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. IN different times People moved in with her, lived for a while, helped her, but at the moment 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 gave up 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, in 1983 they had a son, Severyan, who soon died of a cold. A year later, another son was born - Vanya, who died from 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, it’s 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 Stolichnaya. 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: 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.”

Igor Pavlovich NAZAROV, born in 1938, Head of the Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimatology of the Federal Institution of Krasnoyarsk State Medical Academy, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and MANEB, Chief Anesthesiologist-Reanimatologist Krasnoyarsk Territory, President of the regional Association of Anesthesiologists-Resuscitators, member of the Presidium and honorary member of the All-Russian Federation of Anesthesiologists-Resuscitators, member of the Editorial Boards of the Vestnik magazines intensive care", "Siberian Medical Review", " Current issues intensive care." Author of more than 1,160 published works, 44 monographs, 22 patents for inventions in Russia, over 170 rationalization proposals. Under his leadership, 34 candidate's and 4 doctoral dissertations were successfully completed. Awarded the badge “Honorary Worker of Higher Education” vocational education Russian Federation", silver medal of Ivan Pavlov Russian Academy natural sciences "For contribution to the development of medicine and healthcare", honorary medal " Russian Emperor Peter 1" of the International Academy of Sciences of Nature and Society "For services to the revival of science and the economy of Russia." "Honorary Professor" of Krasnoyarsk State medical academy. 46 years of experience in anesthesiology and resuscitation, doctor highest category. For many years he visited and treated the famous family of Old Believers, the Lykovs, who settled in the remote Sayan taiga. He also visited the Old Believers of the northern taiga. The harsh and bewitching beauty of the nature of the Krasnoyarsk Territory is also reflected in the travel notes of the traveler and doctor.

For the first time I visited the Lykov family of Old Believers, for many years living in the remote Sayan taiga in complete isolation from people in October 1980. In extremely harsh conditions, almost with " bare hands", they survived, they survived. Life has staged a cruel, but very interesting from many points of view, experiment, which once again confirmed the enormous possibilities and reserves human body and spirit. At that time there were five people in the Lykov family. Three years have passed. From the publications of V. M. Peskov in Kosomolskaya Pravda, the whole world learned about the unusual and in many ways tragic fate of this family. In their lives for recent years a lot of changes have happened. The saddest thing is that three of the Lykovs (Dmitry, Savvin and Natalya) died quickly, one after another. What happened? Why? How to save the lives of the rest of the Lykovs? These and many other questions worried thousands of people. And so we go again to the Lykovs, to a remote corner of the Sayan - “a taiga dead end,” as Vasily Peskov not very successfully called this place. Our second stay with the Lykovs was longer than the first in 1980. It lasted two weeks - from August 17 to August 30, 1983. Some of the impressions taken from this and subsequent expeditions are described in the notes I made along the way.

