Tatyana Starikova (born January 12, 1991, in Nizhny Novgorod) is a blogger, creator of the YouTube channel Starikova T.V., host of the educational channel Skyeng, and a participant in the show "Podrugi" ("Girlfriends"). She began filming while on maternity leave and by the end of the 2010s had reached a nationwide audience[1][2].
Two Degrees and a Car Dealership
Starikova studied at two Nizhny Novgorod universities simultaneously: she earned an economics degree at Lobachevsky University and a linguistics qualification at Dobrolyubov University. As a student, she organized city events, performed at a local theater, and traveled to all-Russian festivals[1].
After graduating, however, she went to work at a car dealership — blogging came later, and not out of any career calculation.
Maternity Leave as a Starting Point
Starikova filmed her first video while pregnant: she told her friends the news in a playful way. Advice for expectant parents followed, and the channel gained popularity thanks to a video in which she, at eight months pregnant, recreates the dance from Beyoncé's "Single Ladies"[1].
In 2015 her son Lev was born, and videos documenting his growing up became the core of the channel. Starikova drew criticism for her light tone — she was accused of not taking motherhood seriously — but she never changed her format[1].
Good News and Music Video Breakdowns
As her son grew older, the children-focused content gradually gave way to travel vlogs, everyday stories, and self-care tips. Contrary to the author's own expectations, the change in subject matter did not shrink the audience — it grew[1].
Among her regular segments, viewers particularly loved "Good News" — a roundup of positive events — and "Music Video Breakdowns," in which Starikova searched for hidden meanings in artists' videos[1]. By that point, she was being invited as a guest to other people's interview shows.
Skyeng, "Podrugi," TEDx
She was offered a role on the educational YouTube channel Skyeng at a time when the idea did not excite her: to politely decline, Starikova quoted what she thought was an outrageously high price — seven thousand rubles — and the offer was accepted at that price. She handled the scripts, design, and editing herself[1].
The channel started as a two-person project with Maria Sorokina, and Starikova wrote the early scripts with her laptop at a café on Rozhdestvenskaya in Nizhny Novgorod[2]. She remains a host on Skyeng years later — not, she says, because of a contract, but because she considers the project her own[2].
At the end of 2019, Starikova joined the hosting lineup of the show "Podrugi," which brought her a new audience and a move into Moscow's media world. She also gave a talk at a TEDx conference — about what genre a person considers their own life to be[2].
Where I used to call my life a comedy or a horror film, now it's a documentary.
Nizhny Novgorod School of Failure
Starikova attributes her self-confidence to experience — not necessarily successful experience. One telling episode took place back in Nizhny Novgorod, when she landed an interview with Sergey Shnurov[2].
The conversation went smoothly, but when she played back the recording, instead of the guest's voice there was a flat line: the lapel microphone had never been switched on. His answers had to be salvaged from her own microphone's track — through hiss and interference.