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Remember this TikTok video that went viral last month right before the protests started in support of @navalny? I spoke with Lera Sycheva, aka "neurolera" the young English teacher and TikToker behind the video. Check out my story @theworld https://www.pri.org/file/2021-02-10/russian-tiktok-has-become-platform-political-expression-government-clampdown-and
Lera told me that when her video went viral she felt like she was misunderstood. She says, “I was using a popular topic to show the nuances of American pronunciation.” Of course, she has a good sense of humor and she produced a really amusing video.
But when it comes to politics, she told me, she’s not particularly interested. Her passion is all about learning and teaching English. She even visited the US twice and she loves talking about the cultural differences between the US and Russia.
When her video blew up on social media she told me “I became less interested in politics after. Politics are dirty, it’s not something for normal people, I’m not going to take this role, because this is going to make my life sad.”
“I believe that one single person is not able to change the situation. It’s like way more difficult than we can even imagine, it’s like a sky above you. Can you change the sky?”
Lera said she doesn’t feel comfortable being seen as political influencer, even though her TikTok went viral within the greater context of Russian social media blowing up with Navalny videos.
My takeaway is that Lera is not part of the politically conscious “Russian youth” that many observers in the West imagine. She tells me she doesn’t really talk much about the government, the opposition, or politics in general.
At the end of the day, teaching English is her passion. She says, “I see people start speaking from zero, with me and I’m so excited about it… I’m honored to be a person who can provide good English for Russian people.”
I would love to hear what people think. Scores of journalists, analysts and Russia watchers shared Lera’s TikTok video. I wonder if Lera’s story changed your perspective? https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1352280501764108289
^^I wonder if hearing Lera’s story changed your perspective? https://www.pri.org/file/2021-02-10/russian-tiktok-has-become-platform-political-expression-government-clampdown-and @maxseddon @ConStelz @sbg1 @biannagolodryga @HannaLiubakova @mathieuvonrohr @ianbremmer @benjaminwittes @CarolineGruyter @ananats @jaynordlinger @27khv @LATlands @kazbek @JonahDispatch
