The remote freezing-cold forests of Siberia

The remote freezing-cold forests of Siberia

In 1978, a helicopter was flying over the remote freezing-cold forests of Siberia—150 miles from the nearest settlement—attempting to find a spot to land a team of geologists, when the pilot suddenly spotted what appeared to be a garden and clear evidence of human habitation. Upon further examination, the team of geologists discovered an isolated cabin and a family living in the remote dwelling. But who were these people and why did they live in the freezing-cold wilderness so far from civilization? This is the story of the Lykov family.

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During the 1930s, Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union and under his rule religions were threatened with persecution. This was a precarious and dangerous time for anyone who held religious beliefs.

The Lykov family lived in the village of Lykovo in the Bolshesosnovsky District in Russia. The family members were Karp and his wife Akulina, and their two children, a son named Savin and a two-year-old daughter named Natalia. They were Old Believers (Eastern Orthodox Christians). Old Believers had been persecuted in Russia since the days of Peter the Great (1682 – 1725). During Stalin's time in power Old Believers were again under threat.

In 1936, Karp's brother was shot dead by a Soviet patrol and the family decided to flee into the wild for safety from Stalin's terror. They packed their belongings and some seeds and fled into the frozen wilderness of southern Siberia where they lived in partial isolation from the outside world for 42 years. The family lived off the land, built their own small wooden cabin and struggled through the cold winters with temperatures well below freezing. During this time two more children were born: Dmitry in 1940 and Agafia who was born in a hollowed out pine washtub in 1944, and all this in the wild, 150 miles from civilization. 

Dmitry, like Agafia, was born in the wild and he developed into a very good hunter who helped the family. He "built up astonishing endurance, and could hunt barefoot in winter, sometimes returning to the hut after several days, having slept in the open in 40 degrees of frost, a young elk across his shoulders. More often than not, though, there was no meat, and their diet gradually became more monotonous."¹ During a particularly tough period, in 1961, the family suffered famine and Akulina sacrificed herself so her children could eat and thus she died from starvation.

When the family was discovered in 1978, geologist Galina Pismenskaya described what happened as the team approached the cabin:

"Beside a stream there was a dwelling. Blackened by time and rain, the hut was piled up on all sides with taiga rubbish—bark, poles, planks. If it hadn’t been for a window the size of my backpack pocket, it would have been hard to believe that people lived there. But they did, no doubt about it. ... Our arrival had been noticed, as we could see. The low door creaked, and the figure of a very old man emerged into the light of day, straight out of a fairy tale. Barefoot. Wearing a patched and repatched shirt made of sacking. He wore trousers of the same material, also in patches, and had an uncombed beard. His hair was disheveled. He looked frightened and was very attentive. ... We had to say something, so I began: ‘Greetings, grandfather! We’ve come to visit!’The old man did not reply immediately. ... Finally, we heard a soft, uncertain voice: 'Well, since you have traveled this far, you might as well come in.'"

The geologists talked to the family and said that the daughters spoke a language "distorted by a lifetime of isolation." According to them, the Lykov children had heard of cities and countries but could only imagine what they looked like and they knew nothing of World War ll. 

The family's main form of entertainment throughout their isolation was talking about their dreams to one another.

Eventually the family of five became two, after three of the children died. In 1988 Karp also died, leaving Agafia alone. She survives to this day and has lived out in the wilderness for 78 years.

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Photograph of three members of the Lykov family: Karp and his two daughters Agafia and Natalia, and below, the Lykov cabin.

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