Sometimes everything gets boring. Offices, computers, cars, skyscrapers - what is all this for? Where is the simple natural truth, where is the unity with the earth and its products?! Down with civilization! Bringing it back to basics! Usually, you can get rid of a sudden craving for origins by going to your parents’ dacha for a couple of days and making sure that feeding radishes with sweat and blood is still not your thing. But some go further...
In the middle of the hut, dark with smoke and soot, among pots, pebbles and rags, there is a camera mounted on a tripod. In front of her, with his dirty hands folded on his chest, stands a grimy bearded man. From under the shaggy hat, a braid descends onto the shoulder to bury itself in the buckle that fastens the two parts of the gray woolen cape. “After five months of the project, we finally achieved what we wanted from the very beginning - speech is very sluggish, words seem to be crossing a river of jelly before sluggishly falling out of our mouths - we turned modern man, that is, me, into some semblance of a vegetable, whose thoughts are occupied only by food, preparing firewood and sometimes the sun.” A painful pause, during which the bearded man’s gaze forcefully slides over the branches piled on the floor. "Here".
Meet this Pavel Sapozhnikov, a participant in the project “Alone in the Past”, who got lost in time at his own request and turned for six months into an ancient Russian peasant living as a hermit in an authentic settlement of the 10th century.
The house (1) is divided into three parts: on the sides of the upper room there is a stable and a cage for storing supplies. Not far from the dwelling, a glacier (2) gnawed deep into the ground - here the water freezes in winter, and the ice then allows food to be stored for a long time. Several wicker sheds, a well (3), an outdoor oven for bread (4) and a tiny soap house - a sauna that is heated in black (5).
“Alone in the Past” was invented and implemented by the historical projects agency “Ratobortsy” as an experiment designed to find out how people lived before the invention of computers and traffic jams and, importantly, how the refusal of constant communication, convenience and technology will affect a modern person. As soon as Pavel’s seven-month immersion in the past ended, we met him and, looking into his eyes, carefully asked: “So, how is it?”
Project conditions
1 Communication with people, except for the occasional psychologist and doctor who comes from the forest, is prohibited.
2 Evacuation only in case of threat to life. No modern medicines can be brought into the 10th century.
3 There is no cable TV, news, Internet or robot vacuum cleaner. You can only use copies of tools from excavations; any modern technologies are prohibited.
In the beginning there was a field
The farm, uprooted from ancient times, was built on a field near the village of Morozovo, Sergiev Posad district in the Moscow region. Pavel explained that there is a base nearby where the “Warriors” are preparing for various historical festivals. The place is uncrowded and at the same time accessible. As construction began, lines of trucks carrying construction materials began arriving there. Everything is strictly historical, no nails or putty. The tree smelling of resin is processed with a scraper, the ancestor of the plane straight from the 9th century, and a deer skull is placed on the fence - a talisman against evil spirits. Why didn’t the choice fall on Siberia or Karelia, where full-fledged hunting and fishing are possible, and a hole in time was drilled so close to a large city? The buildings are planned to be used after the end of the project, and, as experience shows, houses abandoned by people quickly deteriorate: the first version of the farm, unattended, was overgrown with weeds up to the roof in just six months.
First person " Honestly, I don’t see the point in reconstructing chivalry or medieval Japan if our history is no less interesting. Therefore, I became a resident for a while Ancient Rus'.
There is no need to think that they simply brought me and left me alone in this artificial past. I started the project from scratch. That is, I prepared it both at the design stage and at the construction stage too.
To be honest, I don’t remember the moment of time travel very well. Previously, I had systematically and very effectively prepared myself with the help of alcohol, so when everyone left, I sort of sat by the fire and quickly went to bed. It wasn't until this morning that it dawned on me what I had gotten myself into.
».
« I had dried mushrooms and berries. Some fish, which, alas, quickly spoiled. And, of course, lentils, rye, wheat, barley and peas, which I sincerely hate. Goats gave milk, chickens laid eggs, although I could not always immediately find where exactly. The diet was quite meager, but I did not feel hungry. By the way, I quite quickly began to understand very clearly how much and what I needed to eat in order to do certain things. That is, theoretically, it was possible to go into the forest and cut down such a tree, but after that I would lie down at home for a couple of days, unable to do anything more important: I simply would not have enough calories. And there was a terrible shortage of fruits: oranges, kiwis, bananas. Probably something was missing in the body. I really wanted gin! Well, remember, with that juniper smell?».
Menu with tits
Pavel is settling into a new place. Sometimes, returning from a walk in the forest, he puts his hand on a log heated by the sun to feel how his new home breathes. The house, by the way, has already acquired its own unique decorations. “I made new friends. Kind and Kusaka. They are very nice and you can talk to them.” Pavel maintains a blog on the project and at the end of the day records himself on camera. “Friends” are the stiff carcasses of tits suspended from the ceiling with open wings. Two are just enough for a pot of stew, so the carefree chickens are safe today. He doesn’t catch birds because he has a good life: he really wants meat, and cutting up laying hens means depriving himself of omelettes and scrambled eggs.
Inspecting the pantry is the first order of business. There are enough supplies, but they are threatened by time and rodents. The grain is sprouting, bare rat paws are stomping on jugs of cranberries, dried apples covered with fluffy mold.
According to the organizers of “Alone in the Past,” the hero can, if necessary, fish and hunt; he was even given a bow for hunting. It is doubtful, frankly speaking, that modern man will survive by obtaining food in this way.
First person " But once I even saw the tracks of a hare! Well, in general, what did you want, this is the Moscow region. What kind of hunting is there?».
* * *
« I chose the most delicious herbs for myself and brewed them in different combinations and proportions, without particularly paying attention to their properties. Yes, and you can read a little there on this birch bark, it’s dark».
« Do you know what irritated me most? Until winter came, people passed by my home several times. Mushroom pickers, apparently, or fishermen. And at least someone would look at all this with interest! As I understand it, lovers of boletus and crucian carp are scary purposeful people: They bury their nose in the ground and go about their business, pretending that there is nothing unusual around. How so? You come out of the forest and there are medieval buildings. The earthen roof of the house, everything is low and squat».
Facilities in the yard, neighbors bleat
Given the obvious historical inconveniences, Pavel quite painlessly squeezes into the framework of ancient Russian life. He even indulges himself from time to time in some delights - contemplating the sunset while drinking a mug of aromatic broth. I don’t want to go into the house before the cold weather sets in: the hut copies archaeological finds from Veliky Novgorod, and the dwellings were not very cozy back then. In the center is a nine-meter high room in which the experimental subject sleeps and eats. In winter there will also be a working workshop here. Bunches of herbs and homespun bags of grain, marked with birch bark labels, prevent you from resting your forehead on the low ceiling beams. All this sways at a height inaccessible to rats and mice and emits an aroma that can drive adherents of herbal medicine crazy.
