Background of the Lykov family. Happy life of agafya lykova The history of the lykov family

Blogger danlux writes: Photos from a trip to the world's most famous taiga hermit. Agafya was the only survivor from a large family of Old Believer hermits found by geologists in 1978 in the Western Sayan Mountains. The Lykov family has lived in isolation since 1937.

(Total 34 photos)

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1. For many years, hermits tried to protect the family from the influence of the external environment, especially with regard to faith.

2. The primary purpose of the flight to the Khakassian taiga was the traditional anti-flood event - the survey of snow reserves in the upper reaches of the Abakan River. Agafya Lykova stopped for a short while.

3. Together with the specialists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a doctor and employees of the Khakassky reserve, who have known Agafya for a long time and are actively helping her, flew. This time, Agafya was brought food, and the rescuers helped with the housework: they brought firewood, water, etc.

4. The city of Abaza from above.

5. Arbat village.

6. In the Arbats we made a short stop, another employee of the reserve sat down next to us. He had a package for Agafya from Tomsk. No matter how they scolded the Russian Post, but, as you can see, parcels and letters reach even such remote places. It is enough to write on the parcel the Abakan address of the directorate of the Khakassky reserve, and in the column "recipient" - Agafya Lykova (the hermit lives in one of the sections of the reserve).

8. Most of the way, our flight took place in the gorge through which the Abakan River flows. You fly, and on both sides of the mountain, covered with dense forest. By the way, there was relatively little snow in the upper reaches of Abakan this year.

9. Arrived. The landing gear of the helicopter went into deep loose snow, and the car stood on its belly. The staff of the reserve came out first. Agafya knows them well, so she treated the rest of the guests with confidence. The rescuers unloaded the brought supplies from the helicopter and helped the staff of the reserve to transfer the cargo from the shore to the hut located on the high bank. Then they took up the wood. The prepared fuel had to be transferred from the forest to the house - an elderly woman could no longer afford it.

10. Agafya's neighbor - Erofey Sedov. His little hut is located about fifty meters from Lykova's house. Erofei lived almost all his life in Abaza, worked as a geologist. I have known the Lykov family since 1979. He said that in 1988 he even helped to bury the head of the family, Karp Lykov. Already at an advanced age, Yerofey lost his right leg, after which in 1997 he moved to the taiga and since then has been living next door to Agafya.

11. Erofei has a son who lives in Tashtagol. A couple of times a year, the son flies to visit his father by helicopter with specialists who are exploring the area after the Proton launches (the settlement is located on the territory where the stages of missiles launched from Baikonur fall).

12. Agafya Lykova's hut.

14. Notes on the front door with a warning for uninvited guests. Agafya writes and speaks in Old Church Slavonic.

16. While the rescuers were helping with firewood, Agafya was examined by an ambulance doctor. She refuses a detailed examination in Abakan, takes the pills she leaves reluctantly - more often she is treated with medicinal herbs.

18. Icons in Lykova's house. Life inside is quite simple and uncomplicated.

19. Around beauty, silence and clean air. The world of Agafya Lykova is no more than one square kilometer: on the one hand, the stormy Erinat River, on the other, steep mountains and impenetrable forests stretching to the very horizon. Only in the northern direction Agafya moves a little away from her hut and reaches the meadows, where she cuts grass and branches for her goats.

21. I still don't understand how many dogs there are. Vityulka is sitting on a chain near the house, but it seemed to me that someone else was barking a little further ...

23. Cats in the zaimka quickly breed and kittens are always offered to all visitors. This time we refused the “cat in patches”)

24. A barn in which a hermit keeps two goats.

25. Agafya Karpovna complained that goats do not give milk in winter, and she feels bad without milk. The staff of the reserve immediately called colleagues from the Kemerovo region, who are also planning to visit the hermit in the coming days, and asked them to freeze whole milk. Dry milk, condensed milk, and other store-bought packaged products are not accepted or eaten by the taiga woman. The image of a barcode frightens her especially.

26. I expected to see a lot of old and home-made things at the zaimka, but I was disappointed. The whole way of life has long been equipped in a modern way, all the utensils are also civilized - enameled buckets, pots. Agafya even has a meat grinder in the house, and there is a thermometer outside. The only thing that caught my eye from old things (besides icons) was a birch bark tuesok, a bow saw and a forged axe.

For 40 years, the Russian family was cut off from all contact with people and did not even suspect about the Second World War. In 1978, Soviet geologists discovered a family of six people in the Siberian wilderness. The six members of the Lykov family had been living away from people for more than 40 years, they were completely isolated and were located more than 250 kilometers from the nearest city.

The Siberian summer is very short. In May there is still plenty of snow, and in September the first frosts come. This forest is the last of the greatest forests on earth. This is more than 13 million square kilometers of forests, where even now new discoveries lie in wait for a person at every corner. Siberia has always been considered as a source of minerals and geological exploration is constantly being carried out here. So it was in the summer of 1978. The helicopter was looking for a safe place to land the geologists. It was next to an unnamed tributary of the Abakan River, close to the Mongolian border. There is simply nowhere to land a helicopter in such wilderness, but, peering into the windshield, the pilot saw something that he did not expect to see. In front of him was a cleared, and clearly human, rectangular clearing. The confused helicopter crew made several passes over the place before realizing that something very similar to human habitation was standing near the clearing.

