The key facts

  • The search for a helper has been announced across all of Russia; the director of the Khakassky Reserve, Viktor Nepomnyashchy, was also notified of the problem
  • The previous helper left the homestead due to health problems
  • A week without communication turned out to be the result of a broken satellite phone; Lykova was found alive and well

A search for a helper has been announced across all of Russia

A new helper is being sought for 81-year-old hermit Agafya Lykova, who lives in a taiga homestead on the territory of the Khakassky Nature Reserve. Her spiritual mentor, priest Igor Mylnikov, told TASS that the request was made across all of Russia, and he also notified the reserve's director Viktor Vladimirovich Nepomnyashchy about the problem. The previous helper, who in the autumn had been helping Lykova run the household and scare off a bear, had to leave due to health problems. The search is reported by Gazeta.Ru and Life.ru.

Bears and a week of silence

Constant help is especially important before winter: despite her age, Lykova continues to run the household on her own, care for the animals and look after the house. This year a bear began approaching the homestead, and for several months the woman had to scare off the predators with firecrackers and gunshots; one animal came so close that she had to hide in the house. According to Mylnikov, in recent weeks the bear has not appeared near the homestead — it has probably already gone into hibernation — and no wolves have been spotted nearby.

The alarm turned out to be false

Before the announcement of the search in Khakasia, a search operation concluded : Lykova had not made contact for a week, and a helicopter with a rescue team was sent into the taiga. The expedition found her alive and well — the silence was explained by a technical malfunction of the satellite phone, which specialists repaired, restoring communications. Earlier in the spring, a bear carried off the hermit's dog.

Who is Agafya Lykova

Agafya Lykova is the last surviving member of a family of Old Believers who had lived in isolation in the Western Sayan Mountains since 1937 and were accidentally discovered by geologists in 1978. At that time, the family consisted of father Karp Lykov and four children; later all of Agafya's relatives died, while she refused to leave the homestead. Since 2001, the territory where she lives has been part of the Khakassky Nature Reserve. Sources do not say how long the search for a helper will last or when the new helper will start work.