The walls of the upper room are generously covered with soot from the stove, which is located in a stone mound on the floor and, mercilessly smoking, cooks food and heats the home. Next to her is a small table; to turn it into a dining room, you need to brush the dust onto the floor with a special feather.
First person " There is no need to scare anyone there about the smells or incredible dirt. For some reason there was no feeling that it was dirty. In the city, at the end of every day you want to go to the shower, but there I completely calmly washed myself once a week. And not because I felt this stickiness, like in a metropolis, I just understood that it was necessary. I washed my hair three or four times during the entire project. So, for real, with ash. My hair just got better, in my opinion.».
* * *
« For some reason, many are sure that in moments of rest I thought a lot. But after about a month, my thoughts disappeared almost completely. It was very difficult to think; it became serious work. It was easier to chop wood. We are accustomed to the fact that everything around us provides information: books, magazines, television, the Internet. You analyze it, and your head works correctly. But when you live alone in the forest, there are no special reasons for information. I could not seriously analyze such events as the blowing of wind or the movement of leaves. That is, before, people probably had enough of this, but now it’s not enough».Medieval routine
While the sun still has time to warm the air before turning the treetops pink, Pavel is preparing for winter: he prepares firewood and re-caulks the walls of the house with moss. The usual routine is also enough: replacing and drying straw insoles, mending clothes (shoe straps rot from dampness), cooking food over a fire, fighting rodents. Everyday worries are strange for the taste of a modern person: for example, Pavel’s list of household items includes a fine-toothed comb for combing out lice, if any decide to join the project.
The initial joy of realizing that you have been transported into the past dissolves over time in the difficult everyday life. Sometimes you don’t want to get up at all in the morning; Pavel forces himself to go into the forest or chop wood. However, he understands that he will pass very quickly if he deals exclusively with everyday life, so sometimes he plays with goats. It would probably be more fun with a dog, but it has already run away for several months.
The usual economic problems that the organizers had prepared for faded into the background. Foxes appeared on the farm.
The arrival of mice, rats and foxes, who began to ruin the farm without any doubt, irritates not only Pavel the peasant, but also Pavel, a resident of the modern metropolis, who no, no, and even woke up in it. How? Is he, a man familiar with the Internet, cars and 3D printers, being eaten by some rodents? This is war!
First person " If a farm like mine is approached thoroughly and correctly, it will occupy everything free time- This is true. But when the blues came over me or there was no desire to do something, I understood that if I went for a walk, nothing critical would happen. I even came up with a few games, like hide and seek with the goats: they got used to me very quickly and started yelling if they couldn’t find me. Well, the game usually went on until they found me or I could no longer withstand their heartbreaking screams. In general, at some point it began to seem to me that I could discern emotions on the faces of goats. It's hard to describe, but you could tell whether the animal was happy or not. This is such a complex combination of the expression of the eyes, cheeks and beard».
« The foxes stole my chicken and rooster and in general quite often brazenly circled around the house. For some reason, I made fighting them a very important thing for myself: I set snares, built various traps, and even made a spear. And they are very smart, they avoided everything. But one morning I left the house and saw that the fox was sleeping right in the hayloft. He grabbed a bow, it was hanging on the wall, and a single arrow, ran up and shot. I used to train a lot and was sure that I could shoot a bow well, but when an animal the size of a cat is cowardly thirty steps away from you... In short, the arrow remained sticking out in the ground, but the shaft was covered in blood. Probably somehow passed by in passing».
« To somehow diversify my life, I communicated with goats. True, they did not answer, but I noticed later that I endowed them with all human traits. Once I was reciting Gorky’s poem “Song of the Falcon,” and the goats turned around and left. I was terribly offended by them - I sincerely believed that they had insulted me and deliberately left without listening! I had to boycott them for two or three days. Then, however, I realized that I was going crazy, I forgave the goats and began to communicate with them again».
Silence
When purely utilitarian issues are resolved, then, convinced that their time has come, psychological problems. What bothers Pavel most is not loneliness, but information isolation. Sometimes it’s so quiet on the farm, as if someone had stuffed moss for caulking a log house into your ears. Because of this, the sudden clucking of chickens seems unnaturally loud, and the rustling of rats running under the floor can be heard even from outside. Time seems to have lost its way and is now wandering blindly somewhere nearby, bumping into birch bark trees and slipping on liquid mud. Pavel wanders for a long time in the forest or, leaning on a fence, looks at a vast field, on the edge of which there is a farm.
And then winter came
Icy whiteness stretched to the horizon. The wind tries to squeeze between the logs of the hut, and, in despair, angrily begins to pound on the door. Pavel leaves the house less and less, sometimes after collecting brushwood his fingers become so numb that for a long time he cannot strike a spark and sits in a cold, frowning room.
For mental state The time traveler is monitored by expert psychologist Denis Zubkov, who visits him once a month. “One of the most serious tests for Pasha on the project was depression, which came in full force towards the middle of the project. It was difficult to carry out daily tasks, it was difficult to get used to, and then learn to feel good in conditions of loneliness.”
First person " The house was sometimes very dark. This is such a special, thick blackness, especially on starless nights. But what scared me most was the sounds at first. I couldn’t understand their source: the forest, animals, the sound of some kind of lid. You know, according to my calculations, goats alone are capable of making about fifty unusual sounds that can be similar to everything in the world. It was only later that I began to distinguish a chicken that had flown from its roost from a goat that decided to scratch itself on the fence. And first I had to go outside or prop the door with something. What was also depressing was the inability to turn on the light or even open the window - it wasn’t there! There is neither a flashlight nor a mobile phone at hand so that you can illuminate the corner in which someone is scratching. For the tiniest light, you first need to strike a spark, catch it, fan it... And at this time someone is wandering around the house... In general, yes, it was sometimes creepy».
« I somehow had a psychological breakdown, as a psychologist later explained to me, and I killed one goat. They got into my house and broke a lot of dishes, and there was nowhere to get new ones. And something happened: I started screaming at one, for some reason I grabbed an ax and cut off her head. Then I just thought: what have I done? But you can’t put the head back in place, so I had to cut up the goat and salt it. I ate for a whole month. But at the same time I felt terribly sorry for her. It's still a shame. The name was Glasha. True, all my goats were Glasha. This, by the way, is very convenient: you call one, and everyone comes.