Karp Lykov and his daughter Agafya wore clothes given to them by Soviet geologists. It was a startling discovery. There was no information anywhere that there might be people here. It was dangerous to land the helicopter on the clearing. it is not known who lived here. Geologists landed 15 kilometers from the clearing. Under the direction of Galina Pismenskaya, keeping their fingers on the trigger of their pistols and rifles, they began to approach the clearing.


The Lykovs lived in this log cabin, which was lit by a single palm-sized window. As they approached the house, they noticed footprints, a shed stocked with potatoes, a bridge over a stream, sawdust, and obvious traces of human activity. Their arrival was noticed ... When they approached the house and knocked, the grandfather opened the door for them. And someone from the group said in a simple way: "Hello, grandfather! We came to visit!" so far, then come on..." There was one room inside. The only room was lit by a dim light. It was crowded, there was a musty smell, it was dirty, and there were sticks sticking out all around that supported the roof. It was hard to imagine that such a large family lived here.


Agafya Lykova (left) with her sister Natalya. A minute later, the silence was suddenly broken by sobs and lamentations. Only then did geologists see the silhouettes of two women. One of them was hysterical and praying, and it was clearly audible: "This is for our sins, our sins ..." The light from the window fell on the other woman, kneeling, and her frightened eyes were visible. The scientists hurried out of the house , moved a few meters away, settled down in a clearing and began to eat. About half an hour later, the door creaked open, and the geologists saw the old man and his two daughters. They were frankly curious. Cautiously, they approached and sat next to each other. When Pismenskaya asked: "Have you ever eaten bread?" the old man replied: "Yes, but they never saw him...". At least contact was established with the old man. His daughters, however, spoke a language distorted by life in isolation and at first it was impossible to understand them. Gradually, geologists learned their history. Old Believers have been persecuted since the time of Peter the Great, and Lykov talked about it as if it happened only yesterday. For him, Peter was a personal enemy and "the devil in human form." He complained about the life of the early 20th century, not realizing that so much time had passed and much had changed. As the Bolsheviks came to power, the life of the Lykovs became even worse. Under Soviet rule, the Old Believers fled to Siberia. During the purges of the 1930s, a Communist patrol shot dead Lykov's brother on the outskirts of his native village. The Karp family fled. It was in 1936. Four Lykovs were saved: Karp, his wife Akulina; son Savin, 9 years old and Natalia, daughter, who was only 2 years old. They fled to the taiga, taking only seeds. They settled in this very place. A little time passed and two more children were born, Dmitry in 1940 and Agafya in 1943. It was they who never saw people. All that Agafya and Dmitry knew about the outside world, they learned from the stories of their parents. But Lykov's children knew that there were places called "cities" in which people lived cramped in high-rise buildings. They knew that there were countries other than Russia. But these concepts were rather abstract. They only read the Bible and church books that their mother had taken with her. Akulina could read and taught her children to read and write using pointed birch branches that she dipped in honeysuckle sap. When Agafya was shown a picture with a horse, she recognized him and shouted: "Look, dad. A horse!"


Dmitry (left) and SavinGeologists were surprised at their resourcefulness, they made galoshes from birch bark, and sewed clothes from hemp, which they grew. They even had a yarn loom that they made themselves. Their diet consisted mainly of potatoes with hemp seeds. Yes, and there were pine nuts all around, which fell right on the roof of their house. Nevertheless, the Lykovs lived constantly on the verge of starvation. In the 1950s, Dmitry reached maturity and they had meat. Without weapons, they could only hunt by making pit traps, but mostly meat was obtained by starvation. Dmitry grew up surprisingly hardy, he could hunt barefoot in winter, sometimes he returned home after several days, spending the night outside in 40 degrees below zero, and at the same time he brought a young elk on his shoulders. But in reality, meat was a rare delicacy. Wild animals destroyed their carrot crops, and Agafya remembered the end of the 1950s as a “hungry time.” Roots, grass, mushrooms, potato tops, bark, mountain ash ... We ate everything, we felt hungry all the time. They constantly thought about how to change the place, but remained ... In 1961, in June, it began to snow. A severe frost killed everything that grew in the garden. It was in this year that Akulina died of starvation. The rest of the family escaped, fortunately the seeds sprouted. The Lykovs put up a fence around the clearing and guarded the crops day and night.


Family next to a geologistWhen Soviet geologists got to know the Lykov family, they realized that they had underestimated their abilities and intelligence. Each member of the family was a separate person. Old Karp was always in awe of the latest innovations. He was amazed that people were already able to set foot on the moon, and he always believed that geologists were telling the truth. But most of all they were struck by the cellophane, at first they thought that it was geologists who crumpled glass. The younger ones, for all their isolation, had a good sense of humor and were constantly ironic above oneself. Geologists introduced them to the calendar and clock, which the Lykovs were very surprised at.


The saddest part of the Lykovs' story was the rapidity with which the family began to dwindle after they made contact with the world. In the fall of 1981, three of the four children died within days of each other. Their death is the result of exposure to diseases to which they had no immunity. Savin and Natalia suffered from kidney failure, most likely as a result of their harsh diet, which also weakened their bodies. And Dimitri died of pneumonia, possibly due to a virus from his new friends. His death shocked the geologists who were desperately trying to save him. They offered to evacuate Dmitry and treat him in the hospital, but Dmitry refused ... When all three were buried, geologists tried to persuade Agafya and Karp to return to the world, but they refused ... Karp Lykov died in his sleep on February 16, 1988, 27 years after his wife, Akulina . Agafya buried him on the mountain slopes with the help of geologists, and then turned around and went to her house. A quarter of a century later, yes, and at present, this child of the taiga lives alone, high in the mountains. Geologists even made notes. "She will not leave. But we must leave her: I looked at Agafya again. She stood on the river bank, like statue. She did not cry. She nodded and said: "Go, go. We walked another kilometer, I looked back ... She was still standing there"

