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Russian Family So Isolated for 40 Years They Hadn’t Even Heard of WWII

Jan. 30, 2013 11:58am

For 40 years, a family, after fleeing religious persecution, isolated themselves 150 miles from the nearest civilization 6,000 feet on the side of a mountain in the Siberian taiga. One living family member continues out life as a hermit there.

You might have heard of the Lykov family before — a book about them was published in 1994 — but if not, Smithsonian Magazine has a fascinating feature about five people cut off from human contact for so long they didn’t even know that World War II had happened.

The Lykov’s were Old Believers, a Russian Orthodox sect that had seen hundreds of years of religious persecution. The family lived in a village until the mid-1930s when they fled after a relative was killed by a Soviet. This was in 1936 and the family wasn’t discovered until 1978 when a helicopter seeking a spot to land with geologists saw their settlement, Smithsonian described. The scientists, at a base 10 miles away, decided to investigate the family.

Lykov Family Lived Isolated Without Human Contact in Siberia for 40 Years

The Lykov’s isolated home. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Researcher Galina Pismenskaya recalled that they ”chose a fine day and put gifts in our packs for our prospective friends [...] I did check the pistol that hung at my side,” Smithsonian reported.

When the team of four arrived at the Lykov family’s one-room hut, they described it as like a “fairy tale” when an old, barefoot man, who was Karp Lykov, came out the door. The researchers greeted him and he eventually said to them quietly “Well, since you have traveled this far, you might as well come in.”

The other inhabitants of the home were so frightened by the visitors that the researchers retreated back outside. Smithsonian explains that eventually the family came outside. Over the course of several visits, the story of the Lykov’s and the extent of how long they had been isolated emerged.

Lykov Family Lived Isolated Without Human Contact in Siberia for 40 Years

Agafia Lykov and her father Karp wearing clothes that were given to them after they were found living isolated in the Russian taiga. (Photo: www.errata-n-m.chat.ru via Russiapedia)

Smithsonian reported Pismenskaya recalling anecdotes that showed the result of the Lykov daughters being isolated their entire life:

When Pismenskaya asked, “Have you ever eaten bread?” the old man answered: “I have. But they have not. They have never seen it.” At least he was intelligible. The daughters spoke a language distorted by a lifetime of isolation. “When the sisters talked to each other, it sounded like a slow, blurred cooing.”

Given the harsh conditions of the environment, not to mention hardship that comes with isolation, how did the family manage to survive? Here are a couple examples Smithsonian Magazine included in its feature:

  • Birch-bark was made into galoshes. Cloth when needed for clothes was made from hemp grown from seed.
  • The family used metal kettles until they rusted beyond use. Then they turned to birch-bark again, but this was difficult to use with flame. Their main diet was potato patties that included ground rye and hemp seed. A variety of berries and nuts were easily found as well. In the 1950s when the son was old enough, the family began trapping animals.
Lykov Family Lived Isolated Without Human Contact in Siberia for 40 Years

Items inside the Lykov’s home. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Even with this food though, Smithsonian pointed out they were frequently on the brink of starvation.

Smithsonian goes on to explain that with more frequent visits from the geologists and Russian journalist Vasily Peskov, who chronicled much about the life of the family, the personalities of the Lykov’s became known and they in turn began to accept more and more modern gifts — salt, eating utensils, food, eventually an electric lamp.

But it wasn’t long after the family re-established modern contact that it began to impact them negatively. Smithsonian reported three of the four children died within a few days of each other from kidney failure and pneumonia, not due foreign illnesses as might have been expected Peskov said.

Smithsonian reported that the geologists tried to get the two remaining family members — Karp and Agafia — to rejoin relatives that survived the persecution in old villages but they refused. Karp died in 1988 and Agafia remained living isolated in the wilderness. In 2010,  RT reported that in her older age, Agafia has been accepting more visitors, but she won’t leave or go to a hospital.

Lykov Family Lived Isolated Without Human Contact in Siberia for 40 Years

Agafia has a newer homestead than what she grew up in but she still leads an isolated life. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Be sure to read Smithsonian Magazine’s full feature on the family for more details here.

