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 is the best time. The most convenient time for life. And life in the 9th century is a nightmare. People then lived sadly, hard and not for long," such a chief The conclusion was 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 the temptations of the modern world, Paul 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 with 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 I don’t have the rest for 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 great 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 "gore fight" 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 kaftans open or not. Everyone thinks that kaftans 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.
What will happen to a city dweller if he lives in the wilderness for six months without the benefits of civilization? To answer this question, the Gazeta.Ru correspondent went to the closing of the “Alone in the Past” project, the participant of which honestly spent six months in complete isolation from the outside world in the living conditions of an ancient Russian village of the 10th century.
I almost cursed everything in the world by the time I got to the farm.
“Ask the taxi driver to take you to the camel field. From the railway station it’s two hundred rubles,” Nastya wrote to me.
“What kind of field with camels?!” - I thought. When I asked if the taxi driver would understand me, a minute later I received an answer by mail that he would understand, “they are used to it.” The place where I went was kept secret, and this unique landmark was only revealed to me on the eve of the trip. Nastya is the PR director of the agency for historical projects “Ratobortsy”, which conducted a large-scale experiment called “Alone in the Past”.
In the Moscow region, a small farm was built similar to an ancient Russian village of the 10th century. A 24-year-old Muscovite, passionate about history, who abandoned his medical studies a couple of years ago, was settled there. The guy spent six months in this village - in complete isolation from the outside world, living according to the laws of our ancestors from the early Middle Ages.
Pavel Sapozhnikov, nicknamed Boot, made fire from a chair, hunted to get food for himself, milked goats, cooked onion soup and porridge, and sewed clothes from sheep skins. He also used them as a blanket. I learned to tell time by the sun. Pavel reported on everything that happened to him in a special video blog.
The organizers of the experiment pursued several goals at once. Firstly, they wanted to test in practice the facts that are known to historians and archaeologists about life in Rus' at that time. Secondly, they conducted a real socio-psychological experiment: what is it like to spend six months alone in the wilderness without any benefits of civilization? And even for a young resident of a metropolis.
Getting to the farm turned out to be difficult. About once a month, an expert group consisting of a doctor, psychologist and project volunteers was allowed to visit Pavel. Journalists could also be accredited for this kind of open day, but the registration was such that in January it was only possible to sign up for the summing up of the project at the end of March.
The taxi driver, of course, didn’t understand anything when he said “field of camels,” and I was late for the start of the event.
Where is your field with camels? - we asked passers-by through the car window. A stern man with an earring in his ear helped us on the side of the road, standing next to a dozen empty cars.
Who are you? - he asked, still rummaging around in his SUV.
Journalist.
Then you should go there,” he waved somewhere towards the forest. - Walk across the field, you won’t miss.
Mentally saying goodbye to my sneakers, I trudged through the mess of mud and snow. Soon my feet got wet, and on the horizon something really appeared that looked like a small village of several buildings, surrounded by a fence. As I got closer, I could make out animal skulls on sticks along the fence and low wooden buildings.
A healthy bearded guy with a brown braid, all smeared with soot and some kind of dirt, stood at the gate surrounded by a crowd of journalists. He involuntarily winced and covered his face from the cameras.
Have you already decided what the first thing you will do after finishing the project? Maybe take a hot bath? - one of the journalists asked him.
“Not necessarily,” the guy answered phlegmatically. This was the same Boot who spent six months here. - I'm used to a fairly measured life. For me, taking a bath now or in three days is all pretty close. After all, it had been so long since I had taken a bath that it could wait a few more hours or days. Just like anything else. The last time I washed my hair was about a month ago.
What's your mood? - someone shouted from behind my shoulder.
You probably won't understand me. Slow, - Boot is laconic. It seems that after so many months of solitude, he was extremely annoyed to see a crowd of journalists with cameras and voice recorders. When asked what he took away from the project, Pavel froze for a minute in thought. Everyone waited patiently.
There are a lot of discoveries. Well, for example, do you see these shoes? - He pointed to his leather boots. Obviously, our ancestors once walked across these fields wearing these. - I went through them twice in six months - the laces rotted. “I should have worn rubber boots,” I thought sadly. - In such wet weather, tenth-century shoes last about two months if three pairs are worn at once. If there is one - accordingly, significantly less. I believe that this was unknown to historians before. There are a lot of such small historical discoveries.
But my main conclusion is that in the tenth century people lived very poorly. I knew this before, but now I am sure of it.
Another pause. Everyone froze. What was happening looked like a meeting between a guru and his disciples.
It's hard to think in such conditions. Your head goes blank, and most of the time there are no thoughts at all. And this is for me, a modern person who has something to remember, who is very educated compared to people of that time. I imagine how people used to live. How dark they were. The thought comes hard. I had never encountered this feeling before this project, so I think you don’t even understand what I’m talking about. Without normal lighting in the house, and indeed in the living conditions of the 10th century, winter is a disastrous time in all respects. I think people were just waiting it out. Daylight hours are short, it’s inconvenient to work, everything is damp, and it’s constantly cold. You can’t do anything in the house, there’s not enough light. A small light provides very little lighting, and you can’t light a lot, otherwise there won’t be enough to last the whole winter. At first, I woke up early, long before dawn, fell asleep late, and sitting in the house in complete darkness for six hours and not being able to do anything was no fun at all. Over time, I began to sleep more and more. After all, during the darkest hours I slept 13–14 hours a day, which is twice as much as normal for me.
