Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Their story has been told since 1978, but I just learned about them today and am fascinated and need time to ponder.
In 1936 a Russian father took his wife and their two children into the Taiga wilderness, away from a harmful society they no longer agreed with. After months or years of hiking they settled near a stream. At some point mom & dad had two more children. For the next 40 years they all lived self-sufficiently & ultra-religiously and never encountered another human. They were unaware of WWII and all other world matters.
Food was scarce and winters were harsh, to say the least. In their times of greatest plenty, their staples were potatoes, rye, pine nuts, and a rare elk catch. In times of famine they resorted to eating tree bark and their own shoes.
Mother died of starvation in 1961, as she was ensuring her children had enough to eat.
Three years after geologists discovered the remaining 5 family members and began introducing them to the modern world, three of the then-grown children died within days of each other. I find this interesting because they had lived in health in the wilderness for decades, until introductions of modern food killed two of them (kidney failure), and the oldest boy died of pneumonia which he contracted from a person outside the family.
The 81-year-old father and his daughter insisted on continuing their lives in the wilderness. The father lived until 1988, and the daughter, alone now and in her 70's continues to live out in the Abakan.
They have always politely declined canned foods and matches and modern amenities, but have gratefully accepted gifts such as salt, goats, and chickens.
It is easily presumed that the Lykov family are not the only ones who have ventured away from society to forge their own way. Occasionally some remnants of attempts at human establishment can be found in the vast Taiga wilderness, but the climate is harsh and unforgiving. The Lykov family has been remarkably hardy and survived decades of unimaginable conditions that few survive independently.
Their story has been told since 1978, but I just learned about them today and am fascinated and need time to ponder.
In 1936 a Russian father took his wife and their two children into the Taiga wilderness, away from a harmful society they no longer agreed with. After months or years of hiking they settled near a stream. At some point mom & dad had two more children. For the next 40 years they all lived self-sufficiently & ultra-religiously and never encountered another human. They were unaware of WWII and all other world matters.
Food was scarce and winters were harsh, to say the least. In their times of greatest plenty, their staples were potatoes, rye, pine nuts, and a rare elk catch. In times of famine they resorted to eating tree bark and their own shoes.
Mother died of starvation in 1961, as she was ensuring her children had enough to eat.
Three years after geologists discovered the remaining 5 family members and began introducing them to the modern world, three of the then-grown children died within days of each other. I find this interesting because they had lived in health in the wilderness for decades, until introductions of modern food killed two of them (kidney failure), and the oldest boy died of pneumonia which he contracted from a person outside the family.
The 81-year-old father and his daughter insisted on continuing their lives in the wilderness. The father lived until 1988, and the daughter, alone now and in her 70's continues to live out in the Abakan.
They have always politely declined canned foods and matches and modern amenities, but have gratefully accepted gifts such as salt, goats, and chickens.
It is easily presumed that the Lykov family are not the only ones who have ventured away from society to forge their own way. Occasionally some remnants of attempts at human establishment can be found in the vast Taiga wilderness, but the climate is harsh and unforgiving. The Lykov family has been remarkably hardy and survived decades of unimaginable conditions that few survive independently.
Whil I regard these stories as anecdotes and not proof of anything, I will say this: recently I started firmly believing (not based on faith but on years of research) that where you are from (geographically) and your genes (determined by generations of your family living in the same region) are the best determinators of what your diet should be - you are simply "built" to eat the foods that grow in your region. I am from former Yugoslavia and I took interest in what my ancestors ate, pre-industrial agriculture. You do not have to go "paleo" to do this, just to the times when people ate clean and in accordance with the region and the climate. For where I am from that means pre-1945 as after 1945 we enjoyed the same "stuff" as Americans in USA or Brits in the UK - "food" adulterated with chemicals and provided without regards to the season (oranges in winter?).
