an official language, which led to the protests of many Georgians, and lot of students were killed by soviet army, because they were protecting our language. So, I boldly say that only a small part of the population lived well at that time, and more than 80 percent of Georgians are ready to die rather than return to the Soviet Union. I just wanted to clarify this so that the audience does not have the wrong idea that people in Georgia miss the Soviet Union and want to live there. good luck with your future trips and it was an interesting video.

Wow crazy 😂😂😂thanks for sharing Eli.

Your videos are so great education

Была в Кисловодске, в октябрьских ваннах похожая атмосферка😂😂

ELI - Please keep traveling through UK. show me the world - like Bald and Bankrupt.

Thank You For the history n sites. WOW

It is very pretty! Thanks for the video!

That song on the piano was cool

Once beautiful~ It would be nice to see images/photos of this place when it was young and well taken care of.

In the video, we can see how splendid the KGB sanatorium was. It's a shame to see it in this condition. It would be interesting if the place could be restored, even for the sake of preserving historical heritage. Thanks for the video, Eli.

Oh, nostalgia! I will never forget these call signs at 0:01-0:05. Reminds me the opening music of the mignty radio moscow radi Mayak during1970s. We were young socialist that lived accross the black sea and listen to Radio moscow Turkish broadcast nearly every night. Good old USSR.

Those old enough to remember the 70s no doubt remember the Canadian comedy production Second City Television which gave greats like John Candy their start in the United States. One of the running gags on the show was a spoof of Soviet television with such memorable shows as "Tibor's Tractor." I'll never forget one skit which had a Russian cop walking into a Moscow bar only to find a group of Uzbeks who had lit a small campfire in the middle of a table. These videos are available on KZfaq. Perhaps Eli should do a reaction video.

Thank you for another adventure! History must never be destroyed.

Eli, I admire you with every new video more and more. Ti takaya molodec!

I remember when you first started doing this and I will say the same thing again your documentaries are some of the most interesting out there I am glad for your secess Miss Eli❤

Almost one year ago, I visited Georgia and came to Tskaltubo. It was such an interesting place.

What a great team you and Dominic make 😉❤️

Thank you for taking me there,have a nice Christmasfest

Eli, Happy New Year 1-1-24 and Merry Christmas 7-1-24🎄⭐❄️🌷🇨🇳.

Thank you for a very interesting episode. I really enjoy the history and education that you provide. I am looking forward to more videos.

Spaciba Eli Paka paka 😎✌️

I love your great videos!!! thank you

Others may have mentioned it but I have never heard a Canadian accent sound so Mexican as I did with your friend.

Thank you Eli for a very interesting and informative video. (one of your best) !

Another exciting and educational day for me, thanks Eli you're the best teacher online😍🤩😘

Interesting video series from Georgia. It surprises me... in 2016 I spent one year in Georgia and got in touch with many locals born after 1990... they have a totally different opinion on Stalin and USSR with respect to the elder people interviewed by Eli. Unlike their parents, they're used to the idea that everyone have to look for his own job and home, rather than waiting for the state to give them both.

great editing and 4k quality

My French Mum worker as a nurse and a Sister in a sanatorium. In France, Sanatorium were design for people who had tuberculosis. Later on, after the 60' soit became just a normal hospital.

.. wish i could be there in person .. 😊 🍀 i like history .. thank you for sharing this experience through your captivating video footage .. .. and greetings from 🇮🇩 Indonesia .. 22:28

Thank you, Eli.

love your presentations 😊

Thanks Eli ! Another interesting video from you . Very good .

Thank you, Eli, for bringing us with you! ✊🏽💝🌎👍🏽🌹🙏🏽

very good video eli ,, glad to see you met a canadian i hope you come to canada some time and do some videos or our regions,, who knows maybe dominic will come with you.. i think maybe there was a spark between you two .. i guess a canadian may have more in common with russians than most would know :)

Санаторий Медеа очень красивый похоже был...жаль что все пришло в такое уныние 😢😢

Excellent video Eli - thank you for a great education!