Next door to the world. How does a Siberian hermit live alone in the taiga? Leaders of the taiga: how hermits live in an abandoned Siberian village

The Siberian expanses have always been attractive to various kinds of free people who want to live away from the main civilization and public institutions. And Siberia itself was discovered by free Cossacks, who went into those endless distances in search of freedom and independence. Old Believers, fleeing from monstrous persecution, found refuge in the remote taiga regions of Western and Eastern Siberia. Moreover, the deeper they went, the stronger their faith was considered. The more severe conditions awaited them in the Siberian desert, the more self-possessed and stronger they believed in God, trusting only in His mercy.

There have been hermits at all times; in any society there have ever been people for whom freedom, independence and free life are not just words, but something completely different than for the common man in the street. Freedom and will for such people is what gives them strength, what makes them act, overcome obstacles and adversity, fight and not give up. This is something that sits in their gut, forcing them to live, something for which they want to live in general.

It so happened that to society, hermits look like eccentrics, and often even crazy. Poor life, sometimes ascetic conditions and the general harshness of the region turn hermits into some kind of eccentrics. Plus, there is often religious fanaticism. It seems that life is not normal for all of you? Why are you so drawn to the wilderness? What is it, is it smeared with honey? - The average person doesn’t understand.

Siberian hermits are a special kind of people. Hermits also live in other regions, in warmer ones. However, the hermits of Siberia are interesting precisely because of all this severity and restraint, which they possess in abundance compared to us city slickers.

Old Believers Lykovs

The most famous and interesting Siberian hermits are the Lykovs. There is already a lot of different material about them, articles, photos, videos. The history of the Lykovs' resettlement to the Sayan taiga begins in the 30s of the last century, when several families of Old Believers fled from the looming threat of Soviet power. But the most severe Old Believers were the family of Karp Osipovich Lykov, for the Lykovs went farthest: along the Bolshoy Abakan River - to the mouth of the Erinat. Composition of the Lykov family: Karp Osipovich - father, Akulina Karpovna - mother, Savin - son, Natalia - daughter, Dmitry - son, Agafya - daughter.

Karp Osipovich and Agafya Lykov

Savin and Dmitry Lykov

Agafya Lykova today

Agafina's activities

The Lykovs lived in an atmosphere of extreme isolation, having only a few contacts with other people, their life was extremely ascetic and simple. In 1978, geologists accidentally stumbled upon their settlement on the Erinat River - and the news about the family of Old Believers spread throughout the Union in the form of a sensation. Living in an atmosphere of isolation, the Lykovs did not have immunity to many diseases, and after meeting people who came to visit, everyone except Agafya fell ill and soon died. Antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis and Borreliosis were found in Agafya’s blood. Agafya Lykova, the last living member of the Lykov family, still lives in this place. At different times, people moved in with her, lived for a while, helped her, but today she lives alone in the remote Sayan taiga. The most famous hermit.

Hermit Victor

Once a Siberian hermit, Victor worked on a barge in the Krasnoyarsk port, and now lives in a small hut on the banks of the Yenisei, about 55 kilometers south of Krasnoyarsk. He built his hut himself, as well as furnished all the necessary living conditions. Victor is engaged in fishing, which is abundant in the Yenisei, and collecting wild plants, mushrooms and berries, which the Siberian taiga is rich in.

Reads the Bible and enjoys solitude against the backdrop of the endless expanses of the taiga. At the age of 47, he abandoned his old life and decided to move to the taiga. He looks a little ordinary, but is a kind person.

Sayan hermits

In the Republic of Tyva, in the distant Eastern Sayan in the area of ​​Lake Derlik-Khol, Old Believers hermits settled at a hunting base under the leadership of Archimadrite Constantine. They have been living in wild and hard-to-reach places, where you just can’t reach (get there), for about 8 years. With faith in the Lord and prayers. When the hermits first settled in this region, hunters passing by at first only laughed and frightened them with mosquitoes and bears, but after many years of taiga life, experienced hunters themselves began to ask these people for advice.