(H/T: Gizmodo)

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Comments (72)

1 2
  • Advection
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 8:27pm

    Lucky people!

    Report this comment

    Advection  
    • OlderCowGirl
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 10:59pm

      What a hard life they lived. I know. But they lived in peace and paid no taxes, utility bills, or house payments.

      My husband and I live very rural. No TV, anymore. Only cell phones/internet. I wish both of those would go away (Someday). We’ll always have property taxes as long as Govt in business.

      We grow all our own food (meat (beef, lamb, goat, chicken, eggs) and grow our own fruits and veggies. We can and dry our foods. We can make our own fuels (ethanol from grains, and diesel-like fuel from fats). Horses will replace tractor. We grow our own grains for farm animals. I save our own garden seeds. We live on a creek and have access to plentiful firewood. Only have a wood stove for heat. Did I mention that we only live on 10 acres? We’ve built greenhouses. Sheds. Gardens. We read instead of watch TV. For now, we keep up on the world via evening internet (hubby’s hobby).

      Been working hard for 4 years now to be self reliant. In 2008 I saw what was coming. We want peace, but vigorously defend. We trade with neighbors. We have income for 1 more year (then retire). Ya can’t eat money. We make our own pumps and drill for our own water. Fencing already done. Saved some silver coin…but ya can’t eat coins.

      Folks… learn self sufficiency. Imagine no money and no electricity. Survival and living simply is a dying art. My goal is to never know when a depression hits. I have nice things in my home, but it’s worthless stuff. Remember B

      Report this comment

      OlderCowGirl  
  • Col. HawK
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 7:54pm

    I believe it….

    Report this comment

    Col. HawK  
  • VetMike
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 6:11pm

    Can anyone else see themselves in these shoes? Scary. I just hope I have the stamina and fortitude they showed and survive.

    Report this comment

    VetMike  
  • GCT
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 4:28pm

    News from 1994 in 2013? How long until we are caught up?

    Report this comment

    GCT  
  • raderby
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 3:13pm

    WWII 70 years ago.

    Report this comment

    raderby  
  • hades3
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 2:52pm

    The message here : They were forced too leave their homes due to government tyranny . We are looking at the future of those who exercise their right to worship, unless they worship “Government Approved Gods.” Obama comes too mind !

    Report this comment

    hades3  
  • FaithfulFriend
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 2:08pm

    Today, most American 5th graders don’t about WWII either. And if they do know something, it’s most likely wrong.

    Plus far too many American 5th graders would love to wear clothes made from hemp and eat hemp seats while smoking hemp.

    Most Americans can’t make bread and don’t know how and they isolate themselves from others while just pretending they’re socialized.

    But if you put most Americans in that environment, they’d be crazy within the month if they lived that long.

    Report this comment

    FaithfulFriend  
  • jackact
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:21pm

    Are you listening Obama?
    Totalitarianism is not working out worldwide.
    …Russians unaware of WWII.
    ….North Koreans unaware of groceries.
    ….Iranians unaware of gays.
    …..Cubans unaware of freedom of speech.
    ….Venezuelans unaware of newspapers/TV/radio
    …..Egyptians unaware of Jews (under Morsi).
    ……Somalians unaware of bath water.
    …..Mexico, yes Mexico, unaware of ‘fast & furious’

    Report this comment

    jackact  
    • FISH_BONE
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:29pm

      The French unaware of bathing, deodorant and general hygiene.
      The British unaware of toothpaste, flossing, dentists and how to cook.

      Report this comment

      FISH_BONE  
    • Detroit paperboy
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:39pm

      The welfare zombie class unaware of a work ethic…………..

      Report this comment

      Detroit paperboy  
    • Lloyd Drako
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 2:00pm

      Jackact unaware that these Russians are ignorant of WWII precisely because they “seceded” from Soviet totalitarianism.