In 1978, Soviet geologists discovered a family of six in the Siberian wilderness. The six members of the Lykov family had been living away from people for more than 40 years, they were completely isolated and were located more than 250 kilometers from the nearest city.
The Siberian summer is very short. In May there is still plenty of snow, and in September the first frosts come. This forest is the last of the greatest forests on Earth. This is more than 13 million square kilometers of forests, where even now new discoveries lie in wait for a person at every corner.
Siberia has always been considered as a source of minerals and geological exploration is constantly being carried out here. So it was in the summer of 1978.
The helicopter was looking for a safe place to land the geologists. It was next to an unnamed tributary of the Abakan River, close to the Mongolian border. There is simply nowhere to land a helicopter in such wilderness, but, peering into the windshield, the pilot saw something that he did not expect to see. In front of him was a cleared, and clearly human, rectangular clearing. The confused helicopter crew made several passes over the place before realizing that something very similar to human habitation was standing near the clearing.

Karp Lykov and his daughter Agafya dressed in clothes given to them by Soviet geologists.

It was an amazing discovery. There was no information anywhere that there might be people here. It was dangerous to land the helicopter on the clearing. it is not known who lived here. Geologists landed 15 kilometers from the clearing. Under the leadership of Galina Pismenskaya, keeping their fingers on the trigger of their pistols and rifles, they began to approach the clearing.

The Lykovs lived in this log cabin, which was lit by a single palm-sized window.

Approaching the house, they noticed footprints, a shed with stocks of potatoes, a bridge over a stream, sawdust and obvious traces of human activity. Their arrival was noted...

When they approached the house and knocked, the grandfather opened the door for them.
And someone from the group said in a simple way: "Hi, grandfather! We came to visit!"
The old man did not immediately answer: "Well, since you have climbed so far, then go through ..."
There was one room inside. This single room was lit by a dim light. It was crowded, there was a musty smell, it was dirty, and there were sticks sticking out all around that supported the roof. It was hard to imagine that such a large family lived here.

Agafya Lykova (left) with her sister Natalya

A minute later, the silence was suddenly broken by sobs and lamentations. Only then did geologists see the silhouettes of two women. One of them was hysterical and praying, and it was clearly audible: "This is for our sins, our sins ..." The light from the window fell on another woman, kneeling, and her frightened eyes were visible.

The scientists hurried out of the house, moved a few meters away, settled down in a clearing and began to eat. About half an hour later, the door creaked open, and the geologists saw the old man and his two daughters. They were frankly curious. Cautiously, they approached and sat next to each other. To Pismenskaya's question: "Have you ever eaten bread?" the old man replied: "Yes, but they never saw him...". At least contact was established with the old man. His daughters, on the other hand, spoke a language distorted by life in isolation, and at first it was impossible to understand them.

Gradually, geologists learned their history

The old man's name was Karp Lykov, and he was an Old Believer, and he was once a member of the fundamentalist Russian Orthodox sect. The Old Believers have been persecuted since the time of Peter the Great, and Lykov talked about it as if it happened only yesterday. For him, Peter was a personal enemy and "the devil in human form." He complained about the life of the beginning of the 20th century, not realizing that so much time had passed and much had changed.

As the Bolsheviks came to power, the life of the Lykovs became even worse. Under Soviet rule, the Old Believers fled to Siberia. During the purges of the 1930s, the Communist patrol shot dead brother Lykov on the outskirts of his native village. The Karp family fled.

This was in 1936. Four Lykovs were saved: Karp, his wife Akulina; son Savin, 9 years old and Natalia, daughter, who was only 2 years old. They fled to the taiga, taking only seeds. They settled in this very place. A little time passed and two more children were born, Dmitry in 1940 and Agafya in 1943. It was they who never saw people. Everything that Agafya and Dmitry knew about the outside world, they learned from the stories of their parents.

But Lykov's children knew that there were places called "cities" where people lived cramped in high-rise buildings. They knew that there were countries other than Russia. But these concepts were rather abstract. They only read the Bible and church books that their mother had taken with her. Akulina could read and taught her children to read and write using pointed birch branches that she dipped in honeysuckle sap. When Agafya was shown a picture with a horse, she recognized him and shouted: "Look, dad. A horse!"

Dmitry (left) and Savin

Geologists were surprised at their resourcefulness, they made galoshes from birch bark, and sewed clothes from hemp, which they grew. They even had a yarn loom that they made themselves. Their diet consisted mainly of potatoes with hemp seeds. Yes, and there were pine nuts all around, which fell right on the roof of their house.

Nevertheless, the Lykovs lived constantly on the verge of starvation. In the 1950s, Dmitry reached maturity and they had meat. Without weapons, they could only hunt by making pit traps, but mostly meat was obtained by starvation. Dmitry grew up surprisingly hardy, he could hunt barefoot in winter, sometimes he returned home after several days, spending the night outside in 40 degrees below zero, and at the same time he brought a young elk on his shoulders. But in reality, meat was a rare delicacy. Wild animals destroyed their carrot crops, and Agafya remembered the late 1950s as "hungry time."

Roots, grass, mushrooms, potato tops, bark, mountain ash... They ate everything, and felt hungry all the time. They constantly thought about changing the place, but remained ...