Mother Anastasia, Archimadrite Constantine and Mother Ilaria

Firewood harvesting

Archimadrite Konstantin, who previously lived in Samara, went into the taiga with other people 8 years ago, but now there are only three of them left - the rest have returned to civilization. Their occupation is traditionally taiga: harvesting pine nuts, collecting wild plants, and, of course, fishing. Pike, grayling, taimen, lenok. Lenten pancakes on the stubs of wax candles and the meager diet of Siberian hermits. Tourists and hunters sometimes help them with supplies, which the hermits use very sparingly and live from hand to mouth. At one time there was bad rumors about them in the newspapers; the monks were accused of various things, but nothing was confirmed. People were taken by helicopter to the mainland, and now the journalists have quieted down and are not interfering in their lives.

Antipins

From 1982 to 2002, the Antipin family of hermits lived in the remote Siberian taiga. Since childhood, the head of the family, Viktor Antipin (Martsinkevich), dreamed of living in nature in its original form. Victor persuaded his 15-year-old stepdaughter to go with him to the taiga, hundreds of kilometers from civilization. They had six children. However, the story of the hermits ended sadly. Victor died in 2004 in the taiga alone from hunger or a cold after his family abandoned him.

Viktor Martsinkevich, not wanting to bear his previous surname, changed it to his wife’s surname - Antipin. In his opinion, the prefix “Anti” in it designated his views as “against”, i.e. enemy of civilization. They settled 200 km from the nearest settlement in the Evenki taiga, and in 1983 they had a son, Severyan, who soon died of a cold. A year later, another son was born - Vanya, who died of tick-borne encephalitis at the age of 6 years. In the winter of 1986, a daughter was born, whom they named Olenya because during this fierce winter, Victor managed to get a deer that fed them.

Then the Antipins moved to Biryusa, Victor got a job, and the family was given a plot of forest where they grew vegetables. After this, Vitya, Misha and Alesya were born to them. They ate hunted animals, fish, nuts, berries, mushrooms, and grown vegetables. We sewed the clothes ourselves, altering them from old ones. All children could read and write. Now the children live their lives and work.

Altai hermits Naumkins

Under the influence of esoteric views, the Naumkin family, previously living in the city of Biysk, sold 2 apartments in the early 90s and moved to live in the Altai taiga due to the fact that the father of the family, Alexander Naumkin, began to have health problems. In 1993, their son Ojan was born. The Naumkins live in a dugout equipped for permanent settled life.

Naumkins

Ojan near the garden

The food of hermits “hermit-style” is meager: mushrooms, berries, vegetables from the garden - meat food is rare. The Naumkins are quite friendly, without obvious religious fanaticism. Journalists nicknamed Ojan Mowgli because he was born and raised in the forest, but the education his parents gave him does not support this nickname. In 2013, they moved to Primorye; on November 12, 2013, Ojan received a Birth Certificate for the first time, and the next day, a passport. His parents do not keep him and do not force him to live in the forest. Ojan himself is not against life in the city, just like in the forest. Like his father, Ojan draws.

Hermit Yuri

The hermit Yuri Glushchenko has lived in the Kuibyshevsky district of the Novosibirsk region since 1991. Yuri's only neighbors are three cats and a dog, Borzik. Without religious fanaticism, an ordinary Soviet-trained man lives in a remote place among the swamps and swamps of Western Siberia. For 25 years he lives without the benefits of civilization, eats taiga gifts, mushrooms, berries, like all taiga hermits.

The hut is in complete order and cleanliness, a small black and white TV and electricity of unknown origin. There is a mobile phone, but it doesn’t receive reception here. Yuri looks after the forest, keeps it in order - after all, this is his home. A very neat and hard-working person who decided to leave society for some reason. They say it’s because of unhappy love, but you and I know that it’s not because of it, but because of why other hermits leave - because of the desire for a free, secluded life, without the fuss and dirt of the city.

Yakut hermit

In distant Yakutia, one person has been living as a hermit for about 25 years. Unfortunately, I haven’t learned his name yet. He is now about 75 years old. He came to Yakutia in 1976 to work in an artel, then he was arrested and escaped from his cell, eventually he was caught and served 10 years. As soon as he was freed, he settled down there. He himself is not a criminal, but rather just a slightly hooligan type of mind (he was imprisoned for marijuana). He was in love with a local Yakut woman, then he tried to shoot himself out of unhappy love, but the smoothbore gun misfired as many as 2 times at a time.

He talks about his life, against the backdrop of a hut and Yakut horses.