      Report this comment

      Lloyd Drako  
    • jackact
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 2:33pm

      @Lloyd Drako-
      Jackact is aware that the cold war is on again, per Gangster Putin.
      Jackact is aware that Russia only produces weaponry as its sole export.
      Jackact is aware that Russia, like China, is running out of oil.
      Jackact wishes you and yours all the best with your new found ‘independence’.
      Good luck with unchecked Muslim terrorism too.

      Report this comment

      jackact  
  • Mercury7
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:10pm

    When the holy one in the white house declares his decision to become president for life, it will be time to start looking for such a place. Those in the east should look to Canada’s million square miles of wilderness park lands. The rest of the country should head West to the wilderness that the environmentalists have procured for us. However you will have to live more primative than these Russians. Thats the law and the nanny state will find you. Who am I kidding? Very few of todays US slaves could live without their iphone or eat meat that didn’t come from Oscarmyer or Amour. Looks like civilization as we knew it is doomed.

    Report this comment

    Mercury7  
  • spfoam1
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:06pm

    Agafia Lykov has a familiar smile. Will the Clintons ever admit their true ancestry?

    Report this comment

    spfoam1  
    • John.Galt
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:18pm

      I think you have it wrong. It’s Obama that claimed he had an uncle that “was one of the first on the scene to free Auschwitz…” Well, the first on the scene, the people that freed Auschwitz, were RUSSIANS!

      Report this comment

      John.Galt  
  • HLGarret
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:06pm

    Ask Randy Weaver about his attempt to live alone at Ruby Ridge!

    Report this comment

    HLGarret  
    • FISH_BONE
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:23pm

      My point exactly in my previous post. Northern Idaho has a lot of wild areas but there is no way you could isolate yourself even there for more than a few weeks to a month before someone ran across your spot.

      Report this comment

      FISH_BONE  
  • FISH_BONE
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:54pm

    I have often considered doing the same thing. Unfortunately, I do not believe there is a large enough “empty” space in the United States for someone to do this. There is a lot of empty space in the western states (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona) but nowhere near enough to stay isolated for more than a month at best.

    Report this comment

    FISH_BONE  
    • BARRYS_BEARD
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:03pm

      The largest empty space I have found in Nevada is between Harry Reid’s ears; however, I certainly wouldn’t want to live in that cesspool of humanity.

      Report this comment

      BARRYS_BEARD  
    • whatthecrazy
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 9:52pm

      @Barrys Beard………… omg that is funny!

      Report this comment

      whatthecrazy  
  • busterpuddles
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:50pm

    I’d always dreamed of living remotely off of the land. I don’t know how to produce the meds I need to stay alive in order to do that.

    Report this comment

    busterpuddles  
  • busterpuddles
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:48pm

    SOCKMONKEY either does not read well or did not comprehend. They had not heard of WWII, therefore, they had left civilization in 1936 BEFORE WWII began which roughly in 1939.

    It is truly a shame that those researchers found them. They’d killed a couple of them by corrupting their lives.

    Report this comment

    busterpuddles  
  • DIR
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:42pm

    “Russian Family So Isolated for 40 Years They Hadn’t Even Heard of WWII”

    Say what? The 2nd world war end over 67 years ago, or have I been living in an alternate universe? If so I’m not as old as I thought.

    Report this comment

    DIR  
  • Thighmaster
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:35pm

    Within hours after being visited they were slapped with back taxes and cited for numerous violations of laws they never knew existed. Additionally the rich were taxed even more so that the government could bring them up to the standards of middle class citizens. and so on and so on and so on…..

    Report this comment

    Thighmaster  
  • Thundergod
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:28pm

    I envy these people. To be that self sufficient and not need to rely on society to live. True freedom. I wanted to be just like Jeremiah Johnson. I wish instead of being forced into the public school system I could have learned the things from my father and uncles to make me a self sufficient man and capable of living a life of freedom instead of learning to be a dependent of the state. Now what used to be our farmland is a trailer park and I am a housecat instead of a mountain lion.