In 1961, it snowed in June. A severe frost killed everything that grew in the garden. It was in this year that Akulina died of starvation. The rest of the family escaped, fortunately the seeds sprouted. The Lykovs put up a fence around the clearing and guarded the crops day and night.

Family next to the geologist

When Soviet geologists got to know the Lykov family, they realized that they had underestimated their abilities and intelligence. Each member of the family was a separate person. Old Karp was always in awe of the latest innovations. He was amazed that people were already able to set foot on the moon, and he always believed that geologists were telling the truth.

But most of all they were struck by cellophane, at first they thought that it was geologists who crumpled glass.

The younger ones, for all their isolation, had a good sense of humor and constantly made fun of themselves. Geologists introduced them to the calendar and clock, which the Lykovs were very surprised at.

The saddest part of the Lykovs' story was the rapidity with which the family began to dwindle after they made contact with the world. In the fall of 1981, three of the four children died within days of each other. Their death is the result of exposure to diseases to which they had no immunity. Savin and Natalia suffered from kidney failure, most likely as a result of their harsh diet, which also weakened their bodies. And Dmitry died of pneumonia, which may have appeared due to the virus from his new friends.

His death shocked geologists who were desperate to save him. They offered to evacuate Dmitry and treat him in the hospital, but Dmitry refused ...

When all three were buried, geologists tried to persuade Agafya and Karp to return to the world, but they refused ...

Karp Lykov died in his sleep on February 16, 1988, 27 years after his wife, Akulina. Agafya buried him on the mountain slopes with the help of geologists, and then turned around and went to her house. A quarter of a century later, yes, and now, this child of the taiga lives alone, high in the mountains.

Geologists even made notes.

"She won't leave. But we must leave her:

I looked at Agafya again. She stood on the bank of the river like a statue. She didn't cry. She nodded and said, "Go, go." We walked another kilometer, I looked back ... She was still standing there"

The Phenomenon of Agafya Lykova and the Old Believers. Symbols of the Old Believers

From the very moment of the tragic schism, the Russian Church showed the brightest images of asceticism, confession and Faith. In the middle of the 17th century, the feat of the brethren of St. Solovetsky Monastery, who refused to accept the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon and suffered for this from the tsarist troops.

The Solovetsky Monastery, which was under siege for many years, became a symbol of monastic and popular resistance to the “newly-loved inventions” of Patriarch and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. After the destruction of the monastery, the surviving elders of the monastery spread throughout Orthodox Russia, carrying the news of its irresistible confessors, who commanded to keep Old Faith.

As works are created and distributed Old Believer literature apologists for the Old Believers and their writings, which defend ancient church customs and traditions, are becoming increasingly important. At the beginning of the 18th century, a landmark a symbol of the Old Believers becomes the name and his writings - "Life", messages to Christians, letters to the king and other works, rewritten in tens of thousands of copies.

Later, when during the time of Empress Catherine the Second the fetters of state violence were somewhat weakened, new images and symbols appeared in Russia. Old Faith. The mere mention of the Rogozhsky, Preobrazhensky, Gromovsky cemeteries, the Irgiz monasteries and the Kerzhensky sketes evoked in the Russian heart an echo of sweet antiquity, ancient church tradition and true faith.

When the persecution of the Old Believers resumed in the 30s of the 19th century, the ideologists of the persecution wanted to destroy or shake symbols of Russian ancient Orthodoxy. The Irgiz and Kerzhensky monasteries were destroyed, the altars of the Rogozhsky churches were sealed, the hospitable houses of the Transfiguration cemetery and others were closed. centers of the Old Believers. A hundred years later, already in the years of Soviet power, the new regime went through the remaining cultural and spiritual heritage of the Old Believers with an ideological roller. The atheists sought not only to physically intimidate Christians, but to erase the very memory, which was actually done by the 70s - 80s of the XX century.

Someone completely forgot about the faith of their ancestors. Others, remembering their roots, could not find the way to the temples. Still others believed that the Old Believers had long since disappeared. But unexpectedly, in 1982, the whole country started talking about the Old Believers. What was the matter?

The Lykov family. Taiga dead end?

For the first time about the Lykov family told the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" in 1982. Her special correspondent, host of the author's column "Window to Nature" Vasily Mikhailovich Peskov published a series of essays under the general title " Taiga dead end”, dedicated to the family of the Old Believers of chapel consent Lykov, living near the Erinat River in the mountains of the Abakan Range of the Western Sayan (Khakassia).

The story of a family of hermits who had not come into contact with civilization for more than 40 years caused a strong resonance in the Soviet press.

Readers were interested in everything - both the local nature that fed the "taiga Robinsons" and the story itself the Lykov family, and the ways of survival developed during the years of solitary living in the taiga, and, of course, everyday, cultural and religious traditions that served as a support for the mysterious hermits.

Peskov himself later said that the very publication of materials about the Lykovs was not easy for him. For a long time he could not approach the topic, it was difficult to tell in a youth newspaper about hermits-Old Believers without falling into "anti-religious revelations." Then Peskov decided, by showing the drama of people, to admire their resilience, to evoke a feeling of compassion and mercy.

Indeed, the book mainly told about the fate of the family, the characters of its members and the peculiarities of life. The religious beliefs of the Lykovs are not given much space at all. The journalist did not hide the fact of his atheistic views and was prejudiced against any religion. According to the writer, it was religion that brought the Lykov family into the "taiga dead end". In his publications, it was easy to notice ironic intonations about the "darkness", "ritualism" and "fanaticism" of the Lykovs.