Tragedy in the Sayan Mountains

August 13, 1983. We left by train from Krasnoyarsk to the city of Abakan. The composition of the expedition: writer Lev Stepanovich Cherepanov (our leader), artist Elvira Viktorovna Motakova, doctor Nikolai Mikhailovich Gudyma and the author of these notes. On the train, the conversation kept returning to the Lykovs, and Lev Stepanovich and I, who had already visited them in 1980, had to answer many of our comrades’ questions. Nikolai Mikhailovich, as a doctor, was primarily interested in medical problems. I remember that at that time I was very surprised by the fact that the Lykovs did not use table salt in their diet. But it is known that sodium chloride takes an active part in life support, and its deficiency can lead to severe changes in the body, including mental disorders, loss of consciousness, acute cardiovascular failure and death of a person. Medical examination The Lykovs’ last time was complicated by our short stay with them (two days) and, of course, by the fact that their faith (Old Believers) sharply limits contact with “worldly” people. Therefore, those research methods that doctors usually use (palpation, percussion, auscultation, not to mention instrumental methods and taking blood and urine tests) were not applicable in this setting. I had to limit myself to purely external perception and clarifying the anamnesis (history of life and illness). At that time, the Lykov family consisted of five people: father - Karp Osipovich, 84 years old; sons - Savvin, 55 years old; Dmitry, 44 years old and daughters Natalya, 50 years old and Agafya, 39 years old. This age was recorded by me from the words of the Lykovs themselves. In appearance, they all looked 10–15 years younger. Everyone's height is below average: the tallest is Karp Osipovich (approximately 156–158 cm), the shortest is Agafya (148–149 cm). The physique is correct and proportional; no congenital or acquired deformities or defects were identified. There was rapid mobility and increased elasticity movements of all Lykovs (like gymnasts or acrobats). For example, Karp Osipovich, at his advanced age, freely retrieved a fallen object from the ground without bending his knees. Everyone’s gait is free, relaxed, somewhat (especially the daughters) mincing: this is probably easier to walk in the mountains among which they live. Clinical signs hyponatremia ( reduced content sodium), which could be expected given the lack of table salt in the diet, was not observed. The front teeth of all the Lykovs were preserved, but there were deposits of stones on them (they had no habit of brushing their teeth). Karp Osipovich’s speech is correct and understandable; in the rest of the Lykovs, speech articulation is somewhat impaired, which is not due to the presence of any defects in the maxillofacial and respiratory apparatus, but, probably, to the lack of extensive conversational practice and prolonged reading of prayers in a certain style and rhythm . IN mental state No basal deviations were noted. They are balanced, friendly, friendly, talkative, inquisitive, and reason logically. They are spontaneous, like children (with the exception of Karp Osipovich), funny (especially Dmitry and Agafya). Everyone has a good memory, especially Agafya. The Lykovs are noted to be well adapted to the harsh conditions of the Siberian taiga. With us, they walked barefoot at a temperature of -3–5 C, felt free at this temperature in light clothes made of hemp fabric, and dug potatoes with their bare hands from under the snow.

From the stories it was found out that the Lykovs were ill mainly from injuries and “nasties”, sometimes there were “abscesses” (probably associated with skin damage and pollution) and “colds”, and their teeth hurt. The Lykovs are treated with herbs: honeysuckle (honeysuckle), blueberry - “from the stomach”, lingonberry - “from the head”, nettle - “from pressure and blows”, plantain and “yellow flower” - “from abscesses”.

The Lykovs have high physical fitness and endurance. This is evidenced by the enormous amount of work they do and by our individual observations. So, for example, when Karp Osipovich accompanied us from the lower hut to the upper one - the road went almost all the time up a steep mountain - he spoke freely, while the members of our expedition were sweating (at sub-zero temperature air) and could not utter a word due to shortness of breath.

The Lykovs ate twice a day, taking quite a lot of food at one time. Their food usually consisted of potatoes boiled “in their jackets”, a stew made from a handful of wheat, turnips and unpeeled potatoes. Fish (grayling) was consumed infrequently, boiled and dried; meat very rarely (when it was possible to catch a deer or elk in a trap pit). Widely used pine nut V in kind or pine sap - crushed pine nuts with water. Bread is a mixture of flour and crushed potatoes. They didn’t drink tea and didn’t drink boiled water. Tobacco and alcoholic beverages are not used among them - they are prohibited. They don’t have baths, they don’t know soap, they only sometimes rinse their hands with water (more purely symbolically).

“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. Just to 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 turns 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 complete absence 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 are some kind of caterpillars with a luminous back. 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 sick from alcohol - her speech is confused and her hands shake.

Vodka is often brought by hunters, fishermen and just random travelers. Especially in winter, under New Year and a month after, the 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 horse's 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. 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. IN 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.

While some buy or at least rent larger apartments, or move to Moscow, closer to the loudly boiling center of life, others weave bast shoes and go to the taiga - to live in a dugout and eat blueberries. Today is about seven Siberian hermits who chose nature over civilization.

Agafya Lykova

A woman whose name has long become synonymous with forest hermitage. Agafya is the last scion of an Old Believer family, which in the 30s moved away from Soviet power into the taiga wilds. Together with the Lykovs, several other families rushed to the camping trip, but only they showed the necessary tenacity and climbed into such a wilderness where neither Soviet nor any other power had ever existed.

The family lived happily there until surprised geologists stumbled upon them in 1978. Geologists brought matches, stewed meat, the attention of the entire USSR and a whole set of deadly viruses, from which almost all of the Lykovs, who had no immunity, died out.