Preparation of drinking water

Very talkative and emotional, with a large authentic beard. Treats the stomach with dandelion, but at the same time there are empty bottles of Stolichnaya in the hut. He lives with a young Yakut woman, and the bottles from Stolichnaya may belong to her, and not to him, since he said that he does not drink vodka. Traditionally, the Yakut peasant breeds horses of the Yakut breed, which are not afraid of severe frosts.

Hermits of the Putorana plateau

In the far north, where it is not so easy to get to, even by Siberian standards, two hermits live on the famous Putorana plateau: Boris Chevuchelov and Victor Sheresh. In different places, on their farms. Boris works at the gauging station from the local hydroelectric power station, and Victor at the hydrometeorological station on the Kureyka River. Amazing people: they have families, but prefer to live and live in these harsh places of the Putorana plateau.

Free Hunter Victor Sheresh

Boris Chevuchelov

Boris hydropost

The climate of the Putorana plateau is harsh. Winters are cold and long, summers are rainy and short. Mountainous terrain with its lifeless stones of volcanic origin. The forest-tundra is rich in berries and animals. The rivers abound with fish. Grayling, taimen, char, somewhere pike and perch, schools of tugun and other Siberian fish. You can only rely on your own strength - the Arctic does not forgive weakness. In addition to their main business, they are engaged in fur farming and from time to time help with the transportation of tourists who arrive on the Putorana plateau. The hermits became the main characters of A. Sveshnikov’s documentary “People of the Putorana Plateau.”

Wow... It seems like there will be more bumps and bruises after this trip. We count the bumps, bouncing on each hill. The old groove quickly rushes from Taishet to the village of Serebrovo. Hot. The salon is “full house”. Students are chatting merrily, apparently returning on leave from the regional center, women with heavy bags sleepily and lazily glance out the window, then at the clock. Three hours on the road are tedious and long. A colleague has been seeing ten dreams for a long time, lulled by an almost sea motion. I can't close my eyes. I have time to think about everything. What are they? How will they greet you? How will they be received? Will they talk about themselves? Won't they be scared? After all, so many years have passed since the Antipins basked in “taiga” glory.

In the early 2000s, only the lazy did not write about this family. Of course! Hermits settled in the forest, 12 kilometers from the nearest village. Large family - mother, father and four children...

It shook. The bus brakes sharply - apparently, they have arrived. We look out the window with curiosity.

I frantically scan the crowd of people greeting me at the station. I'm trying to figure out where Anna is, that former hermit. But I don’t see Agafya Lykova.

Are you from Komsomolskaya Pravda?

Before us is an ordinary middle-aged village woman in a light coat and high-heeled boots. He holds the hand of a pretty girl, who is looking at me openly and with curiosity.

I'm Anna Antipina. Or rather, already Tretyakov...

Phantom Paradise

Soooo, all the talking later, first at the table! - Anna’s commanding voice resounds throughout the house, intertwining with the stupefying aromas coming from the kitchen. - Wash your hands quickly! Now I’ll treat you to grayling - I caught it myself. I place the nets here nearby, on Biryusa.

We have never eaten so much! A pot of steaming boiled potatoes and a large plate of fish disappeared in a matter of minutes. It seems that there is no such dinner as here even in the most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants.

Well, I gave you something to drink and feed. Now ask,” Anna says, smiling slyly.

And we were just waiting for this.

“10 years ago we went to heaven,” Anna shocks us with her strange confession. - It seemed so to us. To spend so much time in a 6 m2 house for six of us, and then move to a “mansion”, to civilization... Not to think about how to feed the children, where to get clothes... When we left the forest, no one refused to help us: they would bring food, then money. The children were immediately enrolled in school. Now I remember what we experienced only in nightmares. It’s as if I’m sitting in a winter hut again in the dead of night, hunched over on a small stool. Everyone is sleeping, and I’m putting wood in the iron stove so that, God forbid, the fire doesn’t go out...

Young Lolita

Viktor Martsinkevich with the outlandish patronymic Granitovich appeared suddenly in the village of Korotkovo, Kazachinsko-Lensky district, where 8-year-old Anna lived with her mother. Parents who lived in Smolensk dreamed of seeing their son as a world-famous scientist. The young man received two higher educations and was passionate about science. But at some point I dropped everything, burned my passport, packed my things in a backpack and left. I made my way through the wild forests, unarmed, alone. I was looking for my “Factory”. He dreamed of a wonderful country that he created for himself: without destructive civilization, diseases and other human “impurity”. The utopian school of nature, which he proudly called eco-return, was supposed to return man to his natural habitat. In this he saw the only salvation for the “decaying” society.