Imagine, it turns out that killing goats is a great stress reliever. I had enough until the end of the project; I had peace of mind. But at the same time I didn’t have a single plate left
».Impossibility of civilization
Although spring drove away the icy melancholy with scattered bird chatter, it brought its own headache. The stove, which all this time had successfully created the atmosphere of a smoky hookah bar in the house, crumbled. Fortunately, the frosts are no longer so severe, and Pavel does not have to bask in the still warm insides of a freshly slaughtered goat. And now you can walk again without fear of frostbitten fingers. Perhaps the hermitage ultimately turns out to be the most cruel of the project's conditions. It was much easier for a resident of the Old Russian state to survive in a community. It was possible to divide responsibilities: while some were preparing bread, others were preparing, say, firewood for the stoves. Those doomed to loneliness have a much harder time.
First person
« I had many plans that could not be realized on the project. Let's say I planned to get a horse to help me haul timber. It's great that I didn't do this - she would have died of hunger. I also wanted to build a forge; they even built a shed for it. But already on the spot I realized that this in no way fits into my schedule of the 10th century. While I’m making it (what is there to forge? For whom?), I won’t have time to milk the goats or cook food. Towards the end of the project I really wanted to take a bath. Not to wash, but to sit in hot water. Then I did something not quite sporty: I went to the village and stole a huge wooden tub there. Moreover, I carefully planned the operation, waiting for the darkest time of the day, when, as it seemed to me, people slept especially soundly. He rolled away a huge, very heavy oak tub. He got all dirty and cursed everything while he was pushing it in front of him. When I rolled her home, it was already starting to get lighter. In order not to delay bathing, he immediately began filling it with water. While I was getting the first bucket from the well, I figured out how many buckets of water I needed. It turned out something like 350, while 200 buckets should have been hot. It's still cold outside - when I heat up the two hundredth, the first one will become ice. I dropped everything, sat down in this empty barrel and stared at the sky for a long time. He remembered Robinson Crusoe and his boat, which he could not launch and which became a monument to impotence».
Last day
Pavel is not eager to return to Moscow, but in general, continuing to live on the farm also no longer makes sense. Supplies have come to an end, the hardships of life in the 10th century are accepted and realized. The romance of plunging into the past settled on the walls of the log house, ingrained into deep notches on the logs that marked the days before the finale. Pavel reluctantly begins to move things to the city apartment.
The hole in time in the Sergiev Posad region has closed. The farm stands, but a bearded man in a gray greasy shirt and a disheveled fur hat no longer walks around it. The buildings are planned to be used for new projects. Perhaps a forge will be built for them after all. The animals did not pay attention to the change in situation and now live in the 21st century. One of the goats gave birth.
First person " I thought that there would be no problems with returning. But, perhaps, due to surprise and lack of preparation, everything went wrong: adaptation is very difficult. Work, personal affairs, relationships with loved ones, relationships with everyone else, plans, rhythm of life - everything is bad in almost all respects. I'm too used to doing everything myself and placing responsibility only on myself. A separate point is money - a resource that I have completely forgotten how to use».
* * *
« I am sure that if a modern person goes back in time and is free to use modern technologies there, he will seem like a superman. I imagine how dark people were. How slowly their minds worked - without education and constant flows of information. After six months I’ve become dull, but I’m just coming to my senses.After the project, my relationship with time changed a lot. I realized that taking a bath in half an hour or the next day are things of about the same order. There is no need to rush to do anything. And in general he became very patient. Learned to cook better. I definitely started to be more careful with things, because I didn’t have so many of them. I realized that there are three basic things that are important for any person: dryness, warmth and satiety. Everything else comes after. If at least one thing is not accomplished, everything else loses its meaning. If you are in the forest, wet and hungry, you will not care about all the benefits of civilization. It's pretty hard to accept without feeling it.
».After the project
189 days is, of course, too much. Just enough to convey and give birth to high-quality mental disorder. But if we were the organizers of the project, we would turn this farm into a medical and preventive boarding house for citizens who have been muzzled by civilization.
Tired of crowds of people, of the metro, of an overabundance of information, of the bustle, of the asphalt under your feet?
A couple of weeks of lonely meditation on the ruins - and now the metropolis with all its restaurants, cinema, hot baths and the absence of mosquitoes seems to you to be the paradise that it is. And most importantly - there are people there! Real! There are many, many wonderfully alive, talking people, all the splendor of which can only be understood by being deprived of their company for a long time.
What if there's an apocalypse?Just in case, we decided to ask Pavel a question that worried us after watching several disaster films. What can he do ordinary person, suddenly a universal conflict breaks out and civilization ceases to exist?
« Die. Quite ingloriously, at that. I'm not a survival expert, I just have some understanding of my capabilities. Even a firearm will not help the average person. Rather, it will worsen his situation. And all sorts of survival kits, dugouts and buckwheat supplies are simply ridiculous».“Alone in the Past,” where a young guy from Moscow made a complete immersion into the life and way of life of Ancient Rus'.
This is an incredible experiment, where its participant Boot (Pavel Sapozhnikov) proved and disproved different theories How people lived in the 10th century in Rus'.
- What conditions did people live in before?
- What clothes did they wear?
- How was food prepared and from what?
- What they were thinking, their worldview and much more
This all happened in the harshest months of the year from autumn to spring, far from civilization on a small farm for one person.
“It’s one thing to come to a medieval festival and wear ancient Russian clothes for 2-3 days, and another to live in all this. Then comes the understanding of how everything really happened. Real conclusions come at 4-5 months, then an understanding comes of what is practical and what is purely decorative,” says Pavel Sapozhnikov.
His farm - a reconstruction of a 10th-century settlement (see diagram) - is located at the junction of fields and forests near Khotkov, near Moscow. The vintage entertainment agency “Ratobortsy” spent several months building it according to archaeological drawings. 
Pavel recorded every interesting episode or observation on camera and all the clips were brought and posted in the group once a week. Where each participant could comment on what was happening and ask questions.
Now all the material has been collected. It remains to bring it to mind.
The project team is raising funds to film a full-length documentary film through crowdfunding on Boomstarter. 
