Illusionists, Streamers and Recipe Creators: Top 10 Most Popular Ukrainian YouTube Channels

TK.Media looks at the most popular Ukrainian bloggers on YouTube — here is our top 10 Ukrainian channels by number of subscribers, excluding TV company pages. The list also excludes children's content creators, whose advertising and targeting YouTube has already begun restricting due to violations of the law on protecting children's privacy online.

1. Magic Five

Channel creation date: July 19, 2016.

The blog is run by a team of professional illusionists who have been into magic tricks since childhood. There are five of them: Dmitry and Artur Tomashevski, Dmitry Yevtushenko, Nikita Golev and Dmitry Respekt. Each of the guys is responsible for his own part of the project, and the earnings are split equally.

illusionist Dmitry Yevtushenko

We reinvest around 80% of our earnings back into the business every month. There have been times when we earned zero in a month. We can't afford many things because we reinvest in the business. If we didn't spend and saved instead, we'd already have apartments, cars... But we want to earn so that in a single month you could earn enough for a car, an apartment or a plane

Their most popular video is called “Infiltrated a School 2. Fire in Class.” In almost a year and a half it has garnered more than 17 million views. 

In an interview with Radio Lux, they said their performance at a corporate party costs 5,000–6,000 dollars, and advertising integration in their video is about 8,000 dollars.

2. YanGo

Channel creation date: October 3, 2014. 

The channel's author, Yan Hordienko, is from Kramatorsk. He is now 21, and he created the channel when he was 16. He makes entertainment content, shoots travel and lifestyle vlogs, makes parodies and raps — in short, he does everything that is stylish, trendy and youth-oriented. His videos are quite varied, and they come out on average once every two or three months. He currently has 4.5 million subscribers. 

The blogger's most popular video is a parody of the Griby band's track “Tayet led” (“The Ice Is Melting”). In two years it has gathered more than 19 million views. 

Gordienko has also appeared in two Russian films: “Yolki 5” (2016) and “Hack the Bloggers” (2016). 

YanGo on Ze Interviewer  

“The first video — I played a game and talked about it. The first videos did well. The third or fourth video was about how to become a Winx fairy, where I parodied all the stories about kids who want to become Winx fairies. It went down really well, everyone laughed. It hit a million views very quickly. I grew very fast because I churned out topics quickly. When I finished school, I had a million subscribers.”

There is no information about the blogger's earnings. 

3. Yarik Lapa

Channel creation date: June 18, 2013. 

A streamer who plays the hugely popular game Minecraft. He publishes new videos several times a week. On average they gather 200,000 to 300,000 views. In total, 4.5 million people subscribe to his channel. 

According to the statistics of the Socialblade service, his monthly earnings are approximately 4,500 to 71,000 dollars. Lapa's most popular video is “Real Counter-Strike in Minecraft.” In three years it has gathered more than 16 million views. 

4. Chotkyi Patsa

Channel creation date: October 31, 2014. 

This is a Ukrainian comedy channel whose main specialty is parodies. It features several different segments: reviews of Ukrainian and world news, parodies of music videos, video blogs, life hacks, and so on. On average, new videos come out once or twice a month and each gathers several million views. In total, the channel has 4.32 million subscribers. 

According to Socialblade, the channel's monthly earnings range from $4.5 thousand to $72.4 thousand. The most popular video on the channel is a parody of the clip by the band “Vremya i Steklo” — 505. In four years it has gathered more than 53 million views. 

In 2016, part of the team left the project. A few months later, recruitment of new video bloggers was announced, after which the frequency of video releases increased. In 2017, Grisha Yablunozhko (real name — Anton Murafa) also left the project. He was the only Russian-speaking participant, which is why viewers often criticized him.

5. Anastasiya Shpagina

Channel creation date: July 30, 2011. 

Anastasiya Shpagina — a beauty blogger who calls herself the Flower Fairy because of her resemblance to a cartoon character. On her channel she shows how to transform herself into Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga and Johnny Depp by painting Hollywood and world stars on her face.

New videos come out once every two or three months. In total, 3.3 million people subscribe to the channel. According to the Socialblade service, her monthly earnings are between 256 and 4,100 dollars. 