“The happiness of life lies in its simplicity,” the fanatic inspiredly told the girl who hung on every word of her adored stepfather.

“Man, strive for nature - you will be healthy!” - Anya quoted Antipin’s words to her classmates and friends.

This now 48-year-old woman recalls with reluctance and shame her “acquaintance” with her stepfather. Uncomfortable in front of children. Especially the younger ones - schoolgirls Snezhana and Sveta, daughters from their second marriage.

She comes up with an activity for them to do in the garden, the girls run outside and Anna continues:

We kids knew that he came to us from the west, a scientist. We ran to him - he told us so many interesting things, and even fed us bread.

He falls silent for a moment, as if plunging into pleasant memories...

He was so handsome,” he suddenly reveals, embarrassed and blushing. - He even had a nickname Alenky. All the women in the village liked him, but he chose my mother, who was older than him. He even took her last name and became Antipin.

Viktor Granitovich accepted all four children as his own, but especially singled out the youngest, Anechka. Every evening for several years, the stepdaughter listened to fairy tales about the Factory avidly, which incredibly touched “dad.” “Family gatherings” ended the moment the 16-year-old girl became pregnant. Thus, the “teacher” successfully put his slogan “The happiness of life in its simplicity” into practice. True, when there was talk in the village about young Lolita, I decided that it was time to make the fairy tale come true.

In search of the Factory

We did not escape: he from criminal liability, and I from shame, as many people gossiped then,” Anna Artemyevna assures. - We went in search of the Factory. Mom found out about everything at the last moment, but acted like a wise woman. We boarded a train together that was heading to the Far East. She was going to Chita to stay with her sister, and we were going to the final station. I never saw my mother again...

It was 1983. Anya and Victor began searching for a miracle country in the Evenki taiga, in the north of the Amur region. Having climbed 200 km deep into the forest, they settled in a hut. In those wilds, Anna gave birth to her first child, Severyan. The baby died without living even a year.

And another child too,” the woman looks away. - Only my daughter survived. The father (Anna does not call her ex-husband her husband or even Victor. Only the father. - Ed.) always took delivery himself. He cut the umbilical cord - he did it deftly.

The name of the eldest daughter, Olenye, however, like the other children, was also given by the father. In honor of the deer who saved the child's life. The winter of 1986 was harsh, the Antipins ran out of provisions. But there was no gun to go hunting with. Victor stubbornly asserted: “You only need to take what nature itself gives. But a person can only use traps.”

Because of hunger, my milk began to disappear,” recalls my mother. “And suddenly a herd of deer passed right next to our hut. The father managed to get one. All spring I fed my daughter chewed meat... And now she scolds me if in the city I shout at her Deer - they still turn around. Makes you call Alena.

In 1987, Victor, deciding that the Evenki taiga was clearly not the place for the Factory, convinced his wife to leave for Yakutia. He promised that there would definitely be a piece of paradise waiting for them there. True, by the time the couple got there, they had gone through seven circles of hell.

Almost died then. At the Bolshoi Sekochambi rapids, our boat was covered by a huge wave. We somehow swam out, - Anna recalls, - but everything that was with us drowned. We climbed out of the water, in which ice floes were still floating. I remember the snow was so fluffy. We climbed a steep hill and lay down. Strange, they didn’t even catch a cold.

However, in Yakutia, a tireless seeker of a better life unexpectedly settled in an ordinary village. After 2 years, the Antipins were drawn to the road again. They fled to the taiga, to the Taishet district of the Irkutsk region. Here Victor had to briefly sacrifice his principles and work with “these creatures,” as he called ordinary people, side by side. He got a job at a chemical forestry enterprise to harvest timber and resin. The family was allocated a plot of land in the Biryusa taiga. But a year later the enterprise collapsed, the forestry enterprise began to remove workers from the taiga. Only Antipin flatly refused to evacuate, joyfully declaring: “I found my Factory!”

If we lived together, we would have stayed in the taiga,” Anna is now thinking. - But it’s difficult with children. They didn’t come to people from a good life...