Only Agafya survived the illness, and today she has become the “star” of the hermit movement. The governors are fighting because of the old woman, they are writing about her scientific research and publish entire dictionaries of words and terms used by her. At the same time, Agafya prefers to live in the forest, observing the covenants of her ancestors and Old Believer traditions.

Antipins

Another family who fled from Soviet power into the forests. True, this time the reason for leaving was not religion, but the general intolerance of city life by the head of the family, Viktor Martsinkevich. In order to more clearly express his attitude towards civilization, Martsinkevich changed his last name to Antipin, the syllable “anti” in which seemed to hint. Having changed his name, Victor persuaded his 15-year-old stepdaughter Anna to go into the forest, where he lived happily with her natural family. This was in 1982.

The Antipins' first child, Severyan, died of a cold in infancy, the second, Ivan, died of encephalitis at the age of 6. After this, the Antipins had another daughter, Olenya, named after the deer that Victor managed to kill for her food.

After the birth of Olenya, the family softened the regime, moving to Biryusa, closer to people. There Victor found a job, and Anna gave birth to three more: Vitya, Misha and Alesya. The Antipins ate pasture and hunting, sewed new clothes from old ones, and generally led a patriarchal lifestyle. In 2002, Anna realized that she was somewhat tired of such a life and took her children to the village of Serebrovo, Taishet district. Victor remained in the forest, where two years later he died of a cold.

Justus Walker

The famous “cheerful milkman” is not only an infectious laugher, but also a real hermit. Today Justas has moved from the Krasnoyarsk Territory to Altai, where the climate is milder, and is building his dream farm there. The hermit is even trying to install his own solar panels in the garden - what an off-grid guy. Walker also built a bridge across the local river, albeit not a crystal one. And now he travels along it in splendid isolation, since the rest of us do not need to cross this stream.

Hermit Victor

Previously, Victor, whose last name is unknown, worked in the Krasnoyarsk port and loaded barges. Over time, the man realized that loading barges was not interesting, and went into the forest to live a simple life and read the Bible. Now he lives 55 kilometers south of Krasnoyarsk in a house he built with his own hands and has no intention of returning to civilization.

Naumkins

The family became famous thanks to their son Orzhan, nicknamed the Altai “Mowgli” by the press. True, this title is clearly made up, since the local Mowgli, unlike the Indian prototype, does not dance with wolves and does not shred monkeys with an iron tooth, but quite calmly communicates with people and even uses cell phone. His parents, Elena and Alexander, went to the forest in the early 90s for esoteric reasons.

In the forest they led a standard lifestyle for hermits: they ate little, worked a lot, and lived in a dugout. When their son was offered to move to the city and he agreed, they did not resist.

Yuri Glushchenko

Perhaps the most boring hermit from this top. No religious fanaticism, no close family ties, no pathological aversion to technology, not even that Italian cheese of yours. Just a physically and mentally healthy hard-working man who lives in the taiga of the Novosibirsk region, grows a garden, watches TV and doesn’t give a damn about civilization.

Yakut hermit

A man whose name no one knows. A 75-year-old grandfather with a record of drug convictions, an escape from prison, and a subsequent 10-year sentence. He lives in Yakutia in a hut with a young Yakut woman, breeds horses, and is treated with dandelions. Despite his solitary life, already as a hermit he managed to fall in love so unsuccessfully that he shot himself twice. True, he shot just as unsuccessfully as he twisted the cupids, so he survived. Nothing more is known about him.

According to general ideas, there are two types of classical hermits: Robinson Crusoe, who was stranded as a result of a shipwreck, and people who became hermits by choice. In the Russian tradition, voluntary hermitage is associated with Orthodox faith, and most often they become monks. In the 70s, in the Sayan taiga, they found a family of Russian Old Believers, the Lykovs, who had gone into the wilderness from a world that had lost its faith. The last representative of the family, Agafya Lykova, might have disposed of her life differently, but history does not turn back.