The most popular video on the channel shows how to do the Flower Fairy makeup. In seven years it has gathered nearly nine million views. 

In 2017, Shpagina became embroiled in a media scandal after an unsuccessful visit to a plastic surgeon. After rhinoplasty, her nose became asymmetrical. At first Anastasiya went to a clinic, where she was calmed down and told that everything would be fine; then she turned to other doctors, who told her the operation had been done incorrectly, which is why Nastya has problems with breathing and the shape of her nose. She talked about this on her blog, after which threats started pouring in.

Shpagina also took part in the program “Let Them Talk” on this topic, but she failed to achieve anything concrete, and the blogger still receives threats.

6. vanzai

Channel creation date: July 18, 2015. 

A channel with interesting and unusual recipes for kitchen dishes. You can often watch how huge meals are prepared here. For example, an 80-kilogram Snickers, or a 233 kg sandwich. Here they also often recreate food and desserts from various films.

New videos come out every week, and the channel has 3.27 million subscribers.  According to Socialblade data, monthly earnings start from 10 dollars and can reach 173,000 dollars a month. 

The most popular video on the channel came out half a year ago. The author prepares a huge 54-kilogram ostrich. It has gathered more than 12 million views. 

7. GopherVid

Channel creation date: September 18, 2013. 

The channel consists of several segments: life hacks, DIY projects, FakeMachine (checking popular videos for authenticity), experiments and cooking. On average, 3–4 new videos come out per month. They gather about 2–3 million views each. In total, 3.2 million people subscribe to the channel. 

On the channel you can find, for example, videos on how to sleep perfectly, how to make candy from watermelon, how to quickly peel a kilogram of sunflower seeds or how to cook tasty fried potatoes. According to Socialblade, the channel's monthly income ranges from $6.4 to $102.8 thousand. 

“It all started with an ordinary mobile phone connected to Wi-Fi. — says channel author Andrey Shakhray. — I decided to film a video on it and upload it to the internet, and the topics later found themselves somehow. I simply filmed everything that interests me and that I like. For example, at 13 I did let's plays, playing Minecraft, at 14 I got into DIY projects, and at 15 into life hacks. Two years later, when my channel had already grown, I started making not only what I personally like, but also what is popular with the YouTube audience. The videos became more spectacular, and the DIY projects more complex.”

8. Interesting Ficus

Channel creation date: November 24, 2011. 

The channel is run by two brothers who regularly stage various experiments. For example, how they made a giant sparkler, or a yacht made of LEGO, or show what happens if 100 kg of dry ice is poured with boiling water in an apartment. New videos come out on Saturdays. On average they gather 1.5–2 million views. In total, 3.1 million people subscribe to the channel. 

Socialblade shows that their monthly income ranges from $1.1 to $17.5 thousand. The most popular video on the channel shows them building a house underground. The video gathered more than 14 million views in two years. 

The channel was founded by cousins Serhiy Interesny and Viktor Fikus. They live in Kyiv. 

9. Olga Matvey

Channel creation date: May 7, 2013. 

Another cooking channel, though in a more classic format. Its author explains how to cook various traditional dishes, but sometimes adds a few unusual ingredients to the recipes. For example, shashlik cutlets, oatmeal pie, and so on. Her new videos come out several times a week. On average they gather around 200,000 views. In total, 3.1 million users subscribe to the channel. 

Socialblade shows that the blogger's monthly earnings start from 4,000 dollars and can reach 72,000 dollars. The most popular video on the channel is a recipe for herring under a fur coat, which gathered 1.6 million views over five years. 

Previously, Olga just baked cakes to order, but one day her husband suggested she film the process and publish a video. The video started getting lots of views, and the couple decided to start a blog. Now Olga herself admits the blog is her husband's project, while she simply does what she is good at and what she loves.  

10. Vse bude dobre

Channel creation date: September 13, 2012.

This is a show of useful family tips. It brings together the interests of women and men in household management, raising children, organizing the family budget, self-care, culinary skills, and more. For example, how to choose water in a store, what pumpkin is good for and much more. Note that the channel has had no new videos for several months, although last year's New Year videos were renamed and made relevant for 2020. In total, 2.8 million people subscribe to it. 

Oleksiy Symonchuk