“Alone in the Past”: to be or not to be? Fundraising for film editing has been launched again. In the fall of 2013, 220,000 rubles were successfully raised to create the film. There was more filming than planned. After all, the experiment itself turned out to be much more interesting than expected! Those who followed the portal sapog.ratobor.com and updates in groups saw: the video was posted online regularly! But now the task is more difficult: to edit an entire film worthy best festivals documentary films. And the money from the first collection all went into work. We need help from all history buffs. This time, rewards for supporting the project have become much more attractive! Just one “day on the farm” is worth it!
Each of you can become an accomplice in the project and help make a good, high-quality film about the reconstruction of our past, and perhaps understand what will happen in the future...
A risky experiment continues in the Moscow region - the reconstructor Pasha-Boot lives using 9th-century technologies, without electricity or central heating. He has already survived a rainy autumn and an invasion of foxes and is slowly coping with the frosty winter, waiting with horror for the end of the tests: Pavel does not want to return to Moscow.
Dirty skinny star
“People who say: “Oh, I wish I could live in the tenth century!” Or in the seventeenth: balls, nobles..." they simply don’t understand what they are talking about. Now - the most best time. The most convenient for life. And life in the 9th century is a nightmare. People then lived sadly, hard and not for long,” such main conclusion made for himself by the reenactor Pavel Sapozhnikov, nicknamed Boot, who decided on the desperate project “Alone in the Past”.
Last September, he retired to a farm in the vicinity of Khotkovo near Moscow to live there without the Internet and many other benefits of modern civilization.
Life of the 9th century has been recreated down to the smallest detail - even clothing and products must correspond to that era, so no plastic buttons or potatoes, discovered by Columbus along with America.
But the difficulty is not only the lack of electricity. "Past Alone" is also a psychological experiment. To avoid temptations modern world, Pavel does not communicate with anyone except his chickens and goats. Unless curious mushroom pickers or a drunken wedding wander into his farm.
Only once a month does Pavel leave his farm to talk to journalists, as well as a doctor and psychologist monitoring his condition. At the appointed hour, a dozen cells and a crowd of journalists await the “hermit” - the excitement around Pavel is no less than around the release of Khodorkovsky or Platon Lebedev from prison.
When he finally emerges from the depths of the village, he is greeted with applause - during the months of his “imprisonment” Pavel became a real star, his experiment attracted the interest of both the blogosphere and Western scientific television channels, not to mention the Russian media.
The changes in Pavel are also noticeable to a non-specialist: he is smeared with soot because he heats “black”, and the house is always smoky (“it’s okay, soot is a good antiseptic,” Pavel does not lose optimism, and a smile flashes on his grimy face) . Pavel lights the stove once a day, in the afternoon - this is enough to keep the house warm until the morning.
Then he prepares lunch for himself - as a rule, it is a soup made from cereals. Pavel's diet is quite meager, because according to the conditions of his hermitage, he is forbidden to bring new products, there is no one to hunt in the area, and for some reason the fish do not bite. In addition, due to the rainy autumn, many of his supplies simply became moldy - Pasha lost part of the cereal.
However, for Christmas Pavel treated himself to an apple pie, which he himself prepared. In the mornings, Pavel adds fresh eggs and goat's milk to his diet.
“Everyone has their own associations when they hear the word “food,” says Pavel. “Personally, I have rice, meat and potatoes. I don’t have any of this. There was little meat stored, and I quickly ate it, but the rest is gone.” historical reasons. It turns out I'm sitting here without food." He admitted that the first thing he will do when the project is over is get into a hot bath and then eat dumplings.
Hence the second change in Pavel: he lost several sizes.
Goat and other grievances
What Pasha really complains about is the forced idleness in the evenings, when it’s too dark outside to do anything, and there’s nothing to do at home.
“I lie down, dream, sing or turn the millstones to grind flour,” Pavel describes his typical bachelor’s evening. He has already covered all the songs he knows: from folk and Soviet to modern rock. Fortunately, there are no historical restrictions on cultural baggage. “I miss music a lot, there’s not enough music here,” the experimenter admits. “But maybe I won’t use the phone even after the project.”
Pavel admits that there is a severe lack of communication - “it’s not just a woman that is missing, but any person in general.” He has to talk to goats, which for simplicity Pasha calls all of them Glasha.
“Recently I was retelling Maxim Gorky’s “Song of the Falcon” to the goats. At first they stood, chewed, and then didn’t listen to the end, turned around and left. I was offended by them and didn’t talk to them for three days. And then I thought that I was already completely I’m offended by goats... And I started communicating with them again,” recalls Pavel.
Psychologist Denis Zubov, who observes the hermit, states: Pavel complains of loneliness, as well as of aggression, which flares up in him at the slightest provocation - one autumn, for example, he severely beat a goat, which broke several clay bowls, leaving Pavel without dishes. Pasha responded by breaking several of her ribs. The goat had to be slaughtered, but Glasha’s meat temporarily diversified Pasha’s diet. Paul put the goat's head on a pole to “drive away evil spirits” and to play “goring” with the remaining goats.
In fact, the decision to “live in the 9th century” is simply a desire to restore the reenactor’s favorite era taken to its logical conclusion. First, a person restores costumes, studies history - and at some point decides to “move” to his favorite era for good.
What kind of people these are can be judged, for example, by their pages on VKontakte. Director of "Ratobortsev" Alexey Ovcharenko analyzes an ancient miniature with pagan Bulgarians. “It’s time to return to the question that has been tormenting me for several years: are the kaftans open or not. Everyone thinks that the caftans are open, but I’m sure that they are not... What will the public say? Let’s discuss these caftans again: are they fully lined or not. What are those horizontal stripes on the yellow - traces of firmware?
According to Ovcharenko, who initiated the experiment, the project cost about 3 million rubles. Pavel Sapozhnikov will receive part of this amount (small) as salary.
Boot himself admits: now he has finally adapted to the “life of the 9th century” and has entered into the rhythm of the experiment. Fortunately, the weather is good: sunny and dry. It’s not cold at all in Pavel’s hut. “I like it here. The farming is good, the goats don’t get sick, the chickens are laying eggs... What else do you need?” - he says.
Pavel admits: he has little idea what he will do after the end of the experiment, which is calculated until the vernal equinox on March 22. “I’ll go out, you journalists will arrive. We’ll talk, and then what? Then, I’ll probably go back to my house again. And in the morning I’ll wake up and I’ll have to milk the goats and feed the chickens.”
After the end of the project, he expects to stay here, at the site of the experiment, where the Ratobortsev have various historical attractions - you can visit a yurt or tent, ride a camel or a dog sled. Pavel plans to continue working in reenactment attractions, albeit without such isolation from the outside world.