    Report this comment

    Thundergod  
  • Lloyd Drako
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:25pm

    We often don’t really appreciate how big Russia is–half the surface area of the moon, much of it nearly as empty. It’s easy for people to get lost there, and whole communities have historically done so deliberately. It’s also easy to “revert” to hunting, trapping, fishing, berry and mushrom picking, and so on, with agriculture as a mere sideline. In some ways the exaggerated pretensions of the state–whether Tsarist, Communist or Putinist–have been meant to counter the terrifying possibility that the whole people might just vanish into endless forest and steppe unless they were subject to very severe prohibition and penalties. Even so, note that the Lykovs took off into the wilderness at the very height of Stalin’s terror! If an endless frontier in America is supposed to have nurtured freedom and individualism and limited government, isn’t it odd that in Russia it had the opposite effect?

    Report this comment

    Lloyd Drako  
  • RealAmerican2
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:21pm

    I don’t understand why the sisters didn’t speak in a normal Russian language. Their parents spoke Russian, and naturally children pick up language just from hearing it. I find their inability to speak in an intelligible language ridiculous! And hemp seeds were part of their survival? They must have been *high* most of the time!!!

    Report this comment

    RealAmerican2  
    • Meemster
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:39pm

      I would imagine there was not a lot of conversation going on. What was said between husband and wife was probably in whispered tones. The girls kept to themselves and created their own language. If you think about something you can come to an understanding of what happened. I also think the parents spent a fair amount of time trying to scratch out a living, leaving the girls alone.

      Report this comment

      Meemster  
    • Dano.50
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:48pm

      Actually, there are hemp plants that have little in common with marijuana.

      Hemp is a very tough fiber, and even here in the 60′s police friends have told me one mj joint was equivalent to a bottle of beer.

      Now, with all the breeding programs, a joint’s about like a six pack.

      Much as I don’t care for the greenie weenie David Suzuki, he had a show on a few weeks ago about these super mj plants. Apparently the chemicals that get users high, and the ones that keep users mellow, are not one and the same, and the potency chemicals have come at the mellow ones.

      Frequent users are now beginning to suffer from paranoia and schizophrenia.

      Report this comment

      Dano.50  
    • BARRYS_BEARD
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:00pm

      I’m not sure if they had books, but I’m guessing the did not. Any language that isn’t in written form for future generations will soon die. This is a prime example.

      Report this comment

      BARRYS_BEARD  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:13pm

      Dano.50
      Apparently the chemicals that get users high, and the ones that keep users mellow, are not one and the same, and the potency chemicals have come at the (expense of the ) mellow ones
      ***
      That is news to me, but not unexpected. Kind of like breeding purebreds for looks & such& ending up with an idiot. It is hard to control all genes at the same time.

      I’ll have to look it up & let my kids know. I am sure people will lie to them & point to 60s hipsters & say it does not adversely affect your health.

      Report this comment

      Walkabout  
    • Firefight
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 2:14pm

      You can’t get high from hemp. It’s not marijuana. In all actuality, it’s very good for you. You can buy raw, hulled hemp seeds at the grocery store. They make a good addition to trail mixes because they are a complete source of protein in that they contain the nine amino acids that our bodies can’t produce and need to function properly (30grams meets the daily requirement). It’s perfect for extended hikes when you don’t want to carry meat.

      It really is a great survival plant. It can be harvested for it’s fiber to make rope, cloths, etc and as I stated above it has some very healthful benefits (also very high in omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids). But in addition to that the oil is very useful in a variety of ways including fuel oil and making your own peroxide by boiling it (so don’t cook with it). And it is easily grown because it does grow like a… weed.

      Report this comment

      Firefight  
  • Ghandi was a Republican
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:21pm

    To think there are elitists that will look down their noses at these people. I think that these people would do well to look down their noses right back.

    Report this comment

    Ghandi was a Republican  
  • OldSurfRat
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:19pm

    There may just be the 2 happiest people on the face of the earth.
    I wish I did not know half of what I now know.

    Report this comment

    OldSurfRat  
  • redfish52
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:07pm

    Wow…reminds me of the old Japanese Solder that was living on that island years after the war was over and didn’t know it. The one question that needs to be asked is this: How did you survive without watching Jersey Shore or Honey Boo Boo?