“In the summer of 2017, I went to the taiga, for two weeks, alone,” says the user... “Without the desire to survive, to prove anything. A path for the sake of a path. To just be alone with myself, to take a break from the Internet, mobile communications, and in recent years, the insomnia that has tormented me has become a kind of fuel in the form of a kick in the ass to pack a backpack.

I had never gone on hikes before, much less solo ones. It all started with an itching desire in the winter, at a time when there was another deadline and I just wanted to break up any oncoming traffic, take a walk into the taiga to the abandoned village of Knyazevki. According to Wikipedia, no one lives there anymore. As it turned out, this is not the case."

Path

Starting from the turn to the village of Grinevichi, the last stronghold of civilization before the remote taiga, the bus dropped off at 18:30 local time. The silence of the forest hit my ears, and the unusually delicious air filled my nose. Yes, exactly delicious! After the musty, heavily smoky Omsk, this air seemed like ambrosia; I didn’t want to inhale it, I wanted to drink it. And the silence... It was reinforced by the complete absence of mobile communications.

The first goal was to walk ten kilometers, get away from civilization and stop at a rest stop. The road went up and down. I began to feel a little bit of a nasal feeling. A mosquito net and tar diluted in alcohol, the taiga dweller's best friend, saved him from it. The birds sang, and my soul felt so good that I wanted to sing myself. Feelings from childhood - the unknown lies ahead and you don’t owe anything to any microorganism in the universe. Bright feelings.

I reached Malinovka at ten o’clock in the evening, it suddenly swam towards me, the forest pushed me into the empty space of the former village. Overgrown house pits, the remains of a horse corral and a taiga river of the same name. I spent the night at the turnoff to the former village of Upper Turungas, next to a spruce grove. There was no strength to start a fire, I just set up a tent, made tea on the burner and fell into the darkness of sleep.

Initially, I tried to predict how I would sleep alone in the taiga, and whether the typical city dweller’s fear of the forest would overcome me. It turned out that all this was nonsense, these fears remain in the city. Having walked 11-12 kilometers with a 40-kilogram backpack in the heat, I completely got rid of all fears. In addition, I put earplugs in my ears: at night the forest is very loud, all sorts of birds are screaming, rustling noises, and so on. It was cozy in the tent and I felt protected.

About gnat

The taiga midge doesn’t eat me at all, it just gets in the way before my eyes. It's annoying. There are a lot of mosquitoes in June, the repellent is of little help, the mosquito net is your best friend. There were no ticks, I often examined the encephalitis soaked in tick repellent and did not remove a single comrade. Gadflies were present nominally and did not interfere; a couple of times I saw hornets - a giant bee, five or six centimeters. The Hornets fought, and I acted as a passive observer.

Once I went out to the toilet at night in complete darkness and was extremely surprised. Yellow stars shone everywhere around the tent. At first I thought that these were cockchafer bugs, but the objects did not move. Upon closer examination, it turned out that these were some kind of caterpillars with a luminous rear part. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name. Hermits said that in ancient times in villages they collected these caterpillars and rotten mushrooms (their habitat) in a container, and by the light of such a “lamp” it was even possible to read.

Animals on the way

On the morning of the second day, moose came to me. They stomped around the tent, snorting. It was not possible to take pictures: when they saw me, the guys hurriedly pulled me into the taiga. The place where we spent the second night was generally abundant with living creatures. Next to the tent there was a viper’s nest; its owner often basked in the sun, immediately hiding under the tree when I appeared.

That day it rained for the first time, and the road became sour. Approaching another large puddle, I saw the freshest footprint of the owner of the taiga, about 400 kilograms, foot size 45, no less. I didn’t take any photos and quickly left the place. In general, traces of bear cubs and medium-sized bears were constantly encountered, and every meter there were traces of moose.

Hermits of the abandoned village of Knyazevka

On the third day I went to the village. He stomped around at the gate, shouted to the owners and, having made up his mind, bent the wire and entered. It dawned on me that these gates are needed to prevent horses from running away into the taiga.