Despite the fact that Peskov came to the forest lodge for four years in a row and spent many days and hours visiting the Lykovs, he was never able to correctly identify their religious affiliation. In his essays, he erroneously indicated that the Lykovs belonged to a wandering sense, although in fact they belonged to a chapel agreement (groups of Old Believer communities united by a similar creed - editorial note) were called opinions and agreements.

Nevertheless, Peskov's essays, which later became a book, revealed to the world the history of the family's life. Old Believers Lykovs. Peskov's publications not only helped the public learn about the life of one Old Believer family, but also aroused general interest in the Old Believer topic. After Peskov's book, the Academy of Sciences and other research institutes organized a number of expeditions to Siberia and Altai. They resulted in numerous scientific and journalistic works devoted to the history and culture of the Old Believers in the eastern part of Russia.

A number of films were made about the capture of the Lykovs and other Siberian hermitages, which, as it turned out later, still exist in sufficient numbers in the forests of the Urals, Siberia and Altai, which helped create a positive image of the Old Believers in the media. Undoubtedly, the Lykov family and especially Agafya Lykova today are an important information phenomenon. A phenomenon that has played and continues to play a crucial role in the Russian information space.

Journalists and film crews continue to visit the Lykovs' once-secret hideout, and footage filmed there is circulated on multiple television channels. Runet search engines consistently show a high interest in the personality of Agafya Lykova, and the number of requests for her name exceeds the ratings of any Old Believer figure of our time.

The difficult life path of the Lykovs

Like many thousands of other families of Old Believers, they moved to remote areas of the country mainly because of the unprecedented long persecution by the state and the official church. These persecutions, which began in the second half of the 17th century, continued until the early 90s of the twentieth century.

Christians who refused to accept church reforms Patriarch Nikon and cultural reforms Peter the Great found themselves in a situation of extreme religious intolerance. They were subjected to the most severe executions, defeat in civil rights, fiscal oppression. For the outward manifestation of faith, the so-called "evidence of a schism", they were exiled and thrown into prison. The persecution first subsided, then resumed with renewed vigor, but never completely stopped.

Hundreds of thousands of Old Believers fled outside the Russian state. Today their descendants make up Russian communities on all continents of the world. Others tried to escape in internal emigration - they settled in inaccessible and remote places in the Urals, Siberia and Altai. These also include the Lykov family.

Their ancestors fled from central Russia shortly after the church schism to take refuge in the desert lands of the Urals and Siberia. According to Agafya herself, her grandmother Raisa was a resident of one of Old Believer monasteries Ural, located in the village of Yalutorskoye, and, according to legend, based on the place "tortured". Agafya Lykova remembers an old family tradition about a terrible tragedy that happened there in the 18th century. The government detachment seized the Old Believer priests who were trying to hide in these places. Not having achieved renunciation of the faith, they were executed with a terrible execution: they were placed in a barrel with nails and lowered down the mountain. And in the place where the barrel stopped, the key subsequently began to beat.

Karp Lykov and family

The ancestors of the head of the Lykov family lived in the village of Tishi, not far from the city of Abakan (Khakassia). When, after the revolution of 1917, detachments of CHON (special purpose units engaged in terror against "hostile" elements) began to appear in the vicinity of the village, Karp Osipovich Lykov and his brothers decided to move to a more secluded place.

In the early 1930s, Karp Osipovich brought his bride, Akulina Karpovna, from Altai. After some time, their children were born. Soon a tragedy happened - in front of Karp Lykov, his brother Evdokim was shot dead by the special services.

After this story, the Lykov family began to go deeper into the taiga. In the late 30s in K.O. Lykov, taking his wife and children, left the community. For several years no one bothered them. However, in the fall of 1945, an armed police detachment came across the shelter of the Old Believers, searching for fugitive criminals and deserters.

Although law enforcement officers did not suspect the Lykovs of any crimes, however, it was decided to immediately move to another, even more secret place. Karp Lykov decided to go to a place where one could live in complete isolation from the state and civilization. In the distant tracts of the Erinat River, the last, most remote colony of the Lykov family was founded. Here, to the fullest extent, their skills to live in the most extreme conditions were manifested.

Scientists who subsequently studied the life of the Lykovs found that the agricultural technologies that they used on their site were advanced, given the limited opportunities for a secluded subsistence economy. The crops were planted on a slope that had a curvature of about 45 degrees. The division into beds was made taking into account the peculiarities of the growing season. Potato seeds, which were the main food crop of the Lykovs, were dried and heated in a special way. Then their germination was checked.

Interestingly, the example of the Lykovs, who ate potatoes, refutes the myths about some food prohibitions. The Lykovs were able to reproduce grain crops from a single tip of a barley ear. Thanks to the careful care of these spikelets of barley, four years later they were able to cook the first bowl of porridge. Interestingly, there were no diseases or pests on the plants of the Lykov garden.

At the time of the discovery of the Lykovs' lodge by scientists, the family consisted of six people: Karp Osipovich(born c. 1899), Akulina Karpovna, children: Savin(born c. 1926), Natalia(born c. 1936), Dimitri(born c. 1940) and Agafya(born 1944).

The wife of Karp Osipovich died first in the family - Akulina Karpovna. Her death was associated with crop failure and famine that hit these parts in 1961. Nevertheless, the death of his wife and mother did not shake the economy of the monastery. The Lykovs continued to provide themselves with everything they needed.