What Pasha definitely doesn’t want is to return to Moscow, even though he is a native Muscovite, and his parents and fiancee are waiting for him in the capital. “No, in Moscow everything is too evil, fast and cruel,” he says.
Fortunately, professional reenactors have the opportunity to remain somewhere between worlds, choosing the most pleasant things from each era.
Svetlana Samodelova One in the past is a warrior!
A unique experiment is taking place in the Moscow region: a capital resident of his own free will went to the early Middle Ages for six months
Without a time machine, he “drew” into the 10th century and has been staying on a recreated farmstead from the times of Ancient Rus' for the fifth month.
24-year-old Pavel Sapozhnikov tests on himself the hypotheses of scientists about the life and way of life of our ancestors. He makes fire from the armchair, stokes the stove, grinds flour on millstones, bakes bread, milks goats, sets snares for hares. Sleeps on beds with skins. He wears a canvas shirt, sheepskin coat, leather tunics and windings - onuchas.
Under the terms of the research experiment “Alone in the Past,” the ancient Russian resident Sapozhnikov is prohibited from communicating with outside world. Doctors and experts come to see him only once a month.
The MK special correspondent did not fail to take advantage of the next “open day”.
“Hey you!”
The organizers keep the location of the farm secret. Only in the evening, on the eve of the visit, we receive a map and landmarks of the site of a single historical wintering place.
It would seem 44 kilometers from the capital, but the place is quite secluded and isolated.
At the open day, experts, doctors and psychologists came to Pavel to monitor his condition. But even on this day, the territory of the farm is closed to the public.
The fallen snow blocked the fence. The courtyard itself has been thoroughly cleaned. In the background is a squat building, the roof is covered with skins and turf, the cracks between the logs are caulked with moss, the door is insulated with felt.
The owner comes out and says hello, putting his hand to his heart. Pavel Sapozhnikov is wearing a thin sheepskin sheepskin coat, canvas trousers, and cloth windings—onuchi. We feel like wanderers who have made a stop in another era. It seems that we are about to hear: “God art thou... May our dear Gods be with us in sorrow, and even more so in joy.” But no, the swooping gang of journalists returns the hermit hero to the 21st century, where “cut” is already January, “neck” is the neck, “bra” is the eyebrow, and “yasti” is nothing more than the verb “to eat.”
Frost - minus 20. The wind whips your face like a whip. Having climbed out of the warm cars and run across the vast field, we are shivering from the cold. The hermit hero is so hot that he took off his mittens. His hands and face are evenly tanned.
“I usually walk around covered in soot, it helps not to burn in the sun,” Pavel smiles. — Soot is an excellent natural antiseptic, as well as a specific “varnish” that protects wood and all objects from dampness and fungus.
There is nothing of a wild man in his appearance.
Everyone is interested in what became the most difficult test for the hero. Without hesitation, he answers: “Loneliness.” There was a time when Pavel caught himself thinking that he really wanted someone to knock on his door. After 20 days it was released.
Friends note that Pasha has lost a lot of weight. The hero confirms: “I used to wear size 54, weighed 112 kilograms, now I can comfortably wrap a size 48 sheepskin coat around me.”
Please indicate your daily diet. “A full-fledged hot meal - once a day. This is usually a mushroom, grain or lentil stew with the addition of onions and garlic. In the morning I prepare a compote of apples and honey. During the day I bake cakes, eat eggs, nuts, and drink milk,” the hermit shares with us.
For friends Pavel Sapozhnikov - Boot. During the times of Ancient Rus', people did not have surnames. They were replaced by nicknames. In the 10th century, Boots could have been surrounded by Balagur, Chernava, Elder, Veshnyak, Piskun or Metelitsa.
The Old Russian resident is 24 years old and was formerly a Muscovite. He was a student at the prestigious Sechenov Medical University, specializing in disaster medicine. He dreamed that he would save humanity from critical situations. But, having completed four courses, he... dropped out. According to Pavel, “I was disappointed in the state apparatus, and it didn’t make sense to work in medicine not for the state.” Then he came to the Ratobor club; the Middle Ages turned out to be more interesting for him than the current democracy. Boot became interested in reconstruction, grew a beard, began helping with festivals, and mastered carpentry, blacksmithing and tailoring. He lived for a long time in the fields, religiously observed all important Orthodox fasts, even to the point of completely refusing food. A year ago, together with a teammate, I was going to buy a UAZ to go to ancient monuments in Uzbekistan. But I didn’t find my passport. Later, when Sapozhnikov was already at the project, the technical team, while dismantling the cabin, found the designated document.
However, now the ancient Russian resident has no use for it.
"Authentic cattle required"
The experiment began on September 14, 2013. Preparation for it took about a year. First, in accordance with archaeological finds and ethnographic data, an ancient Russian farm of the 10th century was built.
Moreover, during the construction of a single-yard village, similar to the one built by the Slavic settlers, the same technologies were used as in the 10th century.
Under one roof there was a living area, a barn and a stable. “The design of all buildings, methods of connecting elements and roofing are fully consistent with their historical prototypes, says the initiator of the “Alone in the Past” project, Alexey Ovcharenko. — In some cases, due to time constraints, it was used modern instrument. But the vast majority of work was carried out with authentic copies of tools used in Ancient Rus'.
But, for example, it was never possible to find a team that would make wells in an authentic way. I had to make an allowance and dig with concrete rings, without a log house.”
The male part of the “warriors” helped build the house and bathhouse, the female part helped knead the clay. By the way, Pavel’s girlfriend, Irina, crushed the clay for the stove with her heels.
On the advice of the architect, to prevent the premises from rotting, the farm was moved thirty meters from the forest.
However, they did not surround the courtyard with earthen ramparts, as in ancient times. There were no enemies in sight who could storm Sapozhnikov’s farm. But to protect goats and chickens from wild animals, the estate was surrounded by a wicker fence.
Inside, along the perimeter, there was a bathhouse, a forge, a hayloft, a bread oven with a canopy, a smokehouse, and an icehouse for storing perishable foods.
Pavel's living space is small, about eight square meters. Inside there are beds, a stove-heater and an ash shelf with cups, bowls, jars, pots, flasks - everything that is needed in everyday life.
Sapozhnikov had to wash with ash. For this purpose he was provided with a tub and troughs.
Pavel had to collect firewood, repair clothes, sew new ones, disappear for a long time in the forest in search of animal prey, study fishing and gathering.