Interesting sensations overcome you, chilling you right to the bones. Empty lifeless village. The houses stand covered by neglected vegetable gardens and slightly rickety fences, but there are no people. A man in a cap came out and muttered a greeting. We shook hands and got to know each other. The peasant's name is Leonid, and he constantly lives in the only living house with another hermit, Vasily. They called me to the hut. I said that I would definitely come, but I needed to pitch my tent somewhere, preferably closer to the river. The peasants recommended the old royal overgrown road, which is no longer used by timber trucks.

My communication with Vasily and Leonid was a revelation. A whole world of tales about life in the forest and village opened up for me. About the existential vacuum in the body of a villager and how to deal with it. How-how? Alcohol, of course! Hence the change of place of residence of Leonid, who migrated from the drinking, thieving, rollicking Atirka to Knyazevka for full lifelong rehabilitation three years ago. Vladimir, Vasya’s brother, brought Lenya, barely alive, completely drunk. He took pity on his classmate. Now Lenka helps with the horses and around the house.

Vasily finds it difficult to cope with everything. Many years ago, while dismantling a house, a log fell on his leg, and now he always walks with a stick, otherwise there is no other way - a steel plate with ten bolts and ibuprofen constantly. Vasily is very well-read and intelligent, he reads science fiction, and it’s a pleasure to talk to him. Lenya, on the contrary, is simple, has little interest in anything, but nevertheless is simply kind.

I decided not to go further to Tui; another 40 kilometers of travel in the sudden heat did not give me the desire to be a hero. In the end, I went out on vacation and decided to rest. I settled on a picturesque site on a river, went to the men every evening for stories and communication, getting great pleasure from the company.

About alcohol

The attitude is calm, sometimes even Lenya, who should not drink at all, drinks. I took two bottles of vodka with me, bought them in a mini-market at the Tara bus station, when I learned from the aborigines that there was still someone alive in Knyazevka. Vodka is generally a must-have in the taiga as an antiseptic for the body and soul. On the first evening we drank to get to know each other, calmly and spiritually. None of the men fall into a state of berserk from alcohol. Only Lenya, if she drinks too much, starts to get dizzy from alcohol - her speech is confused and her hands shake.

Vodka is often brought by hunters, fishermen and just random travelers. Especially in winter, around New Year and the month after, men accumulate a huge number of bottles. They treat you mercilessly. They themselves make mash with birch sap; Lenya loves to splurge about its nutritional and life-giving qualities for the insides. The brew is really good.

Horses

They are for the soul. Of course, they are sometimes sold, Vladimir does this, but it’s difficult to call it a serious source of income.

Horses in the village walk on their own, grazing freely. For the winter, food is prepared for them, the grass is cut, and more oats are brought in. Many are shy, but I managed to stroke the faces of a couple. The real scourge for them is midges; they try to hide from it in dilapidated houses, in an old granary. Midges and mosquitoes make the horses' skin shake.

There was a funny incident. In the heat, the foals lay down in stacks nearby in front of the house, about six of them, no less. And the mothers left to graze. Suddenly the dogs started barking, the foals woke up and started running around in panic, not understanding where the mothers were. They huddled close to each other and did not calm down soon.

About simple men's food and gifts

I sat with the men every evening and ate simple, rough food. Tastier than marbled beef and lobsters. Coarse bread, potatoes, onions, delicious pea soup from Vasily, beaver meat. Yeah, beaver. At first I thought it was some kind of fatty boiled beef, but no. The nuances of taste are catastrophically small. The meat is supplied by hunters; they are frequent guests at Vasya’s hut. By the way, Vasya doesn’t take a penny for an overnight stay, and is offended when you try to give money.

I gave Vasily a good knife. I left all the remaining food and half of my first aid kit, repellent and all the consumables. Next year I will definitely go to Knyazevka again and bring the men cigarette rolling machines, tobacco, and DVDs with films. They watch them on an old DVD player, connecting it to a battery.

This is how the taiga turned out for me; the taiga turned out differently for me.

It’s hard to believe, but even in the 21st century there are real Robinsons in the world. Modern people have difficulty understanding how one can survive in the remote Siberian taiga without electricity, heating and amenities. And at the same time still manage to get food for yourself, maintain a household and be known throughout the world.

However, Agafya Lykova, the last survivor of a family of hermit Old Believers, undoubtedly knows all this. Now she is 73 years old, she continues to live alone in the taiga. She is kept company by goats, dogs and cats, of which there are a lot on the farm...