In addition to the actual household chores, they carefully followed the calendar and led a difficult schedule of home worship. Savin Karpovich Lykov, who was responsible for the church calendar, calculated the calendar and Paschalia in the most accurate way (apparently, according to the vrutselet system, that is, using the fingers of the hand). Thanks to this, the Lykovs not only did not lose track of time, but also followed all the instructions of the church charter regarding holidays and days of fasting. The prayer rule was strictly followed according to the old printed books that the family had.

The Lykovs made contact with civilization in 1978, and three years later the family began to die out. Died October 1981 Dimitri Karpovich, December - Savin Karpovich, after 10 days sister Agafya - Natalia. After 7 years, on February 16, 1988, the head of the family, Karp Osipovich, passed away. The only one left alive Agafya Karpovna.

Scientists are inclined to believe that the cause of the death of the Lykovs could be pathogens brought in by city residents who visited their refuge. The opinion was also expressed that the cause of deaths was “peace”, that is, contact with worldly people.

Agafya Lykova and the Old Believer Church

After the death of my father in 1988, Agafya Lykova became the last inhabitant of the taiga settlement.

From this moment on, the theme of exotic "taiga Robinsons", promoted by Vasil Peskov, little by little begins to give way to questions of a historical and religious nature. Freedom of conscience, tacitly declared in the USSR after the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Russia, finally allows you to tell about the spiritual life of our people.

In 1990, Agafya Lykova was visited by envoys of the Old Believer Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia (Gusev). Writer Lev Cherepanov, photographer Nikolai Proletsky and Nizhny Novgorod Old Believer Alexander Lebedev took part in this expedition. The guests gave Agafya the message of Metropolitan Alimpiy, candles of "spring wax", spiritual literature and ladders.

Subsequently, in the articles of L. Cherepanov, A. Lebedev's essay "Taiga Clearance", published in the Old Believer magazine "Church", finally, valuable information appears about the spiritual life of the Lykovs and specifically Agafya Lykova. Readers finally learned not only about the homespun ports of the Lykovs, but about those cornerstone religious reasons that forced them, like many other Old Believers, to flee from the oppression of the state and the temptations of this world.

It turned out that Agafya, inheriting the faith of her parents, belonged to the consent of the so-called " chapel". These Old Believers accepted the priesthood "fleeing" from the dominant, synodal church. Priests who came to the chapels received "correct service", began to serve and perform church sacraments in all accordance with the pre-schism church tradition. This situation continued until the beginning of the 19th century.

However, during the persecution initiated by Nicholas I, there were fewer and fewer priests. Many of them were captured by the police and died in the dungeons. Others died of natural causes. Together with the death of the last priests, whose baptism and apostolic succession for the chapel Old Believers was indisputable, they began to get used to serving without priests, gradually becoming bezpopovtsy.

Many chapels kept the so-called Spare Gifts, i.e. bread and wine consecrated by the priest during the Liturgy. Such Spare Gifts were usually hidden in different hiding places, built into books or icons. Since the number of shrines was limited, and the Gifts themselves, after disappearing from the chapel priests, were not replenished in any way, these Old Believers communed extremely rarely - once or twice in their lives, as a rule, before their death.

Spare Gifts were also kept by the Lykovs. According to Agafya herself, they had these gifts from her grandmother Raisa, who lived in the same village of Yalutorskoye in the Urals. However, Agafya found out that the grandmother did not belong to the chapel, but Belokrinitsky consent of the Old Believers(who recognized the new Old Believer priests appointed by the Greek Metropolitan (Popovich) - editorial note). Agathia also inherited from her, which, according to the custom of the chapels, can be multiplied through dilution in new water on the eve of the feast of the Epiphany.

Agafya Lykova. The path of searching

Left alone Agafya Lykova I began to think about my future life. Her marriage did not work out. Agafya began to think about monasticism. In 1990 she moved to Old Believer Convent, located in the Cheduralyga area, under the authority of Abbess Maximilla.

In itself, the monastic rule did not bother Agafya at all. When the rest of the Lykov family were still alive, Agafya performed her prayer at home, getting up at 6 in the morning. Subsequently, she mastered the daily reading of the skete rite of "twelve psalms", as well as the canons for the repose of the soul. (" Twelve Psalms"- the rite of prayer, which includes 12 selected psalms and special prayers. It appeared in the 9th century and subsequently spread to the monasteries of the East, including the Russians, where it was brought by the Archimandrite Dositheus of the Caves in the 12th century - ed. editions).

However, Agafya did not stay in the chapel monastery for long. Significant disagreements of religious views with the nuns of the chapel consent had an effect. Nevertheless, during her stay in the monastery, Agafya went through the rank of “covering”. This is what the chapels call monastic vows. Subsequently, Agafya also had her own novices, for example, a Muscovite who spent 5 years in the Lykovs' skete.

the strict ascetic life of Agafya Lykova, her spiritual exploits, including frequent, sometimes bold prayer. There were cases when, during summer garden or field work, black thunderclouds approached the zaimka. The novice offered Agafya to stop work and take refuge from the threatening bad weather. Agafya answered this: “Go mow, am I praying in vain or something?” And indeed, the cloud receded from the skete lands.

Once women gathered for a long time in the taiga to collect cones. Suddenly, not far from the place of their parking, a strong crunch was heard - a bear was walking nearby in the forest. The beast walked and sniffed around all day, despite the fire and the blows to the metal utensils. Agafya, having prayed by heart the canons to the Mother of God and Nicholas the Wonderworker, finished them with the words: “Well, are you listening to the Lord, or something, it’s time for you to leave already.” As a result, the danger has passed.

