‘World’s loneliest man’ lives in -70°C temperatures with bears and wolves five hours away from civilisation
Ever thought of packing in your 9-5 life and swapping your gruelling city life for something a little more peaceful?
It's certainly something which has crossed many of our minds on a particularly hard day, however I'm afraid to say that very few of us are built to last outside the perimeters of civilisation.
But this is exactly what one man decided to do after tiring of life in the small village he grew up in.
Samuil, 67, made the decision to up sticks and move out to the wilderness in Siberia, Russia over 20 years ago after his family died and decided to settle down in a remote area which is around five hours away from civilisation.
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Explaining his decision to make such a life-changing move to the Russian taiga, Samuil seemed pretty relaxed about his brutal lifestyle, saying: "I didn't like living in the village to be honest. I am pretty used to living here... I don't want to leave."
Of course living alone in -70°C comes with its own set challenges, with the risk of being attacked by animals such as bears and wolves being a particular concern of his.
"I have seen many bears passing by my house," he said, in a mini-film posted to YouTube.
"They are walking around my house. My dogs are always barking. Thank God they don’t come inside they could be very dangerous."
Samuil's only source of meat is through setting nearby traps for hares, meaning he is often forced to make the gruelling walk to civilisation in order to gain supplies during warmer months.
The freezing temperatures mean that Samuil does not need a freezer to keep his food fresh, however he does have to be cautious about making sure his food is safely stored so he doesn't attract the attention of bears.
Threats from the local wildlife isn't the only challenge to Samuil's survival either.
His home is a cabin around five hours away from the nearest village and struggles to keep heat in due to the cellophane 'windows'.
"If I had a proper window it wouldn't be so cold in the house," he explained, adding that he was often woken up with 'frozen' hair.
The only regular contact with the outside world Samuil has is via a radio which he powers by making his own batteries.
Samuil's decision to live in extreme isolation may appear confusing and unconventional to us but he is not the only Russian person to forgo life in the city and move out to the taiga.
The most famous story is that of Agafia Lykova and her family, who fled to the Siberian wilderness during the Soviet Union to avoid religious persecution.
Agafia was born in the wilderness in April 1944 and would only learn about the outside world - including the events of WWII - when geologists found her family in the 1980s.
She is reported to have lived a completely self-sufficient life since her last family member died in 1988.
Topics: World News, Community
Brenna Cooper