Gobsaur & Lyudmurik: Why Not Banned?

Andrey Yashin (Gobsaur) and his mother Lyudmila (Lyudmurik) are some of the most scandalous figures on the Russian internet. Their streams, where the son beats his mother, they drink alcohol, and kiss on the lips, shocked viewers across the country. Despite dozens of complaints, public outcry, and even prosecutorial intervention, many still wonder: why haven't these thrash-streamers been permanently banned?

The answer is more complex than it seems. They have indeed been banned — but the system works differently than many viewers would like.

Who are Gobsaur and Lyudmurik?

Andrey Yashin, known by the pseudonym Gobsaur, and his mother Lyudmila (Lyudmurik) are residents of Chelyabinsk who gained notoriety through their live broadcasts. The format of their streams is simple: viewers send donations and write tasks in the comments that the bloggers must perform live. For money, they drank alcohol, used foul language, behaved provocatively, and fulfilled humiliating requests from subscribers.

One of the most shocking episodes was a stream where the son beat his mother on camera. After the fight, they made up by kissing on the lips. Yashin himself later admitted that the beating was staged, but the very fact that they faked violence against an elderly woman for money caused a wide public outcry.

At the same time, the bloggers themselves deny that they are doing anything reprehensible. At a court hearing, Yashin stated that some people call them thrash-streamers, but they do not consider themselves such. According to him, they simply read jokes and anecdotes on camera. Lyudmila, in turn, is sure that haters act out of envy of their popularity.

What the Authorities Did: Blocks and Courts

Contrary to popular belief, they have been banned multiple times — just not in the way ordinary users imagine it.

Court and Prosecutor's Decision

In December 2023, the Chelyabinsk region prosecutor's office conducted an inspection of Gobsaur and Lyudmurik's content and filed a lawsuit in court to restrict access to their materials. The court granted the prosecutor's request.

What exactly was done: Videos with scenes of violence were completely removed from the network. Access to other videos containing alcohol consumption and foul language was restricted for underage users.

According to the prosecutor's office, during internet monitoring, "destructive content in the genre of online broadcasts" was identified on Gobsaur and Lyudmurik's channels, where users were offered to observe alcohol consumption, foul language, scenes of violence, and disrespectful treatment of parents for donations.

Not Just YouTube

At the request of the prosecutor's office, the bloggers' channels were blocked not only on YouTube but also on the social network "VKontakte" and in Telegram. In August 2023, even before the court decision, their Russian social media accounts had already been blocked, and a criminal case was initiated against Yashin.

Why Does It Seem Like They Haven't Been Banned?

The main reason is that a ban in Russia does not equate to a ban on foreign platforms.

Jurisdiction Problem

YouTube is an American platform. A Russian court cannot directly order Google to delete a channel or block an account. The maximum Russian authorities can do is restrict access to content within the Russian Federation through Roskomnadzor's register of prohibited information.

This means that viewers from Russia may not see videos or see a warning, but viewers from other countries or those using VPNs can freely watch the same content. The channel itself remains online.

Tactic of Moving to Other Platforms

Thrash-streamers have long learned how to circumvent blocks. If one channel is blocked, they create a new one. If YouTube starts "complaining," they switch to other platforms — Telegram, "VKontakte," private streaming services.

Lyudmurik, for example, after problems with open platforms, offered subscribers to join a private channel for a fee, where they continued to upload new recordings.

Lack of Real Criminal Liability (Until Recently)

Before the adoption of the new package of laws on thrash-streams in April 2026, the penalties were too lenient. The maximum Gobsaur and Lyudmurik faced were administrative fines for disturbing the peace or petty hooliganism. The fines were meager compared to the donations they received for their broadcasts. The criminal case initiated in 2023 did not receive widespread continuation — possibly due to the difficulty of classifying their actions as a crime.

Comparison with Other Thrash-Streamers

To understand the scale of the problem, it's worth comparing several high-profile cases.

Gobsaur and Lyudmurik engaged in staged beatings of their mother on camera, drunkenness, and humiliation. The authorities' reaction resulted in video removal, age restriction, and social media blocks. Ultimately, the punishment remained mostly administrative.

The story of Reeflay (Vali) was much more terrifying — real abuse of a girl that ended in her death. A criminal case was initiated there, and the outcome was tragic.

Streamer Zhadi (Alisa) beat her 12-year-old son live. This led to a real prison sentence — 5 years in a penal colony and a payment of 800 thousand rubles in moral damages.

It is important to note that Gobsaur was still punished more severely than many of his "colleagues" in the thrash scene, with the exception of the most egregious cases involving human casualties.