# Russian Hermit Family In Siberia-True or False?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-hermit-family-in-siberia-true-or-false/676171>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 12, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-hermit-family-in-siberia-true-or-false/676171 "2013-12-12T17:29:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-hermit-family-in-siberia-true-or-false/676171/1 "2013-12-12T17:29:26Z")

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Years ago, the tabloid press carried a story about a family found living in a remote part of Siberia. Supposedly, these people had been out of touch with the world for 70+ years-what I remember was that they were religious dissenters, who left their village and moved into a remote area. they w did this before WWII-and were found recently.  
Was this story true? Could you actually stay hidden in the old USSR?

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**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-hermit-family-in-siberia-true-or-false/676171/2 "2013-12-12T17:32:19Z")

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[These guys](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/For-40-Years-This-Russian-Family-Was-Cut-Off-From-Human-Contact-Unaware-of-World-War-II-188843001.html)?

Seems pretty reputable to me.

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**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-hermit-family-in-siberia-true-or-false/676171/3 "2013-12-12T17:35:35Z")

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[Yep](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lykov_family). One is still alive, 70 years old:

> [@Russiapedia](#):
>
> Agafya, although left alone, keeps living the life she is accustomed to, surviving off agriculture and fishing. She greets every day with a prayer and goes to sleep with one. However, her everyday life is exhausting. She is surrounded by wolves in winter and bears in summer. Agafya has refused to move to civilization or receive a pension, spending her time on household chores and prayers. Local authorities take care of the hermit bringing her firewood, foodstuffs and chickens and organizing volunteer trips to help her run the house and garden.

([source](http://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/entertainment/the-lykovs/))

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**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-hermit-family-in-siberia-true-or-false/676171/4 "2013-12-12T19:36:00Z")

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We had a thread on this a while back; I remember because I had watched the whole Russian documentary on the family and I think I or someone else posted a link to that in the thread.

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**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russian-hermit-family-in-siberia-true-or-false/676171/5 "2013-12-13T05:55:41Z")

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Might as well post a link to the documentary here, too. Fascinating story.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tt2AYafET68/maxresdefault.jpg "Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years (Full Length)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET68)