Saga of the Lykov Family, Who Abandoned Society and Lived in Complete Seclusion Within the Wilderness for Four Decades
In the heart of the Siberian taiga, deep within one of the world's harshest climates, the Lykov family lived in isolation for over four decades. This Russian Orthodox Old Believer family, who fled religious persecution in the 1930s, were introduced to television by geologists who eventually discovered them in 1978.
The family, led by Karp Osipovich Lykov, built a crude log cabin in a remote and desolate part of the world, enduring long, freezing winters often plunging to −25 °C (-13 °F). Their lifestyle was austere and self-sufficient. They cultivated small patches of potatoes, foraged wild berries, and hunted game as the children grew older and learned to hunt. Their clothing was made from hemp, tree bark, and whatever scraps they could stitch together. Their home was a simple wooden hut with a dirt floor, lacking running water or conventional heating beyond a wood fire.
Their isolation meant they remained unaware of major historical events such as World War II and the moon landing. Survival challenges included living in extreme conditions, relying solely on their knowledge and faith for medical care, making clothes, shelter, and basic necessities from forest resources, and enduring the emotional and social hardships of near-total isolation. The two youngest children, born into solitude, never experienced the outside world.
The family's lifestyle was driven by religious conviction as Old Believers who rejected Soviet atheism and modernization, choosing isolation as both spiritual refuge and survival tactic. When asked if he had ever eaten bread, Karp Lykov replied, "I have. But they have not. They have never seen it." Ultimately, they accepted a single gift: salt.
The Lykov family's lives changed when Soviet geologists arrived in 1978. Initially reluctant to accept food from the scientists, they eventually accepted additional items such as knives, forks, handles, grain, pens, paper, and an electric flashlight. Tragically, Savin, Natalia, and Dmitri died suddenly within a few days of each other in 1981.
Agafia, the last surviving member of her family, was offered a helicopter to take Dmitry to a hospital but refused. She would occasionally get together with Yerofei Sedov, a geologist who eventually returned to live near Agafia after losing a leg to gangrene, to listen to the radio. The world beyond the Lykov family's cabin had significantly changed, with cars becoming common, the Soviet Union becoming a global superpower, and mankind landing on the moon.
Agafia spent her final years living in the Siberian forest, a profound example of human endurance, faith, and adaptation in extreme isolation and environmental hardship. In January 2016, she was airlifted to a hospital to treat a leg issue but returned to the forest afterwards. Her story remains a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
The family lived a specific lifestyle, characterized by outdoor-living in the heart of the Siberian taiga, with their home-and-garden consisting of a crude log cabin and small patches of potatoes, wild berries, and hunting grounds.
Despite their isolation, they remained unaware of many historical events as they adapted to extreme conditions, relying heavily on their faith and forest resources for survival, with their simple wooden hut lacking modern amenities like running water and central heating.
