"East Germany confrontation sought by TikTok user: 'Am I being forceful enough?'"
Fjodor Busik, a 23-year-old youth worker from Eisenach, is making waves on TikTok with his persona that embodies politeness, coolness, and humanity. Working in a children's home in Gera, Busik has started a social media trend called "Tuff in the East" to promote Eastern Germany.
The "Tuff in the East" TikTok trend, popular among young people in Eastern Germany, humorously or proudly portrays individuals as "tough" or resilient, often playing on stereotypes about the region’s economic struggles and cultural identity since reunification. This trend serves both as satire and as a means of reclaiming regional identity, influencing perceptions among youth and West Germans by challenging often negative or outdated stereotypes about Eastern Germany.
Busik's TikTok videos, easily recognisable by a golden winking cat as a trademark, symbolising luck, wealth, and the East, showcase the vibes, people, and energy of various cities and villages in Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Brandenburg. He is reliable, responding to comments and visiting all cities, aiming to create a community.
The trend, which started a few months ago, is nominated for the Langenscheidt Youth Word of the Year 2025. It's not uncommon to see the demand to rebuild the wall in the clips and comments, with claims that Easterners are "weird" and should be kept away. However, Busik remains optimistic, comparing his nervousness to before judo Bundesliga fights.
Nina Kolleck, a professor of socialization theory at the University of Potsdam, notes that this demand is being used by right-wing narratives to gain political capital by working with cultural division. Yet, Kolleck also points out that this demand is increasingly being raised by Eastern German teenagers.
Other social media personalities, such as Tina Goldschmidt and Olivia Schneider, are also raising awareness for Eastern Germany and addressing structural inequality. Busik currently has over 20,000 subscribers on his TikTok account @fydoz.tts, and his popularity continues to grow as he gives autographs on various items at train stations and is appreciated by children and young people.
Despite occasional hate comments like "I donate five bricks for the wall," Busik does not want to accept stigmatization. He keeps his videos simple, always at the station, always in a puffer jacket, and always with the winking cat to gain attention. Busik encounters hate but remains focused on his goal: to create a sense of belonging among young people, avoiding political representation.
