Cult Russian YouTube show This is Khorosho shuts down after 16 years over copyright strikes

The cult Russian YouTube show "This is Khorosho," in which host Stas Davydov humorously commented on viral internet videos, is coming to an end after 16 years on the air. Davydov announced the closure, citing mounting copyright complaints as a key factor.

Companies that acquired rights to viral clips used in the show's episodes have been leveraging YouTube's Content ID system to claim monetization revenue from older uploads. Davydov said that in August 2026, the company ViralHog issued a strike against the channel for an episode released seven years earlier. The firm then offered to drop the claim in exchange for a payment.

The host described the move as blackmail. "We've now removed all videos where monetization was taken away by them," he stated. In some cases, the offending fragment could be cut out using YouTube's built-in editor, but due to technical issues, entire episodes had to be deleted.

This incident was one of the reasons behind the project's end. Davydov noted that the latest published episode, which opens with the phrase "That's it, the era is over," is likely to be the final one. In early September, the team plans to hold a livestream to discuss the show's closure in more detail.

Launched in 2010, "This is Khorosho" became one of the first popular projects in the Russian segment of YouTube, building a loyal audience with its satirical take on internet culture.