'You don't feel the strictness': Russian YouTuber Max Chernov hits back against Singapore's reputation as 'fine' country
YouTuber Max Chernov has lived in Singapore since 2018.
PHOTO: Screengrab/YouTube/Max Chernov
PUBLISHED ONAugust 29, 2023 1:53 PMByDrima ChakrabortyYouTuber Max Chernov frequently interviews expats about their lives in Singapore — from an Austrian-born 90-year-old who has lived here since 1961, to a young Russian man doing national service shortly after moving here.
This time it's Max himself who's in the hot seat, discussing his experience since he moved here in October 2018.
In a video uploaded on Sunday (Aug 27), Max discussed how he initially found it difficult to understand locals "especially if it was heavy Singlish" but is a big fan of the accent now.
His yardstick was attending a show by local comedian Kumar and understanding "70, 80 per cent" of what he was saying while his friends had a harder time.
"They kind of got the context, but it was really hard to understand for them," Max added.
"So I think it's a test. If you understand 70 per cent of what Kumar is saying, then you are quite localised."
While Max is a Russian national, he also came to Singapore's defence with regard to our reputation for strictness.
As the trite adage goes, Singapore is a 'fine' country.
To this, Max disagreed: "Honestly, living here on a day-to-day basis, you don't feel this strictness. You just feel safe because of the CCTVs."
Singapore has fewer CCTVs per capita than London, for example, Max mentioned. He reckons Moscow or Beijing has more CCTVs too.
He continued: "I ride on Pasir Panjang Road almost every day. There is a fine for jaywalking but every day, dozens of people just jaywalk [this] freaking four-lane road with a [speed] limit of 70 or 80km/h."
Singapore is pretty clean too, he said, but if you explore the city, you'll notice that it's not 100 per cent spotless. It's just "normal and people litter".
"And I don't think that every individual who litters goes to jail straight away, or is caned or shot to death," Max joked.
Though when asked if he jaywalks, Max immediately said, "No, of course not, never" with a laugh.
Living in different places helps you to 'grow and improve'
Max has lived in various places, including the UK and Singapore as an adult, and even his childhood was spent on the move.
Born in Sakhalin, an island in northeast Russia, Max and his family moved to Vladivostok when he was two and then to Volgograd after another 14 years. When he graduated from university, Max moved to Moscow on his own.
However, Max believes that if he lived in Russia forever, he would have a different and narrower perspective on life, and thinks people should "go see the world".
"It definitely helps if you not only go as a tourist but try to live as a local — spend two months, three months in a place, and see how it feels, see what you like, what you don't like," he said.
"Sometimes, what I love about moving, living in other places is that you understand yourself better after putting yourself in a different environment."
But for Max, it may finally be time to settle down.
"I was always like, 'I gotta move, I gotta try something else', this kind of passion," he said.
"I love travelling, but because I run my business in Singapore, I run this channel in Singapore, I feel like home.
"For me, it's like, 'Don't need to move anywhere lah', it's like, 'I'm here, I would love to be here long term', that kind of feeling. For the first time in my life, I don't want to move."
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