Various discoveries of geologists

The development of the taiga in Russia has always followed its own course, and usually slowly. Therefore, a huge forest area is still a region where you can easily hide, get lost, but it’s difficult to survive. Some people are not afraid of difficulties. In August 1978, helicopter pilots from a geological expedition, flying over the taiga along a gorge in search of a place to land, unexpectedly discovered a cultivated plot of land - a vegetable garden. The helicopter pilots reported the discovery to the expedition, and soon geologists arrived at the site.

From the Lykovs’ place of residence to the nearest settlement there are 250 kilometers of impassable taiga, these are still little-explored lands of Khakassia. The meeting was amazing for both sides; some could not believe in its possibility, while others (the Lykovs) did not want to. Here is what geologist Pismenskaya writes in her notes about the meeting with the family: “And only then did we see the silhouettes of two women. One was hysterical and prayed: “This is for our sins, for our sins...” The other, holding onto the pole... slowly sank to the floor. The light from the window fell on her widened, mortally frightened eyes, and we realized: we must quickly go outside. The head of the family, Karp Lykov, and his two daughters were in the house at that moment.” The entire family of hermits numbered five people.

History of the Lykovs

At the time of the meeting of two civilizations in the taiga wilderness, there were five people in the Lykov family: father Karp Osipovich, two sons - Savin and Dmitry, two daughters - Natalya and the smartest Agafya Lykova. The mother of the family died in 1961. The history of hermitage began long before the Lykovs, with the reformation of Peter I, when a schism began in the church. Rus' has always been a devout believer, and part of the population did not want to accept clergymen who brought changes to the dogmas of faith. This is how a new caste of believers emerged, who were later called “chapels.” The Lykovs belonged to them.

The family of Sayan hermits did not leave the “world” immediately. At the beginning of the twentieth century, they lived on their own farm in the village of Tishi, on the Bolshoi Abakan River. Life was solitary, but in contact with fellow villagers. The way of life was peasant, imbued with a deep religious feeling and the inviolability of the principles of early Orthodoxy. The revolution did not reach these places immediately; the Lykovs did not read newspapers, so they knew nothing about the situation in the country. We learned about global government changes from fugitive peasants who fled from extortion to a remote corner of the taiga, in the hope that the Soviet government would not get there. But one day, in 1929, a party worker appeared with the task of organizing an artel from local settlers.

The bulk of the population belonged to the Old Believers, and they did not want to tolerate violence against themselves. Some of the residents, and with them the Lykovs, moved to a new location, not far from the village of Tishi. Then they communicated with the locals, took part in the construction of a hospital in the village, and went to the store for small purchases. In the places where the large Lykov clan lived at that time, a nature reserve was formed in 1932, which prevented any possibility of fishing, plowing the land, or hunting. Karp Lykov was already there at that time married man, the first son appeared in the family - Savin.

40 years of solitude

The Doukhoborism of the new authorities took on more radical forms. One day, on the edge of the village where the Lykovs lived, the elder brother of the father of the family of future hermits was killed by security forces. By this time, a daughter, Natalya, appeared in the family. The Old Believers community was defeated, and the Lykovs went even further into the taiga. They lived without hiding until, in 1945, detachments of border guards came to the house, looking for deserters. This was the reason for another relocation to a more remote area of ​​the taiga.

At first, as Agafya Lykova said, they lived in a hut. To modern man it is difficult to imagine how to survive in such conditions. In Khakassia, the snow melts in May, and the first frosts arrive in September. The house was cut down later. It consisted of one room in which all family members lived. When the sons grew up, they were moved to a separate village eight kilometers from their first home.

In the year when geologists and Old Believers crossed paths, the eldest Lykov was approximately 79 years old, the eldest son Savin was 53 years old, the second son Dmitry was 40 years old, the eldest daughter Natalya was 44 years old, and the youngest Agafya Lykova had 36 years behind her. The age figures are very approximate; no one undertakes to name the exact years of birth. The mother was the first to do chronology in the family, and then Agafya learned how to do it. She was the youngest and most gifted in the family. The children received all ideas about the outside world mainly from their father, for whom Tsar Peter I was a personal enemy. Storms swept over the country, tectonic changes occurred: the bloodiest war was won, radio and television were in every home, Gagarin flew into space, the era of nuclear energy began, and the Lykovs remained with the way of life of pre-Petrine times with the same chronology. According to the Old Believer calendar, they were found in 7491.

