r/Documentaries • u/s18m • Oct 08 '15
Anthropology Surviving in the Siberian Wilderness for 70 Years [CC] (2013) - In 1936, a family of Russian Old Believers journeyed deep into Siberia's vast taiga to escape persecution. Today, Agafia Lykov is the last surviving Lykov, remaining steadfast in her seclusion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt2AYafET6816
Oct 09 '15
[deleted]
1
1
u/BelltownDaisy Nov 09 '23
I am watching the documentary again right now- after many years. I am trying to understand, was she raped? Did the guy with 1 leg who she helps with firewood, water, etc. rape her?
10
u/MitziHunterston Oct 08 '15
This is one of the most fascinating stories I've come across in recent years. Thanks for the link!
79
Oct 08 '15
God I really hoped it would be a nice observational piece for the first minute or so and then that grating, nasal, self-agrandising narration fucked everything up and I remembered it was Vice and therefore more concerned about the journalist than the subject.
1
Oct 08 '15
Seriously, this is roughly a 25 minute doc and the first 10 minutes is about the filmmakers getting to the place where they're going to make the doc. They stated in the first two minutes that the only way to get there is a canoe or helicopter. There is really no need to expound on that further.
19
u/ghalfrunt Oct 08 '15
I'm sure that is done to show the actual distance and remoteness. Not a bad idea.
2
22
Oct 08 '15
Actually it's 35 minutes long and the first 4 minutes are spent talking about her and her family along with their background. Did you actually watch the documentary? Or does it make you feel high and mighty talking untrue trash about it?
3
Oct 08 '15
I watched it last week, sorry I don't remember the exact time frames. What I DO remember are the vice journalists hanging out at the airport for a while, and when their trip gets delayed a second time they decide to bring her the goat she asked for like it was an afterthought. They could have gotten the goat during their stay in town before the first delay.
Don't get me wrong. The portion that actually told this woman's story was fascinating and vice covers great stories that few others are willing to touch, but there is a valid reason for them being the butt of many jokes. The reporting is often very self serving and sometimes seems to only exist to establish how cool they are.
-13
u/FERALCATWHISPERER Oct 08 '15
Just another Vice fanboy defending the fact Vice loves putting themselves into the story.
3
u/MikeyTupper Oct 08 '15
i dunno i think they do a pretty good job. So it's not Werner Herzog, get over it.
2
Oct 08 '15
They stated in the first two minutes that the only way to get there is a canoe or helicopter.
Well, yes. They had to state the point that the Lykov family doesn't live an hours walk from civilization. If they hadn't done that, viewers would have just assumed Agafia was close by a small town.
1
Oct 09 '15
Maybe others find it interesting?
-2
Oct 09 '15
It's definitely interesting, and the parts that are on topic are fantastic. I don't recommend that anybody skip this one. It's a short and insightful little doc. I just prefer the impartial observer approach to the self indulging vice approach.
1
Oct 09 '15
My first impression of Vice docs was pretty high, but then I watched one about traveling around America by hopping freight trains. I had been looking for docs on the subject, and remember seeing the Vice doc after seeing a good one on the subject. So yeah... self-absorbed, unprepared and shallow...
15
Oct 08 '15
It was so sad to listen to her describe being raped by that horrible man.
9
u/Ol_willy Oct 08 '15
Seriously, wtf. I was surprised I had to scroll this far down to find someone mention it. Yet she still takes care of him. That woman is the kindest most compassionate person I've ever seen. And humble too, not once did she brag about her ability to survive out there, instead she showed a lot of humility about it all.
0
Oct 09 '15
Er, maybe.... I've watched it a couple of times in the past year or two, and each time, I was left with the impression real subject of the documentary is their strange relationship. Those people are way too complex to depict in a documentary. The only thing I'm sure of is that what they showed us, is NOT the real story.
6
Oct 08 '15 edited Nov 24 '16
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Sebas94 Oct 22 '15
I think he raped her, but I could be wrong, she's ultra dogmatic so he could have just said/did something that she wasn't used to see or hear.
5
u/Polycephal_Lee Oct 08 '15
This is a really good article written on the same family I believe. Really amazing showcase of what humans will do to survive.
9
8
u/kellenthehun Oct 08 '15
It's fascinating how much the anti-vice circlejerk has taken over reddit.
7
u/HeadshotDH Oct 08 '15
I like vices stuff a lot. They still tell a story and I think the music and camera work is awesome in tonnes of their films.
4
0
6
u/Ophites Oct 08 '15
"There are no bad people in the Taiga. Most of the bad people go where the other people are. They can steal there. But out here, they would not survive."
That was a really interesting statement, especially considering my personal circumstances (long story).
8
u/1YearWonder Oct 08 '15
It's been a while since I've watched this, was it Agafia who said that? If so, you'd have to take it with a grain of salt for two main reasons...
she knows very little about people in general, she's lived in virtual isolation for a long time. She only really knows about her family (who are dead), and what she's been told by others. Her personal experience with 'where the other people are' is very limited.
more importantly IMHO... the only person who lives near her is at worst her rapist, and at best someone who tried to coerce her into marriage. If that's not a 'bad person" idk what is.
So... I agree it is an interesting statement, but not necessarily because it's true.
