40 Years of Isolation

At some point in our lives, most of us have dreamt about leaving everything behind and escaping to an island where no one can find us. After all, sometimes, you just need a break from the world. Most of us snap out of these daydreams. But not everyone…

In 1978, a group of geologists in a helicopter discovered something astonishing. Deep in the woods, 250 kilometers away from the nearest village, they found a father and his five children living alone in a tiny log cabin.

Slowly, the family’s story came out. They introduced themselves as the Lykov family and explained that they were members of a religious sect called the Old Believers. The Old Believers had been persecuted in Russia, and most members of the sect had fled to Siberia to find safety.

The Lykov family fled even farther than most in their search for refuge. In 1936, the family’s father, Karp Lykov, took his family deep into the forests of Siberia and never looked back. By the time the geologists arrived, the Lykovs hadn’t seen a human outside of their family for over 40 years.

Their isolation was so complete, they didn’t even know that World War II had come and gone. They had entered the woods with some clothes and some seeds, but these lasted only a few years. After that, they lived entirely off of the land. They made tools and pots out of tree bark, built their home from fallen logs and moss, and survived off of dried potatoes, grass, and seeds.

The Lykov children knew almost nothing about the world they left behind. Most of what they learned about the outside world came from the stories of their parents. When they met the geologists, everything changed. They discovered television, flashlights, plastic tools, and seemingly everyday things like salt and pepper. Finally, the world outside their family became a reality. And life became a whole lot easier.

But the amazing thing about the Lykovs is that they never wanted to leave their wilderness home. Even after they were reintroduced to the comforts and technologies of the modern world, they chose to stay put. Although most of the family has died, one of the daughters, Agafia, remains in the forest to this day. She lives alone in a small cabin, isolated from the world and has only visited the city five times.

When asked why she doesn’t move to civilization, she answered, “It’s scary out there.” In a land full of wild bears and wolves, and some of the harshest winters on earth, most would say the opposite. However, Agafia has found peace and safety in the harsh and isolated wilderness of Siberia. Perhaps the notion of peace and safety is a lot more subjective than we think.

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