Russia BBC Pop Up

I think I get very along very well with Vladimir Putin.

Russia and the United States often seemed to be in

Just take the past several years alone.

First, I would like to congratulate President Putin for being the only

And Obama and Putin lash out at each other, relations drop...

I think they engaged in evil behaviour.

Then Obama brings Medvedev out for a hamburger.

And now Trump has been praising Putin.

I think there's an 80% approval rating, which any politician in this

But, let's just forget all of that for a second.

How does the average American view Russia?

I think the ones I know are pretty exciting people.

I think they've always been really inclusive,

kind of to themselves, a little red flaggish,

As a tourist, a foreigner, you need to be alert,

sharp and cautious because the men and women are very stern

and dominant and they don't take kindly to strangers.

It's a democracy, but really they have one leader.

They are trying to counter US power all over the world right now.

They do what they want and I love it.

I believe there is no democracy in Russia.

We just don't understand the similarities or the differences

We journey from country to country, turning your story ideas

We spent the spring in India, but now we're headed to Russia.

We want to speak to ordinary, average Russian citizens.

What do they think about their place in the world?

Before we go, what stories do Russian speakers right here in LA

It would be really interesting to talk about life here.

It would be interesting for me to listen and to see stories

I would like to see a story about the Union

Actually it would be great if they mentioned the name

We are going to be travelling across Russia for a full month,

working with BBC teams already based in the country, but it doesn't

matter what country or even planet you are from.

Tell us what stories you want us to film in Russia.

Get in touch with us at hashtagBBCPopUp.

There is even craft beer pubs opening in hip neighbourhoods

in the city, but some things will never change about Moscow.

Local theatre will always be popular here, and shopkeepers will use

underpasses to sell everything from Putin mugs to guns.

A lot of Russians feel like the country is treated

Particularly over the ban on some Olympic athletes

after the doping scandal, and also criticism of their military

BBC Pop Up is in Russia to find out what issues are most

If you go outside the city, the roads are not that good.

We should concentrate money not in just the cities,

That's why we have such an interesting nightlife.

We have also been getting story suggestions by social media

and e-mail about adoption and aslo Dachas, Russian country houses.

So there is one story suggestion that has come in,

It came in from a viewer called Mark, who has asked about orphanages

We have come across a very unique orphan village just outside Moscow

Our activities, they are all centred on one goal.

We go into orphanages and try to find children

It is very important to develop abilities of courage,

and the idea that you can build your own life

There are four foster families here with from five

to three children in each family, foster children.

An adult invites orphans, if they want to be

All the families construct a community.

It is a very unusual way of taking care of orphans.

There was absolutely no tradition of fostering.

To a foreign audience, it is not very easy to understand

what it means to change from a socialist system

to Gorbachev's democracy, and then to this open capitalist

system, all in a very short lifetime.

People simply don't believe, what orphans?

We are getting salaries as foster parents, and we are getting money

Something is changing in the brains of people.

We are going to hit the road soon, but before we go, we have received

a few more story ideas that we can film right here

So we are at Kaczynski train station here in Moscow,

and we are about to hop on a train for some reason.

We are about to get on a 31 hour train journey,

taking us across Russia, to go on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

As you can see, we have a bunch of bags with us, and we are going

to tackle some of the story suggestions we have been

receiving that are a bit further out from Moscow.

Have you ever been on the Trans-Siberian railway before?

No, but I've wanted to do it in the last five years.

I have one problem, I cannot sleep on the train.

This is going to be fun for you.

So, having recently flown in from the US,

where there is a heated presidential election going on, I'm curious

what Russian passengers on board the Tran-Siberian Express think

about the United States right now, and maybe more specifically,

And with that, our month in Russia comes to an end.

From orphan villagers, to the Islamic community,

to the Altai Mountains, we saw a diverse cross-section of Russia.

Politics aside, there are a massive number of residents in this country,

all with fascinating stories to tell.

Now, as for BBC Pop Up, where do you think we should go next?

Good afternoon. For most of us it is a good afternoon if it is sunshine

you like. There is certainly more sunshine across the eastern side of

the country,