6
2
5
u/TouchedByAngelo Oct 08 '15
I didn't like how the documentary makers stirred shit between Agafia and that other guy. No need for that.
31
Oct 08 '15
I think it was important to point out that this guy is a parasite.
5
u/workalotic Oct 08 '15
Exactly. I couldn't believe he had the audacity to move out there near her in 1997 when it must have been clear that he would not be able to help out due to his physical condition.
0
Oct 09 '15
"point out" or "depict".
Source: Been fucked over by reporters in need of a "story". The reality is always different.
26
u/Ventura Oct 08 '15
Sounds like he raped her. I don't think they stirred anything, it was clearly playing on her mind when they put questions to them both about their relationship out there.
They simply probed deeper when they could tell she wanted to open up about it.
6
u/A_Turner Oct 08 '15
I found it amazing how open she was about the situation. He clearly forced her into the terrible situation and yet she still chops his firewood and takes him water. Neat woman.
-13
u/atomiccheesegod Oct 08 '15
There are a handful of documentaries about Agafia out there, Vice did one recently too. It tells you a little more back story between Agafia and the other guy.
2
u/redherring2 Oct 08 '15
Reminds me of the Forrest Brothers who melted into the woods when Stalin took over the Baltic states, although the Freest Brothers were involved in active resistance until betrayed by communist sympathizers in England.
2
u/too_rolling_stoned Oct 08 '15
I enjoyed that. There have been times in my life when I wanted to do something like this. Just... go somewhere isolated. Start from scratch with nothing but what I could carry in and make a life of my own with no outside interaction at all. Learn from my mistakes (and possibly perish from one or more of them) and triumph in my successes, regardless of how trivial.
Human nature is still human nature. She's out there in the middle of fucking Siberia and she has contact with only one other human being. "Yerofei? Yeah, I know that motherfucker. Such an asshole." Wouldn't ya just know that's how it would be?
1
1
u/GivePhysics Oct 08 '15
This reminds me of that exceptional Werner Herzog documentary, "Happy People - A Year in the Taiga." Exceptional.
2
Oct 09 '15
Y'know, I'm interested in Russia, but I've always passed that doc over, because I'm not that into cold, i.e. the Arctic.
But anything by Herzog, I'll watch. Thanks, I did not know he made it.
1
u/GivePhysics Oct 09 '15
Possibly my favorite film of his. A significant piece of work, you'll enjoy it.
1
u/TurnMeOnline420 Oct 09 '15
I was thinking this doc was the one I saw already but it def was the one by Herzog. Both docs are great tho.
1
1
Oct 08 '15
If Vice has people in Russia, why didn't they cover this?
1
u/Death_by_pickles Oct 09 '15
They have a journalist in russia and he did cover the story
2
Oct 09 '15
So why did they fly in the Americans?
1
u/Death_by_pickles Oct 09 '15
Because they still need the Vice camera crew and probably director. Remember they have a Vice Journalist in russia to cover anything that occurs over there that is of interest. If they need to shoot a documentary over there they need to send in order to do everything else apart from the journalistic hosting.
1
Oct 09 '15
Ok, but since when are those things not something that Russia can't provide? It just doesn't make sense to me that they fly a director and camera crew from the US to Russia to do work that local Russians could do.
1
u/Death_by_pickles Oct 09 '15
Well I guess that comes down to preference. If that's how you operate then good. But if you have certain quality to your work then you will ensure you have the correct equipment and direction for production to produce the results your viewers expects. If Vice finally gets the footage from the hired russia crews etc and the camera is constantly shaking out of focus, wrong angles shot. Then you just wasted a fuck ton of money for shit. Where you send your quality equipment and crew who knows who to operate and produce the results that are needed. That is the exact same reason every television news station will send through their crew and equipment rather than just quickly hire "TwentyYearsAgo's Russian Take Aways Film Productions and Meat Sellers. (We distribute needles as well) ".
1
1
u/Highjay Oct 08 '15
That's pretty badass. These people have a solid view on the world that nobody (that isn't living in a remote place) will ever have. These guys find our living area more dangerous than living out in the open. Kudos to that!
1
1
u/kendall1004 Oct 08 '15
Watched it some time ago. Sad story, the docu itself is well worth watching IMO.
1
u/suppow Oct 09 '15
what an asshole, keeping the lone dog on a chain crying in the middle of the snow with bears around; meanwhile a shit load of cats are just running around the house and climbing on her.
1
-10
u/paydenbts Oct 08 '15
fucked up how human beings can survive and be pure with mother nature but all it takes is 1 hamburger eating smoke puffing city dwelling twat to infect them all - 3 of the kids died of pneumonia contracted after coming into contact with the geologists
6
u/blahblahblacksheepx Oct 08 '15
did you watch the video completely?
31:00 agafia explained how their gear were all damaged. They likely would ALL had perished if the geologist didn't arrive.
9
Oct 08 '15
that's by no means fucked up.. it's just evolution. Isolated populations tend to be less resitant against common illnesses.
5
-3
u/NPK5667 Oct 08 '15
Then lets just stop vaccinating everyone. That way future generations will all be more resistant to disease.
3
-1
45
u/yesitsmeitsok Oct 08 '15
I suggest watching "Happy People - A Year in the Tiaga"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1683876/
Awesome film. And it should be on Netflix still