    Report this comment

    redfish52  
    • right-wing-waco
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:13pm

      “How did you survive without watching Jersey Shore or Honey Boo Boo?”

      Very nice, LOL. Now if Obama will just get them high speed internet. ;)

      Report this comment

      right-wing-waco  
    • jcldwl
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:16pm

      Yes it does. I better find myself a place deep in the Ozarks to reside.

      Report this comment

      jcldwl  
    • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:40pm

      These are the perfect people the Dems love, those who know nothing about current events, have no ID, and can vote, whether they want to or not. I bet next year the voting records will show they voted for Putin.

      Report this comment

      Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • American Saint
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:59pm

      Actually the island was Guam, where I was stationed, and they found him in 1972. Pretty cool story. In addition, there was an American Radioman that holed up in a cave (and eventually hiding in some of the locals homes) for the entire occupation which Japan controlled most of.

      Report this comment

      American Saint  
    • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 1:07pm

      I did hear they found the one conservative in San Fran, he has been hiding in an attic since 1969, he was afraid of the Hippies, then heard about the Cola Wars, and when he heard Feinstein was elected to the Senate, he knew the world had ended. They had to coax him out with free copies of the Limbaugh Letter.

      Report this comment

      Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • DSN397
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 4:50pm

      Maybe Bob Hope came to entertain him every Christmas. Hope was a national treasure and would have probably entertained any G.I.

      Report this comment

      DSN397  
    • Schteveo
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 11:43pm

      American Saint,
      during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines during WWII, there were several hundred soldiers, sailors and Marines who were in the PI. Many of them went into the hills, but spent that 3 years or so stirring up the Japanese Forces. Some of them were SENT into the hills with specific orders to teach the Philippine citizens how to harass the Emperors boys in green.

      Report this comment

      Schteveo  
  • Cavallo
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:05pm

    Sounds like they might have received education from some NEA teachers in a US public school. They have the same grasp of history.

    Report this comment

    Cavallo  
  • SocialistSlayer
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:04pm

    OK – I re-read the article – Boy do I feel a little silly !

    Report this comment

    SocialistSlayer  
    • MCON29
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:14pm

      I commented on your last post before I refreshed the page, I was a little late, lol

      Report this comment

      MCON29  
  • SocialistSlayer
    Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:02pm

    “”"Russian Family So Isolated for 40 Years They Hadn’t Even Heard of WWII”"”

    Amazing – Since the World War II ended over 60 years ago !

    Report this comment

    SocialistSlayer  
    • Cybil
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:09pm

      Amazing indeed.

      Report this comment

      Cybil  
    • MCON29
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:12pm

      40 from when they were discovered in 1978. This is an old story.

      Report this comment

      MCON29  
    • donttreadonryan
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:12pm

      My thoughts exactly. Then I looked at the dates. The headline takes the dates out of context. They fled in the thirties pre ww2 and were not discovered for forty years. Bad headline.

      Report this comment

      donttreadonryan  
    • MDECKER
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:16pm

      Left in ’36, found in ’78. Ok, 42 years. Give or take.

      Report this comment

      MDECKER  
    • Ghandi was a Republican
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:16pm

      The book was written in 1994.. This is an old, yet interesting story. Much reminiscent of our own isolated (projects) i might add, a story to one day be told.

      Report this comment

      Ghandi was a Republican  
    • s0ck_monkey
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:16pm

      They were discovered in 1978. So, to be more precise, they were discovered 33 years after the end of World War 2, not 40 years.

      Report this comment

      s0ck_monkey  
    • Brents Torts
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:23pm

      Read the article. They were discovered in 1978. Reading comprehension 101.

      Report this comment

      Brents Torts  
    • DZ-015
      Posted on January 30, 2013 at 12:35pm

      It’s a misleading headline. A close reading of the story indicates the family left their village before WW2 in the late 1930′s and were not discovered in the wilderness until 1978. The 40 years refers to that time span. I would like to know the general area where they live; my first guess would be the Altai Mountains area of Siberia, near what used to be Tanna Tuva, although there are other possibilities.

      Report this comment

      DZ-015  
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