At one time, a wolf strayed to the Lykovs' home. He lived in Agafya's garden for several months and even fed himself potatoes and everything else that the hermit gave him. Agafya does not have the fear of the taiga, forest animals and loneliness that is habitual for city dwellers. If you ask her if it’s not scary to live in such a wilderness alone, she replies:

“I am not alone, - and the icon of the Virgin from his bosom gets out. “I have a three-handed helper.”

In 2000, Agafya Lykova was presented with books by an Old Believer bishop Arseny of Ural(Shvetsova), dedicated to the apology of the Old Believer Church and the Old Believer hierarchy. She carefully read them, according to eyewitnesses, making notes and underlining.

Agafya continues during these years to correspond with Moscow Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church. In one of her letters to the Primate of the Church (Titov), ​​she writes that her ancestors recognized the church hierarchy and prayed with the priests, who were later tortured to death during the persecution of the Old Believers by "fierce torments."

She also studied the life and exploits of the Old Believer Metropolitan Ambrose Belokrinitsky and was absolutely convinced of the truth and Orthodoxy of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy founded by him. At present, she asks to complete her baptism, confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ

Agafya Lykova and the Russian Orthodox Church

In November 2011, with the blessing of Metropolitan Kornily, the rector of the Old Believer church in Orenburg, Fr. Volodymyr Goshkoderya. Despite the fact that Lykova had a lot of clergy as guests, including New Believers, the Old Believer priest visited this place for the first time. Within a few days of staying with Agafya, Fr. Vladimir performed the sacrament of confession, completed the baptism according to the order of acceptance from the bezpopovtsy and communed her with the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

In April 2014 Agafya Lykova Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Old Believer Metropolitan Cornelius (Titov). On April 8, 2014, Vladyka arrived in the city of Gorno-Altaisk, where he visited the local Old Believer community at the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. On April 9, by helicopter, together with the spiritual father of Agafia Lykova, the priest Volodymyr Goshkoderya and priest Evagriem(Podmazov), the Metropolitan arrived on the banks of the Erinat River, where the Lykov family had a shelter.

Photos by Agafya Lykova

Interestingly, the holy monk Evagrius, who accompanied the Metropolitan, was himself a native of these places and about 10 years ago joined the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church by chapel consent. Vladyka presented Agafya with a copper icon of St. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, cast according to old models, facsimile editions of the books “Grigor’s Vision” and “The Passion of Christ”, beloved in the Old Believers, as well as a lot of clothes and other necessary things.

Waiting for the guests, the hostess of the forest shelter spread colored rugs on the floor of the house, baked bread in a Russian oven, and cooked compote from taiga berries. Already saying goodbye, at the helicopter, Agafya handed the metropolitan a branch of willow and invited him to visit the Lykovs' estate next year.

Upon learning of the accession of Agafya Lykova to the Russian Orthodox Church, the priestless mentors tried to dissuade her and frightened her in every possible way. Even the famous chapel mentor Zaitsev came to Erinat, who convinced her of the fallacy of the step taken: “ Why did you become a church?! What did you do anyway? Whom did you take in?"In the same tone, the abbess of the monastery Maximilla wrote:" Why did you even accept someone there, everything, cover, leave from there, come to us».

Nevertheless, Agafya not only did not succumb to these persuasions, but became even more strengthened in her rightness. Such are the Lykovs - having once made a decision, they do not go backwards. Talking about the disputes with the Bespopovites, Agafya says:

“If the priesthood ceased, was interrupted, then the age would have ceased long ago. Thunder would have struck, and we would not have been in this world. The priesthood will be until the very last Second Coming of Christ.”

Afterword

So, Agafya Lykova today is the most popular person in the media Old Believer world. It is well known outside of the Old Believers themselves. Surprisingly, none of the modern Old Believer hierarchs, clerics, theologians and publicists could have such a strong influence on the information space as a lonely hermit from the banks of Abakan.

The image of Lykova is already inextricably linked with the Old Believers themselves. We can say that Lykova, in the eyes of our compatriots, involuntarily became one of the symbols of the Old Believer ecumene, and her bright, characteristic features are generally associated with the entire Old Believers. On the one hand, this is an endless firmness of spirit, amazing endurance, patience, the ability to survive in the most difficult, most extreme conditions. Here and unconditional standing for the Faith, the willingness to suffer for their beliefs. We see in this guise an inquisitive mind, resourcefulness, a keen interest in the fate of the universe, the ability to get along with nature and traditional Russian hospitality.

On the other hand, there are people who reproach that certain features of the life of Agafya Lykova slightly dampened the image of the Old Believers in the eyes of contemporaries. This is isolationism, wildness, spiritual conservatism, following outdated, primitive household technologies and customs. " We live in a lasa, we pray to a stroller”, - this is how some metropolitan authors sometimes speak of the Old Believers, pointing to Lykova.

They object: history knows not only the fleeing and hiding Old Believers, but also the advancing enlightened, passionate. This is the Old Believers of industrialists and patrons, writers and philanthropists, collectors and discoverers. Undoubtedly, all this is so!

But in order to prove this, it is not enough to refer to the example of ancestors who now lived in the ever more distant XIX-XX centuries. The Old Believers should already today, now generate new ideas, set an example of living faith and active participation in the life of the country. As for the unique experience of Agafya Lykova and other Old Believers hiding from the temptations of this world in the forests and clefts of the earth, it will never be superfluous.

The achievements of civilization are always ephemeral, and Christians, as no one knows, that its history is not only extremely changeable, but also finite.

