Grey Wiese
« I Dreamed That One Day I Could Change Russia »
In his interview with Deutsche Welle, Sergey Grigoryev-Appolonov — Grey Wiese — talks about Germany and Paris, emigration, identity, and the journey toward a life in which he no longer has to conform to other people’s expectations.
Sergey has lived in Germany for more than twenty years, but today divides his time between Germany and France. Paris became a new kind of challenge for him: after the predictability of German life, he wanted another language, another culture and the feeling of stepping into the unknown. At the same time, he does not describe himself as fully German or fully Russian, but rather as someone living between several cultures.
Style is another important part of the conversation. High heels, feminine silhouettes and a love of fashion are not, for Grey Wiese, an attempt to play a role. He recalls that his interest in this aesthetic began in childhood. Paris simply allowed this side of his personality to become a more natural part of everyday life.
Behind the visual lightness, however, lies a far more complex experience. Sergey speaks about a difficult childhood in Saratov and how his first visits to Germany showed him a completely different way of life. He once dreamed, in his own words, that he could change Russia. Later, he came to a different conclusion: instead of trying to change everyone around him, he could build a happy life of his own.
The interview also focuses extensively on public life. Millions of views, online hate, advertising and social-media algorithms are, for Grey Wiese, simply part of the professional reality of being a public figure. His guiding principle is not to build his life around other people’s opinions and not to become a copy of someone else.
This is why his signature phrase, « Happy celebration », takes on a deeper meaning. It is not simply a memorable ending to his videos, but a personal philosophy: to notice life and allow yourself to experience joy even when the world around you is far from perfect.
Today, Grey Wiese says that he considers himself a happy person — and he does not attribute that happiness to Paris, Germany or his status as a blogger, but above all to his inner state.
Perhaps the central theme of his story is not emigration or provocation, but the right to stop trying to change the world around you and begin building a world of your own.