| Karina Smolova | |
| Birth Name: | Karina Igorevna Istomina |
| Birth Date: | 1994 4, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Moscow, Russia |
| Genre: | Funk, disco, new school hip hop, new wave, techno, pop, R&B, house, soul, lofi, EDM |
| Occupation: | DJ, blogger, YouTuber, podcaster, model (formerly), PR manager (formerly) |
| Years Active: | 2009—2016 (modelling) 2015—present (music) 2019—present (blogging) |
Karina Igorevna Smolova née Istomina (ru|Карина Игоревна Смолова (Истомина), born April 20, 1994) is a Russian DJ, blogger, podcaster, leading Instagram influencer,[1] and ex-model.
Karina Istomina was born in Moscow, Russia. She started her modelling career at the age of 15 and soon moved to New York City.[2] She graduated from Higher School of Economics (Faculty of Media Communications) in 2016. She has also worked as a PR manager for Russian synthpop band Tesla Boy for a year.[3]
As of 2021, Istomina is one of the most famous DJs in Moscow.[4] She was the only Russian music blogger cooperating with Apple Music, for which she prepares exclusive playlists.[5] In December 2019, Karina Istomina and Xenia Dukalis released the album Trendy Snakes (ru|Подкомодные змеи, Podkomodnye zmei) in the genre of female alternative rap under the label ASC.[6]
From 2019 to 2021 she was a co-host of the Girlfriends (ru|Подруги, Podrugi) show on the YouTube channel Gentle Editor (ru|Нежный редактор, Nezhny redaktor) together with Tatiana Mingalimova, Xenia Dukalis and Tatiana Starikova, where they have been discussing feminism, self-esteem, bullying, sex and other topics with experts and guest stars.[7]
In February 2021, Istomina started a new show on TikTok the Musical Thursday (ru|Музыкальный четверг, Muzykal'ny chetverg).[8] In April 2021, Istomina launched the YouTube project It's easier to Cope (ru|Справиться проще, Spravitsya proshe), dedicated to mental health problems.[9]
In March 2022, Russia moved to block access to Instagram and thereby a major source of income for influencers including Istomina. She reacted saying, "To be honest with you, I am absolutely devastated that I am losing my page. I ran my profile for over 10 years. Most likely I will have to find new sources of income, will have to rediscover myself."[10]
In 2021, Istomina publicly announced her drug addiction, craving for self-harm and mental problems.[11]
In June 2023 Istomina married a striker for Dynamo Moscow and the Russian national football team Fyodor Smolov.[12] On the 15th of November of the same year the couple had a daughter named Laura.