Prompt Cast
The Isolated Lykov Family: 42 Years of Survival in the Siberian Wilderness
TLDR The Lykov family, Old Believers who fled persecution in the Soviet Union, lived in extreme isolation in the Siberian taiga for 42 years, relying on birch bark for cooking and creating their own clothing. After encountering geologists, three of their four children tragically died, but Agafia, the last remaining member, continues to live in the family home at 76 years old.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
A Soviet helicopter pilot discovered a remote human settlement in the Siberian forests, 250 kilometers away from the nearest human settlement.
01:26
The Lykov family, who were Old Believers, fled persecution in the Soviet Union in 1936.
02:55
The Lykov family fled to the southern part of the Siberian taiga, where they had two more children and lived in extreme isolation, relying on birch bark for cooking and creating their own clothing with a crude spinning wheel.
04:02
The Lykov family lived in extreme poverty, relying on birch bark for shoes and hemp for clothing, and after a devastating loss of crops, they managed to rebuild their entire rye crop from just 18 grains of rye.
05:09
The geologists encountered the first humans the Lykov family had seen in 42 years and were invited into their dilapidated hut.
06:22
The Lykov family, who had been completely isolated for 42 years, gradually accepted gifts and learned about the outside world, but tragically, three of the four children died within three years of their first encounter with the geologists.
07:26
Agafia, the last remaining member of the Lykov family, continues to live in the family home in the woods at 76 years old, despite the death of her father and the geologist who moved nearby, and she was evacuated to a city for medical treatment in 2016.