He was sent “back into the past” with an impressive set of tools: three knives, 6 axes, an adze, a bow without arrows, 4 arrowheads, a pernach, a spear, a staple, two pairs of forged scissors, an awl, 10 forged needles.
They even stocked up a fine bone comb in case they had to comb out lice.
To collect the dowry of the Boot in the Middle Ages, all these shoulder frames and panyagi, “ratobortsy” made copies of things from Ancient Rus', studied historical analogues and finds. The consultants were research fellows State Historical Museum and Novgorod Museum.
Pavel himself sewed 5 pairs of shoes, 4 linen shirts and trousers, a woolen shirt, a hood and a cloak, a sheepskin coat, prepared 5 pairs of windings, 2 tashkas, a sheepskin blanket and a lizhnik.
From the finds from the layers of ancient Russian cities, tombs and rural burials it followed that clothes in those days were made from fabric woven from sheep wool and plant fibers - flax and hemp.
The time has come to prepare food supplies. Again, according to the conditions of the experiment, it was necessary to eat only those foods that were known to the inhabitants of the 10th century. So no potatoes! Its appearance in Russia is associated with the name of Peter I, who only at the end of the 17th century sent a bag of tubers to the capital for distribution to the provinces for cultivation from Holland. There were also no tomatoes in the 10th century. And, for example, the same corn will be discovered only 500 years later by Columbus together with America. Some products, like carrots, existed then, but the varieties had changed so much after selection that it was not possible to use them either.
The hermit hero's basic food basket was based on grain. The following were poured into the barn: 200 kg of millet, 400 kg of oats, 80 kg of rye, 150 kg of barley, 150 kg of wheat.
Lard, dried fish, dried mushrooms and berries were prepared, as well as flaxseed oil, honey, nuts, apples, cabbage, pumpkin, onions, garlic and crackers.
When they began to calculate vitamins and minerals, it became clear that we could not do without milk and eggs. Four goats and a dozen chickens with a rooster came to the farm.
Moreover, what was required was not well-fed purebred cattle, but authentic ones. It was difficult to find a non-format: thin, lean animals, which farmers usually call “poor”.
Together with the snow-white dog Snow, Pavel Sapozhnikov went to the Middle Ages.
It was assumed that the hermit hero would start a video blog. In the evening, a camera will be placed in a designated location. Having turned it on, Pavel will begin to tell how his day went and share his feelings.
An external observer, colleague and friend of Pavel, Sergei Brodar, will settle half a kilometer from the historical wintering site, who will observe the farm from a tower and describe on the website the life of the ancient Russian settler Boot.
The hero will be evacuated only in the event of a real threat to life: a broken leg, blood poisoning, severe fever or mental disorder. The signal for this should have been the sound of a horn.
“Instead of a toothbrush, a fir branch”
From the very beginning, many things did not go as expected. The house, built on the eve of the project, sank and cracks formed between the logs. Every day the hermit hero spent a lot of time caulking them.
The stove smoked and could not completely warm up the modest home. When burning in black, problems with ventilation were revealed. One single window was unable to draw out the smoke from the stove.
The bread oven that the “warriors” built on the street under a canopy did not have time to dry properly due to the long August rains. In addition, to warm it up it was necessary large number firewood And then it turned out that the hop starter did not cope with raising the dough. Pavel switched to unleavened dough. I took flour, salt, water, and a little honey. I made flat cakes with a diameter of 10-12 cm and a thickness of 1-1.5 cm. I baked them over coals in a home oven, using shards of broken pots instead of a frying pan.
The flour was made from a mixture of wheat, barley and rye. I ground the grain mixture using two millstones that were inserted into the barrel. To obtain the required degree of crushing, 8 rinses and 2 sievings were required, then 2 more rinses and sifting.
The barn was not ventilated, which was a big mistake. Due to dampness, mold appeared on the walls. The grain began to sprout in places, and the dried fish spoiled. Yes, and the mice won. And the cat, who was tasked with fighting the rodents, did not show the slightest interest in them.
The autumn also turned out to be long; it rained until January. Everything in the house was saturated with moisture. The smokehouse was flooded, the pottery was broken, the only scraper (a large knife with two transverse handles for planing) sank into the well, both awls broke, and the shoes sewn with linen threads fell apart. The boot had to be remade from all four existing pairs of primitive shoes. This is where ancient spring scissors and a piece of wax for waxing the thread came in handy so that it would pass through the skin better. The hero’s leather shoes were wet, Pasha’s feet were constantly damp. No impregnation helped, be it oil or fat. Then Pavel learned to use straw as socks and insoles. By the end of the day, I dried several pairs of used compressed insoles, and the next day they were used again.
The muddy clay in the yard resembled a skating rink. One day Pavel slipped, fell and cut his finger. I had to get stitches. One of the forged needles and a harsh thread were used. The bleeding was stopped, but the stitch was festering. The boot steamed the wound in the bathhouse, and things got better.
Daylight hours were limited. Having made a notation in the calendar, the hero hurried to milk the goats, clean the barn, stock up and chop firewood, cook food, wash, mend clothes... In general, it’s easy to guess: Pasha’s enthusiasm was seriously tested.
Cut off from civilization, Boot began to talk with the goats, which he called all Glasha, and the rooster. However, I didn’t turn to chickens; I didn’t consider them worthy of attention.
It got dark early. There was no TV, no Internet, no books nearby. The boot began to sing. Modern songs didn't work. The soul asked for historical, sad and drawn-out ones. Most often, Pavel sang war songs that were heard at the front. I suddenly remembered the one that was written 200 years ago: “The king is gathering his children...” From the dimly lit house, illuminated by a pair of lights that “worked” on linseed oil, one could hear: “When we were at war...”
Boot had his own war. He had to fight with apathy, melancholy, which came from nowhere with his own anger.
Life in Ancient Rus' turned out to be harsh. Instead of racks with computer disks there is an ash shelf, instead of a carpet on the wall there is a cow hide, instead of a lighter there is flint, a stone and tinder, instead of a toothbrush there is a fir branch, instead of toilet paper there is dry moss.
For the sake of the project, Pasha had to quit smoking. Scientists say the food chain has changed. Before the experiment, his favorite dishes were buckwheat, rice, and meat. Now I had to get used to grain, lentils and goat milk.
Food supplies were melting, and the hermit’s fishing was not going well. Only once did Pavel manage to catch two roaches and cook fish soup. Small game, hares and squirrels, were also in no hurry to get caught in the snare.
“If I wanted gin, I put on some mash.”