For scientists and philosophers, a family of Old Believers-hermits is a real treasure, an opportunity to understand the Old Russian Slavic way of life, already lost in the historical course of time. The news of a unique family that survived not in the warm climate of the banana islands, but in the harsh reality of untouched Siberia, spread throughout the entire Union. Many rushed there, but as almost always happens, the desire to break down a phenomenon into atoms in order to gain understanding, to do good, or to bring one’s vision into someone else’s life brings trouble. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” I had to remember this phrase a few years later, but by that time the Lykov family had lost three.

Closed life

The geologists who found the Lykovs at their first meeting gave the family useful things that are necessary in this harsh region. Not everything was accepted unambiguously. Many products were “not possible” for the Lykovs. All types of canned food and bread were subject to rejection; the usual table salt. For forty years, cut off from the world, she was not on the table, and this, according to Karp Lykov, was painful. Doctors visiting the family were surprised good condition health. The emergence of large numbers of people has led to increased susceptibility to disease. Being far from society, none of the Lykovs had immunity to the most, in our opinion, harmless diseases.

The hermits’ diet consisted of home-baked bread, it included wheat and dry potatoes, pine nuts, berries, herbs, roots and mushrooms. Sometimes fish was served at the table, but there was no meat. Only when son Dmitry grew up did meat become available. Dmitry showed himself to be a hunter, but in his arsenal there were no firearms, no bow, no spear. He drove the animal into snares, traps, or simply chasing the game to the point of exhaustion, while he himself could be in constant motion for several days. According to him, without much fatigue.

The entire Lykov family had enviable traits for many contemporaries - endurance, youthfulness, hard work. Scientists who conducted observations of their life and way of life said that in terms of their way of life and farming, the Lykovs can be considered exemplary peasants who have attended a higher agricultural school. The seed fund was replenished with selected samples, soil preparation and plant distribution on the mountain slopes in relation to the sun were ideal.

Their health was excellent, although the potatoes had to be dug out from under the snow. Before the frosts, everyone walked barefoot; in winter, shoes were made from birch bark until they learned how to make skins. A set of medicinal herbs and knowledge about their use helped to avoid diseases and cope with existing diseases. The family was constantly on the brink of survival, and they did it successfully. Agafya Lykova, according to eyewitnesses, at the age of forty, easily climbed the tops of tall trees to knock down cones, and covered distances of eight kilometers between settlements several times a day.

All the younger members of the family, thanks to their mother, were taught to read and write. They read in Old Church Slavonic and spoke the same language. Agafya Lykova knows all the prayers from a thick prayer book, knows how to write and knows how to count in Old Church Slavonic, where numbers are indicated by letters. Everyone who knows her notes her openness, strength of character, which is not based on bragging, stubbornness and the desire to insist on her own.

Expanding the circle of family acquaintances

After the first contact with the outside world, the closed way of life began to crack. Members of the geological party, who first encountered the Lykovs, invited the family to move to the nearest village. The idea was not to their liking, but the hermits still came to visit the expedition. New items technical progress aroused curiosity and interest among the younger generation. So Dmitry, who had to deal with construction most of all, liked the tools of the sawmill. Minutes were spent cutting logs on an electric circular saw, and he had to spend several days on similar work.

Gradually, many benefits of civilization began to be accepted. Axes, clothes, simple kitchen utensils, and a flashlight came to the yard. Television was sharply rejected as “demonic”; after a short viewing, family members prayed fervently. In general, prayer and Orthodox holidays, reverence for church rules occupied most of the hermits’ life. Dmitry and Savin wore headdresses that resembled monastic hoods. After the first contact, the Lykovs were already expecting guests and were glad to see them, but communication had to be earned.

In 1981, in one winter, three Lykovs passed away one after another: Savin, Natalya and Dmitry. During the same period, Agafya Lykova was seriously ill, but her younger body coped with the illness. Some suggest that the cause of death for three family members was contact with the outside world, where viruses came from to which they had no immunity.

