Living 40 Years Cut-off From Civilization

Do you imagine yourself living off the grid? Are you a survivalist? Could you go days, months or even years without travel into town for supplies? Imagine raising a family and living 40 years without seeing any other humans. It happened.

Facing persecution and death for their religion by the atheist Bolsheviks in the 1930’s, the Lykov family left their home village in Siberia and fled into the deep woods. There they survived with no further human contact for 40 years until scientists on a geologic expedition discovered their lone cabin.

Dependent only on their own skills and what the forest provided they managed to create shoes and clothing, hunt and grow food, and taught their children to read using only an ancient family bible. With no outside contact the family did not know about World War II or the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. It was an unimaginable life.

This week the Smithsonian chronicles their tale of survival and desire for religious freedom. It is an amazing story to read: Smithsonian There is a documentary video link with fascinating photos; however it is narrated in Russian.

A book was published about the family in the 1990’s: Lost in the Taiga