In any case, I have gone back to what my ancestors ate (via basically talking to my Mom and Dad) - which is roughly wheat/corn (none of the GMO crap, of course), meat (mostly for holidays and celebrations), lots of milk and milk products, lots of veggies and fruits, not many nuts (maybe walnuts and chestnuts), lots of beans. Sugar was only consumed on holidays, birthdays or funerals. The only items my great-grand parents had that were not produced on their sprawling estate were coffee, salt, sugar and they also bought or traded for soap. My great-grand mother (as my Mother tells it) made everything from scratch, they were simple meals but high quality. My great grand father had a shot of rakija (home made brandy, usually from plums, apples or even pears) for lunch and one before dinner. He lived to be 105, died in a horse drawn carriage accident. My great grand mother lived almost as long.
I am still studying their day-to-day lives as in when they got up, what they ate meal by meal (including recipes) etc. I plan to publish a book with it one day but it will only be of interest to people who are in the same geographic area.
In any case, I concluded that it doesn't make sense for me to base my diet on fish, sushi, rice, tofu, soy, spaghetti, so on and so on. I am simply most likely not "built" to efficiently process these foods and others that were not "native" to my region. Took me many years to reach this conclusion.
Then I realized that growing my own food is the only way to do it. I strive to eat only what is in season where I live and prepare the same preserved foods that my ancestors preserved. One of them is called
"Ajvar" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajvar), there is also fermented cabbage heads (traditionally fermented in barrels with salt and water - excellent source of vitamin C for the winter), "tursija" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tursu), so on and so on. It is a tough path, doing it on your own. Back then it was the whole village doing this - every house had a plot of land near the village and all plots were next to each other, people worked these plots but they also had land farther from the village where they grew wheat, corn, kept certain animals (horses, sheep) etc. Men spent time in the mountains with the sheep in a structure called "bachilo" which was basically a primitive wooden structure for the men and then the sheep had their space outside. Dogs kept an eye on the sheep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0arplaninac).
I read about the family. Remarkable people.
Have you seen the min-series documentary "Happy People" ?
I think it is on netflix or hulu. You can also find it on youtube.
Folks that live a simple, subsistence lifestyle in a tiny village in the Taiga. Learned some interesting things watching it.
I read about the family. Remarkable people.
Have you seen the min-series documentary "Happy People" ?
I think it is on netflix or hulu. You can also find it on youtube.
Folks that live a simple, subsistence lifestyle in a tiny village in the Taiga. Learned some interesting things watching it.
Thank you, I'll look it up. I love stories like this. Since my early 30's I've craved to escape the modern world and build a hut in the wilderness somewhere. I crave the nature & deep satisfaction of living off the land.
Our modern world is so superficial and unhealthy and corrupt.
I really want to go back to raw, naked basics. I want to learn how to live and do everything from scratch. That would satisfy me on every level.
what about the Japanese soldier who lived alone on an island and didn't even know that WW2 had ended, it took his old commander to get him to come out of hiding.
what about the Japanese soldier who lived alone on an island and didn't even know that WW2 had ended, it took his old commander to get him to come out of hiding.
I've read about that one too. That soldier was out there alone for decades, and even when his commander tried to bring him back, the soldier still didn't believe him that WWII had ended. Eventually the commander convinced him and was able to take him home.
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
8,297 posts, read 14,182,127 times
Reputation: 8105
I don't see the Lykovs as being a good example of self-sufficiency, they seem to have led miserable lives for the most part, though much of that was their religious zealotry, which led to a constant quailing and groveling before the phantasms of a stern god.
Quote:
In times of famine they resorted to eating tree bark and their own shoes.
Mother died of starvation in 1961, as she was ensuring her children had enough to eat.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigpaul
what about the Japanese soldier who lived alone on an island and didn't even know that WW2 had ended, it took his old commander to get him to come out of hiding.
Yes, he actually wrote a book about his experiences up until the time he was welcomed back to Japan. I read it a few months ago ..... he wasn't as deranged as one might think, except for his paranoia about Allied troops.
I don't see the Lykovs as being a good example of self-sufficiency, they seem to have led miserable lives for the most part, though much of that was their religious zealotry, which led to a constant quailing and groveling before the phantasms of a stern god.
They're not a good example if you're looking for an ideal blueprint of how to survive in the wilderness, but they're certainly an inspiration (notwithstanding the religious zealotry). They proved to be remarkably hardy. It's fascinating to hear how they survived out there (er, for the most part), and they considered themselves to be happy. 40+ years is a helluva long time to be out there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
