"Do you remember what we do in Ukraine?"
"We're killing civilians, defending the interests of a group of rogue politicians," replies the young man in sunglasses.
Daniil Orain asked the question. The 21-year-old Russian conducts polls on the streets of Moscow and other Russian cities for his YouTube channel 1420. Around 325,000 users have subscribed to his English-language channel, and some of his videos have more than a million clicks. There are also "1420" channels in other languages.
The answers he receives to his questions are often honest and direct - and show that there are quite a few opponents of the Ukraine war in Russia.
This is how one woman answers the question of what is happening in Ukraine: "A war". Many others answer similarly. Another says: "We are killing civilians and I do not agree with that at all. I condemn it."
But for others this question is too sensitive, they do not want to answer.
Orain came up with the idea of the YouTube channel a good three years ago. At that time he worked as a software developer, he tells the star. On his commute to work, he would watch videos on YouTube of people asking other people about various things. "I thought it would be a good idea to do that in Russia too." The name of his channel comes from his school, school number 1420 in Moscow, which he attended.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine - which in Russia can only be called "special operations" - his videos have focused a lot on Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and Vladimir Putin. Why does he make so many videos on this topic? "What else would I be making videos about?" Orain replies. "It's the issue the public cannot ignore." In addition, it is not difficult to start a conversation with people about it, quite the opposite.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, a bald man in a dark T-shirt replies: "These are our dictator's ambitions." He means Vladimir Putin. However, when Orain asked what his ambitions were, the young man was unable to give a concrete answer. But he thinks that "many Russians don't have that kind of ambition" and "this war is only supported by a minority in our country".
However, other Russians express different opinions in Orain's videos. A woman in a Moscow park says: "Russia is helping Ukraine. Why should they harm Ukrainians?"
An elderly man in the town of Kostroma, northeast of Moscow, says: "This conflict was very necessary. Neo-Nazis must be eliminated." If they hadn't intervened, says the man with a cigarette in his hand, "they would have come here."
Another, older gentleman, when asked if the war in Ukraine was necessary, says he thinks it was necessary: "I doubt it was possible to prevent it."
In his videos, Orain also shows Russians photos of the destruction in Ukraine. Some believe they are real and the bombed houses are the result of Russian attacks. Others consider the photos to be "fake" or manipulated. A woman even suspects that it is a film set.
The answers that Daniil Orain gets to his questions do not surprise him, as he says. "I know that people have different opinions. I know that such opinions exist."
The opinions of the people in Russia also differ on the issues of democracy in the country and Vladimir Putin. For example, a man in a plaid shirt says, "As a Russian patriot, I am always for my president." Another replies when asked if he supports Putin: "Of course! He brings order to this goddamn world."
On the other hand, a young man from the city of Yaroslavl, wearing sunglasses, a hoodie and a cap, says of Putin: "I want his damn death. He's getting on my nerves. I've had enough of his politics."
When asked if Russia is a democracy, a young woman from Moscow replies: "At the moment, most likely not." Freedom of speech is limited, there are restrictions. "It is illegal to say what is happening in Ukraine. It is forbidden to say that our government is wrong."
"Do I want to live under a dictatorship?" a young man with sunglasses, necklaces and earrings asks rhetorically. "I don't want to, but I'm already in one, motherfucker!" Others say they consider Russia a totalitarian state.
These are sensitive issues that Daniil Orain addresses. But he is not afraid of getting in trouble with the law, as he tells Stern. So far he hasn't had any trouble. "Sometimes we wonder if we're going to have problems." But producing videos for viewers abroad is okay, he says. "The government doesn't care. The danger isn't that great."
According to Orain, his videos are primarily aimed at viewers in the USA. He also has a lot of people there watching him break down. "In the last seven days, 16 percent of our viewers came from the US, 12 percent from Russia. The others are mainly from Europe." And why are his videos aimed at Americans? "I've seen a lot of American movies and listened to American music, so I thought I knew what interested her."
But Orain's channel isn't just about war, Putin and democracy. He also asks, for example, when people last cried, what they regret or whether tourists should visit Russia.
But there are also socio-political questions, such as abortion; Racism or on LGBT issues (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans - lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans). Russia is seen as a rather anti-LGBT country. But what do the people of Russia themselves think about this?
"I would ban all fags," says a man from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia's third largest city. A man standing next to him, however, contradicts. "Don't listen to this idiot. (...) Damn it, I'm tolerant. I don't care." It's better for children to be adopted by gay couples than to live in orphanages, he says.
Another young man says: "Everyone has the right to happiness, everyone has the right to live in freedom and to live with the person you love. I see nothing wrong with that."
An elderly woman from Moscow replies, "No, I'm okay with that. I don't want my son or grandchildren to become gay. But I'm generally okay with it. People shouldn't be persecuted for their nature."
A young man from the town of Chita in the east of the country thinks differently. When asked if he would push a button that would make all LGBT people disappear, he replies, "With pleasure." What if his son were gay? "I would still press him."
Does such an answer shock Daniil Orain? "Not really. When I hear crazy answers, I know the guy has a crazy opinion. Any opinion can exist." Sometimes he sees extraordinary people, which makes him happy because: "If people give the same answers, the videos aren't interesting. If they give different answers, that's cool."
Finally, a question that many Russians answered in his videos: What does he think of the war in Ukraine? "He's wrong," Orain says succinctly.
