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Until 2024, “Tell Gordeeva” was an independent journalistic project run by Katerina Gordeeva and her small team.
The episodes were funded through advertising revenue. There were enough people willing to talk about their businesses and startups in “Tell Gordeeva” so that the project was able to produce high-quality footage and regular episodes.
In the winter of 2024, Russia’s State Duma passed a law introducing severe penalties for placing ads with foreign agents.
“Tell Gordeeva” was pushed to the brink of survival. That’s when the project’s loyal viewers came to the rescue. People asked us not to shut down the program, promising to support it financially.
Blocking news websites, arresting and imprisoning politicians, human rights activists, and journalists, and labeling dissenters as foreign agents or extremists.
This has also affected YouTube: since the fall of 2024, it has become very difficult (and in some places nearly impossible) to access the platform in Russia due to various kinds of blocking.
To stay connected, we’ve created the “Tell Gordeeva” app, available for both iPhone and Android. Videos appear there immediately after being uploaded to YouTube. The app is free.
At the same time, we also post our episodes on the Russian platform Boosty, also free.
Our creative team is rather small, but due to recent events, we are now scattered around the globe. We believe that one day we’ll be able to show all the faces and tell all the stories of the people who help make Tell Gordeeva what it is. For now, unfortunately, we have to prioritize safety. But just imagine how incredible these people are.
Born in Rostov-on-Don (USSR) in 1977, Katerina started her journalism career at age 13, working for a local newspaper and later on city television. She then moved to Moscow, where she worked for the country’s leading TV channels.
She worked as a reporter, covered military conflicts in Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Iraq, produced films and reports on social issues, including Russia’s first documentary about hospice care and the first science documentary on cancer.
Katerina Gordeeva’s book «Take My Grief Away» was published based on documentary footage from the «Tell Gordeeva» project.
Gordeeva visited dozens of refugee temporary housing facilities across Europe and Russia, recording the first-hand accounts of people fleeing Putin’s brutal and unjust war in the heart of Europe.
«Take My Grief Away» is a collection of 24 human stories about the cruelty and senselessness of war. The book has been translated into 14 languages and was awarded the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis in 2024.
In the spring of 2024, Katerina Gordeeva ventured into stand-up for the first time. It started as intimate gatherings with viewers in various cities around the world, which eventually evolved into a full-fledged program titled "Much Personal: Unusual Stand-Up." The show has already been performed in Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Armenia, Austria, and many other places. Some describe Gordeeva’s monologue as an intellectual-immersive performance, while others see it as a collective therapy session. But everyone agrees on one thing: no one else does that. Gordeeva’s performances make audiences laugh, cry, ask questions, and, in the end, embrace one another.
Find your city and buy tickets here:
Today, small businesses are popping up all over the world, created by those who left Russia between 2014 and 2022 or later.
These businesses face challenges in growing and thriving because their owners are simultaneously learning how to live, work, and even speak in a new language in unfamiliar cities.
Of course, most of them can’t afford large-scale advertising campaigns, even though many of them absolutely deserve to be noticed. If people learn about them, their businesses can grow, they can earn money, and eventually afford advertising.
We also know for sure that these guys are often ready and willing to help others who are struggling even more than they are. Typically, they are people who regularly supported those in need while living in Russia.
That’s why we decided to help by helping: we offer small new businesses the opportunity to tell the world about themselves through us, and in return, they donate 25% of their sales to vetted charitable organizations. These organizations, in turn, assist those who cannot be helped in Russia.
If you have a business we should know about and would like to participate in our project, please fill out the application form. We will get in touch with you.