How scared you live in the cities

Agafya was born into a family of Old Believers who left the people and authorities for the taiga in 1938. In the early 1980s, thanks to the journalist Vasily Peskov, the entire Union learned about the Lykovs. Now, if they remember, it is rare. And Agafya is alive.

In 1961, Akulina dies of starvation. Agafya will say about her: “Mom is a true Christian, she was a strong believer.”

The youngest Lykova was 17 years old when a hungry year came in the taiga: “Mom couldn’t stand Lenten. It became impossible to fish - the water is big. They did not take care that there were cattle, they could not hunt. They crushed the badan root, they lived on the rowan leaf.

With whom to communicate, Agafya decides for herself: there were cases when a woman simply went into the taiga until the unpleasant guests left. Yes, she has a difficult personality.

Agafya in the photographs of recent years is dressed in the same way: two scarves, a chintz dress, a black shovel - this is how she calls her coat. She smoothes the dress with her hand - she sewed it on her hands three years ago:

The fabric "in cucumbers" is called.

Today for Easter I want to sew a new one, the fabric is somehow beautiful. We used to live by our own: we spun, weaved. My sister Natalya taught me a lot, she was my godmother.

Agafya remembers well the names and details of what happened to her. In conversation, he easily moves from the events of ten or twenty years ago to the present. Takes out the letter again.

They have been writing letters for three years, but what about coming?

Agafya is waiting for a married couple to visit, last year she even planted more potatoes, but no one came. Photographs of palm trees and turquoise water fall out of the envelope. Agafya asks to read what is written on the back. “The country of Peru, the ocean, there are marine animals here, both great and small. I do not eat anything from this according to the commandment of the Father.

Agafya Lykova received New Year's gifts

The Old Believer hermit Agafya Lykova and her assistant monk Guria were given New Year's gifts.

A group of representatives of the Khakassky State Nature Reserve, which included an adviser to the rector of the Moscow Technological University (MIREA), visited Agafya Lykova's taiga settlement on December 20. The trip to the hermit was of a planned nature - at the request of Roskosmos, specialists monitored the situation in the area of ​​​​the protected area after the recent launch of a spacecraft from Baikonur.

The route for launching spacecraft into near-Earth orbit passes, among other things, over inaccessible territories Khakassia. It turned out that the space launch did not disturb the hermits.

In addition, the members of the expedition delivered half a bag of fresh-frozen and whole fish to the Taiga Dead End - on certain days of fasting it is allowed to be eaten. It is noted that all the gifts were accepted " with humility and gratitude».

Tuleev spoke about the first meeting with the hermit Agafya Lykova

“It was by accident - in 1997 I flew around the region and didn’t even understand what it was. Forever wild taiga, windbreak, impassable deadwood. On one side, there is just a sheer cliff, a river runs, here is a hut - and a woman lives. She is so fragile. And it surprises her that she is so deeply religious, such a real faith in her that she somehow becomes ashamed. She lives in nature, she even has an unusual voice, ”Tuleev said.

“Well, you come up, she either hello to you, or move on. And so we went down in a helicopter, I'm rumpled standing - I'm serious! Then a short time passes, she comes up and gives me a handful of pine nuts. So, everything, you like it, ”he said.

“It happens so, we met - and she sunk into my soul. At first glance, relations were born, ”added Tuleev.

He said that he often corresponds with Agafya Lykova, she sends him gifts.

“She writes letters to me, knitted a lot of socks from goat down, gave me an embroidered shirt. By the way, put it on once - comfortable! And she did it herself with her own hands. Apparently, if you have a good attitude towards the product that you will give, then this is transmitted to a person. Very comfortable village, as if it were necessary. In general, such feelings are good, normal, kind, and I really admire her, ”he said.

Tuleev gave the hermit Agafya Lykova a bouquet of roses and a scarf by March 8

The governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleev congratulated the taiga hermit Agafya Lykova on Women's Day on March 8 with a bouquet of scarlet roses and a smart scarf, the regional administration told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a group of volunteers from the Moscow Technological University headed for Lykova's estate for the sixth time, according to authorities. On behalf of Tuleyev, the expedition was accompanied by the head of the Tashtagol region Vladimir Makuta.

On behalf of Tuleyev, the expedition was accompanied by the head of the Tashtagol region Vladimir Makuta.

According to him, recently Aman Tuleev was given the request of Agafya and her assistant monk Guriy, who stays with her with the blessing of the Patriarch of the Old Believer Church Cornelius. They asked Tuleev to help with hay and compound feed for goats, bring wheat, cereals (millet, buckwheat, rice, pearl barley), flour, a frying pan, a ladle, a cable, chains, a rope and swivels, mousetraps, flashlights, batteries, salt, brooms and a broom , tops, glass jars, fruits.

“Makuta conveyed to Agafya Karpovna from Aman Tuleev congratulations on the holiday of spring, a bouquet of roses, a smart scarf and all the things she needs in the household. The hermit thanked the governor, said that she always prays for him and all the inhabitants of the Kemerovo region. Lykova also said that everything is in order in her household, Guria praised for her diligence and loyalty to the canons, ”the regional administration said.

As explained in the department, the purpose of the trip of volunteers is to help with the housework, and at the same time a new experience of communicating with a woman who sets an example of spiritual integrity, fidelity to the traditions of her ancestors, remains a unique bearer of Old Slavonic culture. Volunteers managed to find funds to charter a helicopter and get to the lodge. They will stay with the hermits until Saturday.