What was the most difficult thing for you during all this time? - I ask.
Once, when there was frost for two weeks in winter, I walked through the forest, collecting firewood. When I returned home, it was already starting to get dark, and my hands were very cold. I couldn't light a fire all evening - my fingers wouldn't obey. There were a lot of such moments.
Then mice. The mice arrived almost immediately. It takes them several hours to dig a hole under the house. I lost the war with mice. Then the rats came and destroyed the mice. I was happy, but after a while I realized that I had lost the war to the rats.
It is impossible to fight them in any way. I have come to terms with it. In fact, living with rats in the house is not so bad; they do not interfere at all. If you hang food items higher from the ceiling, they are quite harmless. I got used to the squeaking at night quite quickly. They didn’t become insolent enough to rush at me. The cat didn't help. When the cat came and spent the night with me in the house, neither mice nor rats dared to run on the floor and only ran under the floor. Perhaps a ferret would solve the problem, but a ferret would immediately solve the problem with chickens,” Boot smiled, probably for the first time in all his time.
In general, according to Pavel, living conditions on the farm turned out to be somewhat simpler than he expected: “In this regard, I was somewhat disappointed. Besides, this is still near Moscow. What a hunt there is." One of the most important tests for Pavel was not the difficulties caused by the lack of benefits of civilization, but loneliness. For some reason, the dog Snowball ran away from him, and apart from chickens, geese, three goats and a cat who came from time to time, there was no one to talk to.
You can't get used to this. The person is too social. You can either suffer or go crazy and resign yourself. There may be some people who can be alone for a long time, but I am not one of them. Although I can’t say that I’m very sociable, I’m fine without people. But not for such long periods of time. It's hard.
“I’m actually now thinking of leaving you all and leaving,” Boot suddenly said, after which he up and left, leaving the journalists bewildered.
It's hard for him now. On the open days there were fewer people, and somehow he felt calmer,” a strong man of about fifty, who introduced himself as Mikhail, told me as if apologizing. He offered to show me the farm, which, as it turned out, was built with his own hands. Mikhail learned about the project on the Internet. He was always interested in history, “he knows how to hold an ax, so he decided to contribute to the project.”
According to the plan, the farm copies the archaeological finds of that time in Veliky Novgorod,” Mikhail proudly explained to me. - We built a house consisting of three parts: a living part in the center. On the sides there is a place for livestock and a barn with supplies. Next to the house there is a glacier six meters down. This is a fairly deep hole in which water collects, in winter it freezes, and the ice lasts all summer. A place for a forge was planned just behind the glacier, but Pavel did not have time for it. To the right of the glacier there is a room for an outdoor bread oven, in which they usually baked for several yards at once. They planned to make a smokehouse right behind the stove. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough strength for her either. In the center of the courtyard there is a 25-meter well, next to it is a bathhouse, heated in black.
It took about a year to prepare the farm, including six months directly for construction. “Well, that’s it, they let him out,” Mikhail exhaled dissatisfiedly and ran to catch the chicken that had escaped from the barn. And I went to the residential part of the house, where the organizer of the project, Alexey Ovcharenko, answered the journalists’ remaining questions.
There is approximately 10 sq. m,” he showed the room. - In general, this house is too big for one person. A whole family could fit in such an area - there are four people in the room, and we have difficulty turning around. I’m not used to seeing anything in the dark, and I’m trying not to step on a pile of stones in the center of the dark room. Apparently it was a stove. - Yes, this is what remains of the heating system. Three days before the end of the project, Pasha’s stove fell apart. It’s good that the frosts are over, otherwise things would have been really bad for him. He plans to shift it. The house was heated mainly by heated stones. In the evening it heated up to 25°C, in the morning it was about 14°C. And here the mouse is squeaking, do you hear?
What is the main goal of your experiment? - I ask Alexey.
What was the main goal of the discoverers who went to discover the North Pole? - he smiles. - So they got on skis, walked through the snow, rode on dog sleds, some died, some didn’t make it, some put the flag in the wrong place, but that’s the thing, they are pioneers. We can say that Pasha today is the same pioneer. Do you have any more questions?
But still, why “field with camels”?
And here is an ethnopark nearby, they breed camels there.
Well, now everything is clear.
An unexpected, large-scale and completely crazy reconstruction project started this weekend in the Khotkovo district in the Moscow region. Many to whom I told about the reconstruction of certain historical eras asked me “Why all this?”, others made comments like “Mummers are walking around, there is nothing to do.” In fact, many reenactors are engaged in trying to restore history, experience the life of our ancestors and tell others interesting facts from the past from their own experience. For example, how quickly do leather shoes get washed in everyday life? How to preserve grain and other supplies for the winter without using modern technologies? We know the answers to such questions from archaeological finds and the conclusions that scientists draw from them. But these are all theories. How was it in practice?...
