List of Soviet films of 1936

Transcription

[MUSIC PLAYING] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] JOHN MARTIN: Agafia Lykov is one of Russia's Old Believers, an ultra-orthodox sect of Christianity that still exists in small communities around the world today. Fearing oppression and death at the hands of Stalin, Agafia's father Karp fled with his family into the Sayan Mountains of Siberia in 1936. Agafia was born into this harsh wilderness in 1944. The Lykov family lived undisturbed for 40 years, building a life in an environment where the winter temperatures commonly dipped to minus 30, the summer growing season is short, and bears and wolves roam in abundance. However, food was always scarce. And in 1961, Agafia's mother Akulina starved herself to death so that her children would have enough food to eat. The area they settled in is currently over 160 miles from the nearest town. In summer, it's possible to reach the Lykov's cabin by a seven-day canoe trip. In winter, while we had heard rumors of a treacherous snowmobile route, it is virtually inaccessible by anything other than helicopter. In 1978, a team of Russian geologists spotted the Lykov's hillside farm from their helicopter. They later hiked in to meet them. It was the first contact with outsiders that the Lykovs had in over 40 years, and it marked the end of their isolation. Since that initial visit, the Lykovs have become famous in Russia as the family of Siberian hermits who didn't know that World War II took place. They also suffered unspeakable tragedy when the three elder children all died within weeks of each other, presumably from pneumonia contracted from a visit by the geologists. Agafia's father Karp later died in 1988, 27 years to the day after his wife passed away. Despite sporadic visitors over the years, Agafia lived alone until 1997, when one of the geologists, a man named Yerofei Sedov, moved to a cabin down the hill from her. So now, 35 years after their first contact, Agafia is the only Lykov left, living the same way she has since she was born and the only way she knows how, off the land, in one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth. Our journey to meet Agafia began with a 10-hour red-eye flight from New York to Moscow. Arriving in the morning, we met up with Gleb Lisichkin, the editor of Vice Russia, who would act as our host and translator. We then hopped on another flight to the city of Abakan, which is right in the middle of the country, just north of the Mongolian border. Abakan is the capital the Khakassia region, and with 165,000 residents is modern, but by no means a teeming metropolis. We then met Igor, an employee of the Parks Department, who would be accompanying us to see Agafia. JOHN MARTIN: We used this time to check out the town. Whew. Ouch. The call finally came, so we jumped in a van and drove several hours south to the Shushenskoye. JOHN MARTIN: However, by the time we arrived some severe weather came and grounded our helicopter for another night. The unexpected delay gave us time to buy some things that were on Agafia's wish list, namely a goat and rooster. On the third morning, the weather had slightly cleared, and we were able to board the helicopter. Despite some technical difficulties, which made us second guess our choice of aircraft, by that afternoon we were finally in the air on the final leg of our journey. As civilization dropped away and the taiga grew, we made an unexpected stop in a snow-covered field to pick up Sergei, a Parks Department official who spends most of his time living in the mountains and has grown to know Agafia over his years there. Siberia is a region in the middle of Russia, covering about 5 million square miles, an area nearly one and a half times larger than the United States. The area is sparsely populated, with few major cities like Abakan, and is mostly comprised of large swaths of untouched land called taiga, a subarctic forest known for extreme cold and massive amounts of wildlife. It was into this taiga that Agafia's father led his family in 1937. We landed on the frozen river, unloaded our gear and gift animals, and went to meet Agafia and Yerofei. -[SPEAKING RUSSIAN] JOHN MARTIN: The helicopter left and would only return in several days time if the weather was good. Hiking out wouldn't be an option. AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] SERGEI KHLEBNIKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] JOHN MARTIN: Despite being 70 years old, Agafia is energetic. She gardens, fishes, forages, cuts and stacks firewood all by herself. But it does take a lot to keep up with her daily chores. So she put Gleb to work. SERGEI KHLEBNIKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] YEROFEI SEDOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] YEROFEI SEDOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] SERGEI KHLEBNIKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] SERGEI KHLEBNIKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] YEROFEI SEDOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] IGOR EGOROV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] AGAFIA LYKOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] YEROFEI SEDOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN] JOHN MARTIN: Agafia has lived her entire life in the remote taiga. Aside from a handful of times going into the city, she's never left. She has survived, alone and off the land, with untarnished optimism and even taking care of another person in this harshest of environments. Despite the sporadic intrusion of the outside world in the form of visitors, government, media, and falling rocket debris, Agafia's daily life remains mostly unchanged. Her continued existence proves that it's possible for humans to live alone in environments as difficult as this. There were once many Old Believers living in the Siberian wilderness. And as we flew over the vast, empty taiga, it was not hard to imagine that somewhere there may well be more people like Agafia. [MUSIC PLAYING]