Troubles fell on Pavel one after another. He was sick several times, had a fever, and drank herbal infusions. On one of these nights there was almost a fire. From one of the lights, which Boot did not extinguish even at night, a spark fell on the wax lying nearby, and the lid of the barrel caught fire. Sensing the smell of smoke in time, Pavel extinguished the flame.
The next day I woke up to ringing silence. Dawn was breaking, but there was still no rooster crow. It soon became clear that the rooster had been dragged away by a fox. At the edge of the forest, the hermit later found a pile of feathers - all that was left of his beloved kochet.
The dog, which was supposed to guard the farm, had by that time escaped and settled in the technical zone, where, undoubtedly, there was more food.
And the red-haired cheat, as they say, got a taste for it.
When Boot was lying with a fever, she dug into the chicken coop and dragged away the chicken. The fox’s victim was Pasha’s favorite laying hen, which produced the most eggs.
The goats soon also became one less. Having switched from mixed feed and antibiotics to the ancient Russian diet, they began to give only a glass of milk. One day, the owner forgot to tightly close the door to the pantry and, returning with water from the well, discovered the entire horned company, which was deliciously destroying the stored cabbage, grain, dried fish... While driving the impudent people out of the room, Pasha broke several ribs of one of them. The animal had to be slaughtered. The goat meat lasted him for a month. The melted interior fat was used as fuel for lamps.
There was still no snow or frost. Ice fishing was postponed. The boot had to catch tits and sparrows. An inverted basket was used, raised above the ground with a peg on a string. The bird carcasses were small, but a couple of birds were enough for the hermit’s pot of broth.
On the 111th day of the experiment, Boots killed the first chicken. The fact that she was not rushing was determined by a real veterinarian: by her hard belly and narrow sacrum. When I plucked the chicken, there was no limit to disappointment. Farm poultry was very different from store-bought broilers. In terms of the amount of meat, her legs were similar to the wings of modern 45-day-old chickens raised on soybeans and special supplements. There is no more than a centimeter of meat on the breast. Game and nothing more!
But there were also pleasant surprises. In one of happy days Pavel accidentally discovered 12 eggs at once. One of the unlucky chickens was rushing outside, in a bread oven. I decided to make a gorgeous omelet with milk, flour and green onions. I sprouted the onions for a week in pots of water. A culinary breakthrough took place, but without green feathers. The onion sprouts were eaten by a goat.
According to Pasha, he constantly wanted meat, and was also terribly short of fruit. He prepared stews from leftover apples and baked unleavened flatbreads with filling.
One day, while making juniper tea, Boots had a terrible craving for gin. I decided to “taste the intoxication” and made a mash made with honey and apples with the addition of pieces of yeast dough.
After all, our ancestors were not teetotalers.
— Modern man very depraved. He takes warmth, light, and ready-made food for granted,” says Pavel. “Here, on the farm, I developed a completely different attitude towards those products that are sold in abundance in supermarkets. I began to understand how much work was put into growing the same grain, storing it, grinding it, baking bread and delivering it to the buyer.
— On the first day after completing the project, you are not going to use the Internet, TV, mobile phone?
“I’m now thinking about whether I should get rid of my cell phone altogether?”
One feels that the 10th century has already left its mark on our hero.
The last “open day” has passed. The organizers decided that Boot should spend the remaining two months in strict isolation.
On March 22, on the day of the equinox and the beginning of the new year according to the Slavic calendar, the popular science, socio-psychological, historical and archaeological experiment will come to its logical conclusion. Scientists will summarize: what social and psychological changes have occurred in the hero’s personality. How did the refusal of constant communication, amenities, modern technologies and devices? Scientists hope to put the results of the experiment into scientific use.
Irina Anatolyevna Sapozhnikova, Pavel’s mother, whom he calls mother, is going to meet her son on the field with a hearty dinner and pie after the end of the project. She did not create any obstacles when Pasha was going “to the past.” Irina Anatolyevna believes: “Everyone has their own path in life.” Even if it leads to the Middle Ages, where you will have to try on the life of the ancient Slavs, take a lot from new reality and live with it in the present.
culture art society history
Hello. My name is Pavel Sapozhnikov. I am 24 years old. In September 2013 I started historical project, the essence of which is to live on a built copy of an ancient Russian farm for seven months without modern amenities and means of communication. In fact, I live alone in the past. At first it was very difficult to get used to loneliness and the environment. However, willy-nilly, the project is now my life. Many people are following the developments and empathizing with my ancient Russian adventures.
So that I could describe one day in my life, my colleagues gave me a camera with a notepad for taking notes. Since I do not have access to the World Wide Web, I passed on all the material to my friends with a request to send it to the community.
This is the 111th day of the project, and I will readily tell you about one of my days in the past.
Sergiev Posad district
January 03, 2014
07:30
I wake up in the house. Dark and cool. Overnight the stove cooled down and the temperature in the house dropped. 
From a small jug I pour linseed oil into the light ( early medieval night light), after which I light the wick from a hand-twisted wax candle, which in turn was lit from the coals in the stove. 
I deftly put on the windings ( a long and narrow strip of fabric for wrapping a leg up to the knee - the great-grandfather of foot wraps), which I never rewind or pull up once during the whole day. But this is experience already acquired on the project, a skill brought to the point of automatism. Previously, this was much more difficult. 
I check with a calendar I made myself, which at the same time serves as a kind of diary.. 
And I make a notch above the door frame on the second duplicate calendar, so as not to lose count and not completely get lost in the past. It's day 111. 
On the slope I lace up my leather boots tightly, put on an outer shirt made of homespun wool and belt it. It's as dark outside as it is in the house. 
I collect dry brushwood stored in the living part of the house, set fire to the birch bark and light the stove, which flares up in just a couple of minutes. 
I throw in a couple of larger logs, which means that there will soon be a lot of smoke in the house (the ancient Russian stoves did not have chimneys and the house is heated in a black way). It's time for me to start my daily routine. 
The first thing I do is check the barn. My main friends and people to hang out with are livestock: 3 goats and chickens. Out of habit, I greet all the animals, then I count the chickens (that night, for example, there were no foxes that died from the raids, and all 13 birds were in place, which is good news). 
The goat is already waiting in its place for morning milking, so I take out a bowl from behind the lintel and place it under the goat. I rest my left knee on my chest so that I don’t run away, and I start milking. The whole process takes no more than a minute, and the yield turns out to be extremely meager - about 200 ml, which for me, given my rather large physique, is enough for one sip. I'm drinking right away breakfast and I go outside, releasing the animals at the same time. 
It's time to chop wood. I chop the logs into quarters... 
