Elina Bakunova is a Tatar-Russian documentary filmmaker, travel content creator, and cultural storyteller whose work explores the hidden beauty and cultural diversity of Russia and its neighboring countries. Born in Perm Krai in the Ural Mountains, she grew up far from international travel routes and had never left her hometown until the age of seventeen, when she moved to Moscow for university and began her first journeys. Inspired as a teenager by a travel program, she dreamed of hosting such a show herself. When casting opportunities didn’t work out, she chose to create her own travel stories, a decision that shaped her independent and creative path.

Fluent in English, Russian, and Tatar, and also speaking French and Italian, Elina studied Public Relations and completed an exchange year in the United States focused on TV journalism, editing, and professional storytelling. Over the past decade, she has visited 61 of Russia’s 83 regions, including some of the most remote and rarely documented areas such as Yakutia, Chukotka, Vorkuta, and the Yamalo-Nenets tundra. She has also filmed in post-Soviet countries including Mongolia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Iran.

Her travel style is raw, adventurous, and often solo, as she seeks to connect deeply with local communities while documenting indigenous traditions, endangered languages, and underrepresented cultures. Her YouTube channel Eli from Russia has grown to nearly one million subscribers, with more than 150 million views worldwide. Her work has inspired audiences across the globe to explore Russia beyond stereotypes, learn the Russian language, and even pursue academic studies in Slavic culture.

To Live in the North is her debut feature documentary. With this film, Elina continues her mission to reshape global perceptions of Russia’s northern regions, portraying the cold not as an obstacle but as a source of resilience, vitality, and human connection.