Escape from milestones

The Siberian hermit was born in the taiga on April 23, 1944 and lives there all her life. The Lykov family of Old Believers fled to the Siberian taiga from persecution of their faith in the 1930s of the last century. Since then, the Lykovs lived in the Khakass taiga in complete isolation from the world. After 1946, they established a settlement and lived permanently on the banks of the Erinat River, the left tributary of the Big Abakan.

A family of hermits was discovered in 1978 by geologists who were exploring this area of ​​the Siberian taiga. By that time, Agafya’s mother, Akulina Pavlovna, had already died, and the family consisted of five people: father Karp Osipovich, brothers Savin (born about 1926) and Dmitry (born about 1940), sister Natalya (born about 1936) ) and Agafya herself (born in 1944). Agafya was the most literate in the family; she was entrusted with conducting church home services. Old Believers adhere to the church charter, which was used in Rus' before the schism of the 17th century. The Lykov family rejected many cultural and everyday innovations that appeared since the time of Peter I. However, there were exceptions. For example, the basis of the hermits’ diet was potatoes, the use of which was not accepted by the Old Believers. But electricity, satellites and other benefits of civilization remained beyond the understanding of the hermits.

Agafya's brothers died in 1981, 10 days after the death of the last of them, Savin, Agafya's only sister, Natalya, also died. So Agafya was left alone with her father, who died in February 1988.

In 1978, the hermits' abode was discovered by geologists who were exploring the taiga. Scientists were sure that they were flying an airplane over an uninhabited area of ​​the remote Siberian taiga. According to the maps, there were no settlements in the area. Imagine their surprise when from the plane they first noticed a vegetable garden, then deforestation and, finally, a dwelling. A group of geologists managed to find contact with the hermits. Thus, the Lykovs became known to the world, from which they were so eager to hide.

In 1988, remaining the only representative of a family of Old Believers hermits, Agafya tried to contact her relatives, but relations with them did not work out. In 1990, the hermit decided to move to a women's Old Believer monastery and was even tonsured as a nun. However, after spending several months in the monastery, Agafya returned to her place of residence, citing health problems and ideological differences with the nuns. Since then, the Siberian hermit has lived alone in the taiga almost forever.

At whose expense is PR?

The hermit often has guests: travelers, journalists, writers and government officials. Actively helps Agafya Governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev. The Kuzbass authorities took a kind of patronage over the hermit. Vladimir Makuta, the head of the Tashtagol region, regularly comes to see her.

In January last year, Aman Tuleyev personally accompanied the hermit to her care after being discharged from the Tashtagol hospital. There she underwent treatment and examination on the personal orders of the governor of Kuzbass.

Geographically, the Lykovs' settlement is located on the territory of the Republic of Khakassia, in the Khakassky Nature Reserve. However, the distance from the Tashtagol district to the village is less than from the capital of Khakassia. Kuzbass authorities regularly fly to the reserve and provide assistance to the hermit.

This week during Governor of Khakassia Viktor Zimin spoke negatively about these visits. “One more time the plane comes from there - and you have violated the law of the country (perhaps this refers to Federal Law No. “On Specially Protected Natural Areas” of March 14, 1995 - Ed.). You have no right to land or fly there. And there is no need to shame us. And they are the breadwinners right there,” said Mr. Zimin. The head of Khakassia clarified that he personally has nothing against the hermit. At the same time, he is sure that she receives an exceptional amount of attention. “Every resident of the republic would like to have such free living conditions: supplies, flights, communications, aviation, and sometimes neighbors also promote themselves,” said Viktor Zimin. He noted that budget money was spent on maintaining the hermit, while her family hid from the war and none of them worked a day. “I don’t really like Grandma Agafya, but I have great respect for the Old Believer faith,” the head of Khakassia summed up his statement.

In response to Mr. Zimin’s statement in the regional administration of Kuzbass that they will not abandon the hermit and will continue to help. “If the authorities of Khakassia provided systematic assistance, responded to the problems and rare requests of Agafya Lykova, then Kuzbass would not have needed to intervene,” RIA Novosti quotes a source in the regional administration.

Agafya Lykova was offered several times to move to live with relatives, closer to civilization, but each time she refuses and returns to the taiga. Agafya swore an oath to her father that she would live her whole life in the forest, cut off from the world. Apparently she plans to keep her word.