I collect water from the well and return to the residential part of the house. 
It's very warm, but so smoky that you can't see anything. I let out smoke through the doorway and the glass window. Then I light the stove again with dry wood chips (those two logs have already burned) and start cooking. 
I place a jug of water in a special hole in the upper part of the stove. Thanks to this “burner”, the jug is heated from an open fire, and not from stones, which significantly reduces the boiling time. Having added berries and a little honey to the boiling water, I lay down on a bench and wait (the house is small, as a rule, I lie on the floors, and when heating the stove with dry fuel, you can only lie down in the house - the acrid smoke spreads quite low). 
A few minutes later the “compote” began to boil, I poured myself a mug and lay down on the bench again. Slowly sipping the uzvar, I sing a drawn-out song - this is how the early morning ends. 
09:00
It's getting light outside, which means it's time to start the main activity. I go out into the street, approach the well and look around for a long time with a thoughtful look, making a plan for the coming day. Suddenly, a raven started cawing in the forest. I immediately grabbed the street and ran to the edge of the forest, quickly examining the area along the edge and the undergrowth, and returned to the farm again. A month ago I was harassed by foxes who managed to drag away a rooster and a hen, so now I am vigilant and listen to the signs of nature. 
After a run near the forest, I start my routine and first of all I close the doorway to the hayloft, after which I begin to catch the chickens. Twisting the wings into a lock, I check each chicken to see if it is laying eggs or not. I sort the birds into three groups: I put the laying hens in a closed hayloft, I lock the few laying hens in the barn, and I decide to slaughter the not laying ones, for the first time on the project, but not right away - there are 2 of these birds. 
The choice fell on a less beautiful bird. I put it in a bucket and cover it with a lid, and let everyone else go outside again. 
Next, I set about making short forks, which are convenient for working in narrow spaces, such as a hayloft or barn. 
After that, I start cleaning the barn, which needs to be done 1-2 times a week. First, I scrape all the hay from the floors, and then from the floor. But I don’t do hay harvesting often, because when it rots it produces more heat, and in the cold season this is very important for me. 
And I stack them in lush piles. The observational method revealed that chickens lay eggs better when there is a lot of hay, and it is stacked in piles. 
While cleaning, I discover two eggs. Of course, not the best result, but this is only overnight, and on average chickens lay 4-6 eggs per day. I carefully place the eggs I find under the roof so that I don’t have to go into the living part of the house several times and so that the eggs don’t accidentally break. 
11:00
I take it out of the stable spruce branches outside because they dried out and the goats stopped eating them. But as soon as the branches were outside the barn, the animals greedily began to gnaw them. 
After that, I take an ax and a rope and head into the forest. Having gone literally a couple of meters, I find a fallen spruce. Having cut down the branches, I tie them up and return to the farm. And here we need to clean out the trough in order to fill it with grain for the chickens. 
I'm chopping wood again... 
I fill the boiler with water, go into the house and put it on the stove to warm up. While the water in the cauldron is boiling, I again settle down on the rubble to rest and warm my feet, which have become frozen while doing business outside. You can't get sick in the 10th century. 
13:30
It's time to start preparing food. I take a basket of groceries outside and all the animals follow me, expecting something tasty. 
I will be preparing lentil stew, so I peel the onions, the skins of which are immediately eaten by the goats, and prepare dried mushrooms - cut them into cubes. 
I add two eggs and cereal, throw everything into the pot and place it at the entrance to the oven, stirring occasionally. In 20-30 minutes my dinner is ready. But now we need to get to work on the chicken that is destined to be an addition to dinner. 
I go outside and take the bird out of the bucket by its feet. Then I take her by the neck and with a sharp movement I twist her neck. Having cut off the head and wings, I take the pot of boiling water to the well and scald the carcass. Honestly, I have never had to kill a bird before, but since there is very little meat in my diet, mostly milk, eggs and cereals, I am guided by instincts. 
I cut up the chicken quite quickly, there was little meat in it - this is not a broiler from supermarket shelves. I put the legs in a plate, and buried the rest in the snow on the roof of the bathhouse, so that later I could cook the chicken broth a couple more times and enjoy the chicken meat. 
The food preparations are done, you can start working on the house. I take a knife, inspect the cracks - it is blowing strongly, the stove cannot cope with the cold. I take a shovel from the shoulder blade of a goat (a month earlier I had to slaughter a goat, but even the bones were useful on the farm) and head behind the house, where moss is hidden in the snow. 
Having collected a whole basket, I begin to caulk the house, tucking moss into the cracks. 
The process is labor-intensive and lengthy. It took over four baskets to fill all the visible gaps inside and outside the house. Having checked all the cracks from the inside with a candle, I am satisfied with the work and decide that it is time to milk the goat, since it is getting dark. 
17.00
This time I caught a goat on the street and milked only 100 ml. It won't even take half a sip. Sighing heavily, he drank, after which he led the nurse into the barn, followed by the remaining animals, wishing them good night. 
And now it’s time to enjoy the meat: the wood has already burned well and left coals, I decided to make barbecue legs. 
After 20 minutes the dish was ready and for me it was truly a royal dinner along with the previously prepared stew. 
Having finished eating, I decided to wash my shirt. The stones warmed up well during the day, so I took them with blacksmith tongs.. 
He threw it into a barrel of water and soaked the shirt. 
I dipped my hands in boiling water and enjoyed the warm water for a long time; I really missed a hot bath. After washing my face and neck, I started washing. 
I always wash the dirtiest places - collars and sleeves... 
And after several rinses, he took the clothes outside and hung them on a stick. It's a pity that there is no frost. 
18:30
Since it was already completely dark, and with that the household part of the day had come to an end, I hummed and entered the house again. You can get ready for bed. Sitting comfortably on the bench, he unwound the windings... 
He took out the insoles and socks from the shoes, knitted using a special early medieval knot method, and laid them on the stove to dry. 
After which he dipped his bare feet in a bucket of still hot water in order to prevent a cold. 
There was silence in the barn. He checked the animals again by blowing hot air into them from the stove, and began to go to bed. 
Carefully folding my clothes and spreading out my fur sleeping bag, I thought that another day had come, alone and in the past. Various thoughts come to me here, my worldview and values change greatly, I think more and more about the life of our ancestors, the frailty and meaninglessness of existence. But his eyes began to stick together, he had no strength to fight against the heavy eyelids, so, wrapped in skins, he blew out the light and fell into sleep. 
19:00
The house was enveloped in pitch darkness. 