For seven years, the writer Vasily Mikhailovich Peskov constantly came to visit them; his stories formed the basis of the book “Taiga Dead End”. Also, publications about the Lykovs are made by the doctor observing the family, Igor Pavlovich Nazarov. Subsequently, several were filmed documentaries, many articles have been written. Many residents of the USSR offered their help, they wrote letters, sent many parcels with useful things, many wanted to come. One winter, a man they barely knew lived with the Lykovs. Based on their memories of him, we can conclude that he pretended to be an Old Believer, but in reality he clearly suffered mental illness. Fortunately, everything was resolved successfully.

The Last of the Lykovs

The biography of Agafya Lykova is unique; perhaps, there are more women of such fate in modern history not to meet. Whether the father regretted that his children lived without a family and no one had children, one can only guess. According to Nazarov’s recollections, the sons sometimes contradicted their father; Dmitry, before his death, did not want to accept the last church rite during his lifetime. Such behavior became possible only after the invasion of the hermitage of external life with its stormy changes.

Karp Lykov died in February 1988, from that moment Agafya remained to live on the farm alone. She was repeatedly offered to move to a more comfortable conditions, but she considers her wilderness to be saving for soul and body. Once, in the presence of Doctor Nazarov, she dropped a phrase about modern medical practice, which boiled down to the fact that doctors treat the body and at the same time cripple the soul.

Left completely alone, she attempted to settle in an Old Believer monastery, but disagreements with her sisters on fundamental issues forced Agafya to return to hermitage. She also had experience living with relatives, of whom there were many, but even here the relationship did not work out. Today it is visited by many expeditions and private individuals. Many people are trying to help her, but often this is more like an invasion of her personal life. She does not like photography and videography, considering it sinful, but her desire stops few people. Her home is now the lonely skete of the Most Holy Theotokos of Three Hands, where one nun, Agafya Lykova, lives. Taiga is the best fence against uninvited guests, and for many curious people this is truly an insurmountable obstacle.

Attempts to socialize with modernity

In 2013, the hermit Agafya Lykova realized that surviving in the taiga alone was not just difficult, but impossible. Then she wrote a letter to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Krasnoyarsk Worker” V. Pavlovsky. In it she described her plight and asked for help. By this time, the governor of the region, Alman Tuleyev, was already concerned about her fate. Food, medicine, and household items are regularly delivered to her care. But the situation required intervention: it was necessary to prepare firewood, hay for animals, and repair buildings, and this assistance was provided in full.

The biography of Agafya Lykova blossomed for a short period in her proximity to the newly-minted hermit. Geologist Erofey Sedov, who worked as part of the expedition that found the Lykovs, decided to settle a hundred meters from Agafya’s house. After gangrene, his leg was lost. A house was built for him under the mountain, the hermit’s hut was located at the top, and Agafya often went down to help the disabled person. But the relationship did not last long; he died in 2015. Agafya was left alone again.

How Agafya Lykova lives now

After a series of deaths in the family, at the request of doctors, access to borrowing was limited. To get to Lykova, you need a pass, and there was a queue for this opportunity. Due to her advanced years, helpers from Old Believers’ families are constantly placed with the hermit, but they say Agafya has a complex character, and few can stand it for more than a month. On her farm there are a large number of cats who have mastered the forest thickets well and hunt not only mice, but also snakes, and undertake long expeditions between farm houses, located at long distances from each other. There are also several goats and dogs - and all require care and large supplies of provisions, given the severity of the local winter.

Where is Agafya Lykova now? At home, on a farmstead in the Sayan wilderness. In January 2016, she was admitted to a hospital in the city of Tashtagol, where she was treated necessary help. After the course of treatment, the hermit went home.

Many have already come to the conclusion that the Lykov family, Agafya herself, are symbols of the Russian spirit, not spoiled by civilization, not weakened by consumer philosophy and mythical luck. Nobody knows whether people of the new generation will be able to survive in difficult conditions, while not breaking down spiritually, not turning into wild animals in relation to each other.

Agafya Lykova retained a clear mind, a pure view of the world and its essence. Her kindness is evidenced by the fact that she feeds wild animals in times of famine, as was the case with the wolf who settled in her garden. Deep faith helps her live, and she does not have the doubts characteristic of a civilized person about the appropriateness of Orthodoxy. She herself says: “I want to die here. Where should I go? I don't know if there are Christians left anywhere else in this world. Most likely, there aren’t many of them left.”