THE world’s loneliest man is forced to walk five hours a day to reach civilisation with his closest neighbours being hungry bears and packs of wolves.
Samuil has spent the last two decades living in the middle of the Siberian wilderness in a place dubbed the coldest place on Earth with temperatures often plummeting way below -70C.
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Deep in the heart of the frosty Yakutsk forest, Samuil has built himself a wooden hut where he has lived with only his pet dogs for company.
Everyday tasks like showering is done with freezing cold water outside in the snow.
A constant hunt for food and trying to pry open frozen magazines are Samuil’s only source of entertainment as he spends his days happily alone.
The 67-year-old Yakutian native said he left his already sparse village in Russia after finding life “quite boring”.
Now, he spends his days gathering firewood, listening to the radio and cooking for himself – surrounded by the bitter cold wilderness.
Thick layers of snow sit in every direction around his windowless home covered with gaping holes in the walls.
Samuil’s cabin in the woods is held together by material he finds on his daily walks, with his windows made of crumbling sheets of cellophane.
It means freezing cold air is constantly pouring into his home.
The proud single man even faces mornings where he wakes up to his hair frozen solid due to the temperature.
To stay warm, Samuil stockpiles with logs and cuts down overgrowing trees to set on his open fire.
Heat is rarely held in the home due to the wide gaps from his lack of fixed windows so the painful repetitive search for wood is an ongoing battle.
With Samuil due to turn 70 in a few years, the demanding process is quickly catching up to him.
The tough early mornings collecting the wood is also compounded by his long and tiresome days.
To make some money to stock up on food, entertainment and vital resources, Samuil sells brooms in Yakutsk.
I have seen many bears passing by my house, my dogs are always barking. Thank God they don’t come inside they could be very dangerous
Samuil
In order to get to the nearest city Samuil is forced to trek for five hours in the cold.
During this time he often runs out of food, energy and sometimes belief.
Ever since moving into the isolated cabin he has started to pray to God – a move he says helps with the walks.
He spoke in a breathtaking documentary by Youtuber Kiun B, saying that before his walks he often says the same prayer.
“My God, Jesus Christ, please help me. When I go to the village, please help me to find some food,” Samuil repeats.
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Alongside God, the elderly man also has pictures of those who inspire him on the walls of his home.
Yakutian athletes and famed bear hunters sit in frames reminding Samuil of where he came from.
A daily disturbance Samuil faces is the threat of bears.
He said: “I have seen many bears passing by my house.
“They are walking around my house. My dogs are always barking. Thank God they don’t come inside they could be very dangerous.
“But they don’t care about me, we are like neighbours.”
But he has gained some invaluable experience with his old age.
The inside of his cabin is lined with tarpaulin, blankets and tin sheets to keep it as warm as possible.
One solution Samuil has come up is building his own freezer without the need of electricity.
Hidden in the floorboards of a second homemade shack is an underground freezer filled with giant sacks of meats.
Samuil hacked away at the ice below the ground to form the perfect sized hole before popping the shack on top.
Most of his food comes from his regular trips to the nearby lake where he has become an expert at fishing alongside his puppy.
Hare is also on the menu most weeks.
His makeshift shower is also a simple yet smart concept.
He heats up water on a stove before pouring it into a funnelled tub hanging up outside by his bedroom window.
The shower sits a few feet above Samuil fenced off by blue tarpaulin.
The world’s loneliest man stays busy with a constant supply of magazines he collects when he ventures into town for his day at work.
His walls are covered in colourful magazines and newspaper cuttings.
The only other belongings he owns are the most basic and necessary goods – such as torches, glasses, clothes and handy mosquito repellent for the summer months.
Kiun B and his team have visited Samuil a few times in recent years with them giving him a few priceless gifts each time.
Last year, they installed solar panels on his roof and fitted him with proper insulated windows.
They also set him up with a solar powered electricity pack so he can have a light in the pitch black winter weeks.
Inside the coldest place on the planet
Deep in the Siberian desert sits the world’s coldest city of Yakutsk where -40C is considered a warm afternoon and a staggering -68C is seen as bearable.
For nine months a year the temperature sits a long way below freezing.
Residents face a constant fight for warmth with no radiators or heaters in sight and only ice cold water ever available.
The place sits on a continuous layer of permafrost and the frozen ground consists of soil, gravel and sand bound together by ice under the Earth’s surface.
A regular day for a Yakutsk native consists of gathering wood first thing in the morning and whacking up a roaring fire inside the house using the stove.
Outside of heating the houses, finding clean drinking water is the toughest of jobs.
Attempts at a water treatment facility or a plumbing system has always been frozen in its tracks as the metal pipework needed always freezes over during production.
Instead, water comes from ice blocks that get shaved down and melted.
Food in Yakutsk is just as scarce as growing the goods isn’t always an easy task.
It needs to be harvested in the very little summer months and kept safe throughout the winter.
Often strawberries or milk based products will be eaten with fish the main meat source in the village.
Ice cream is also a favourite in the region.
Even everyday tasks like brushing your teeth is done with ice cold water almost unbearable to the touch.
Each small home also has its own shack outside in the snow for when people need the toilet.
Fully covering your face when stepping outside is also needed as you any hair on show can instantly turn to ice.
Eyebrows and lashes grow little icicles on the ends and a harsh stinging sensation can quickly take over the face, fingers and toes.
Any days that falls below -55C is even considered too dangerous for the kids to go to school.
Another Russian village – Oymyakon – is seen as the main competition for the worlds coldest village and it houses just 500 brave people.
Bone-cracking temperatures of minus 62C have shattered thermometers but people still happily cycle to work and go to fish markets.
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