Russian memes featuring a pair of pantsless SpongeBobs have become the latest "niche" obsession on TikTok. Internet users outside of Russia have finally caught on to the Тотя ❤️ meme, but they remain as confused as their Russian counterparts as to what the meme actually means.

Still, the memes continue to delight brainrot enthusiasts who have begun pitting Тотя up against ПЫ, a similarly nonsensical Minion-potato hybrid creature.

Here's our best attempt at deciphering the meme and its spread online this month.

What's The 'Тотя' Meme?

"Тотя" (sometimes spelled Totr or Totya) features two naked SpongeBobs, grinning as they walk side-by-side. The image first hit TikTok in early September 2025, when TikToker @ddghfjwiedi3929 posted a meme montage ending with the two SpongeBobs and the caption "тотя❤️." The clip reached 2 million plays in two weeks.

@ddghfjwiedi3929

тотя.❤️

♬ оригинальный звук – лэслi настаящi не феiк 100% @

Chronically online users instantly recognized the genre of meme as "brainrot," in how it's mostly nonsensical, endlessly repeatable, and yet, strangely hypnotic. Like Italian Brainrot Animals or German Brainrot, Тотя shows that absurdist humor is great at transcending language.

The SpongeBobs often appear opposite another Russian favorite, "ПЫ," a potato-Minion hybrid whose squat, rounded body resembles the 2010s mobile game mascot Pou.

@sanyakripeer228 #пы❤ #пы #тотя #тотя.❤ #мем ♬ оригинальный звук – лэслi настаящi не феiк 100% @

How Did The Тотя Meme Spread?

The trend picked up momentum almost immediately after TikToker @ddghfjwiedi3929 initially shared it at the start of September 2025.

On September 3rd, 2025, TikToker @kuznichela uploaded a clip chanting both "Тотя" and "ПЫ" to highlight the memes' absurdity, gathering over 2.3 million plays and 300,000 likes within 10 days.

@kuznichela ОБЬЯСНИТЕ МНЕ ЧТО ТАКОЕ ПЫ #крутойподросток #пяткитресканые #картопля ♬ оригинальный звук – лэслi настаящi не феiк 100% @

By September 6th, creators had started remixing the visuals. TikToker @nukemost unveiled a 3D animation of the pantsless Тотя-Bobs, racking up 2 million plays and 120,000 likes in a week.

@nukemost Ответ пользователю @Remz Тотя.♥️ #тотя #мемы #маски #newfilter #totya ♬ оригинальный звук – лэслi настаящi не феiк 100% @

By September 13th, 2025, TikTokers had begun using Тотя to flex about their "niche" meme knowledge, as seen in a video by @julianwelsh7 where American musician Kirk Franklin eats a green apple, alongside text that reads, "How I feel being on Тотя while my class isn't even on W Speed," gathering over 1.5 million plays and 170,000 likes in a day.

@julianwelsh7 @Evan 😜 #totr #fyp ♬ оригинальный звук – говяжи шторки

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For the full history of Тотя. ❤️, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.