The project “Alone in the Past,” organized by the reconstruction agency Ratobor, is designed to answer many questions regarding the life of a person who lived in the 10th century. A year of careful preparation and study of historical materials allowed us to prepare the ground for immersing a person in the conditions of that period. The volunteer who volunteered to become the hero of the experiment was reenactor Pavel Sapozhnikov (Boot). He will have to live alone in difficult conditions for more than 7 months, using only those tools that were available in the era of the Early Middle Ages in Rus'.
Pavel will live in his small farm with a house, a bathhouse and several outbuildings. He is only allowed to go outside to hunt or gather necessities from the forest. Any communication with people is prohibited for greater purity of the experiment. 
To my question about the safety of the participant and protection from all sorts of ill-wishers, they answered me: “So he’s not alone, he has Snowball.” 
There is a well on the territory of the farm. Time will tell how effective it is in winter. 
You won’t be able to go to the nearest store to buy bread. Now, to do this, you will have to grind flour, put out the dough and bake the bread yourself. And don’t forget that wet autumn is ahead, followed by winter; you still need to be able to save grain. Mice, by the way, are no longer particularly keen on preserving supplies. 
The house was built according to descriptions found in books. The use of logs in the construction of the roof, together with the main root raised upward, made it possible to keep its heavy covering on the roof. I'll tell you more about this a little later. 
The house itself is divided into three parts: a stable, a living area and a barn. The living part is a very small room, with a bed and a small stove. Now it is very difficult to move along it without touching the supplies stored for the winter. 
The hlem has pets that will help Pavel survive the winter. 
These voracious goats will most likely not be alive by the end of the project. As other reenactors who came to take Pavel back in time joked, it is possible that Snowball will “escape” before spring. 
While Pavel was preparing for the official reception of guests and the launch of the project, we were given a tour of the new platform for the warriors. 
The guys have really grandiose plans. Recently, many eco- and ethno-settlements have appeared, where they are trying to recreate the atmosphere of the past. Here the goal is completely different - to try to completely restore history. Any reenactor can try to live on the field, the only condition is authenticity. The dwelling can only be built from materials available in the ancient era and using authentic tools. Even the delivery of materials is planned to be limited to carts, no cars.
These dugouts and half-dugouts were built according to the descriptions found, but non-compliance with construction technology due to haste led to the fact that after heavy rains they were completely flooded with groundwater. Whether they will survive the winter is a big question. Using their example, you can see how the roof was covered in ancient times. Birch bark was laid on the boards, which prevented rotting and was a good waterproofing agent, and earth was poured on top, the purpose of which was thermal insulation.
There is an Irish cottage in the background. The cunning Irishman did not bury himself in the ground, as was done in Eastern Europe, so his house is warm and dry. But it is not immune from surprises; many of the secrets of old buildings are lost and can only be restored by trial and error. 
After an interesting tour of the nascent site, we returned to see Pavel off. His friends have prepared a lot of gifts for him that will be useful in the test.
First of all, of course, it's food. They gave everything from berries and honey... 
and ending with meat... 
and fish. 
That same “Irishman” presented a whole set for a forge and metal from which Pavel could make himself weapons for hunting and tools. 
Physical help is very necessary, but without moral support it is also difficult.
Therefore, Pavel was given an ideal and proven interlocutor. 
Winter is ahead and warm clothes will be greatly needed. 
The fur coat is a little small, but everyone agreed that very soon it would be just right for our hero. 
It's time to say goodbye. All friends gathered together at the start of this, without exaggeration, historical event. 
The project will last until March 21, 2014. Pavel will be observed and regularly written about his life. Paul himself will occasionally have access to the Internet to talk about his life.
You can follow the project on the website
History is cool! You can't argue with that.
But textbooks are boring and make you yawn.
Today, perhaps, only documentary cinema can allow us to look at history in a new way, with the help of experiments, experiences, and spectacular research. We are not talking about standard narrative films that make you sad, but about high-quality videos in the style of the Discovery or National Geographic channels. This is exactly the kind of film we want to create.
Movie theme.
What was it like to live in Ancient Rus'? What did they eat, how did they hunt, what did our ancestors, born a thousand years ago, do? The socio-psychological experiment “Alone in the Past” will be devoted to this.
Nothing like this has ever been organized in Russia. The Ratobortsy club took up this task. We decided to go further and cover all the details of this damn complicated project.
Details of the project “Alone in the Past”.
For 8 months the hero of the project will live in the conditions of the early Middle Ages. Without modern conveniences, without electricity, without communications, without the usual food and clothing. Just a small farm, livestock, and loneliness.
Pavel Sapozhnikov dared to do all this. He has been involved in historical reconstruction for a long time, but has never delved into the past so deeply and for so long.
How hard will it survive the winter without central heating? What will they eat and how will it be prepared? Will it be possible to catch game using antediluvian methods? How will such harsh conditions affect his health – physical and mental? You will not know about all this if you do not cover the experiment properly.
It is very difficult to organize a non-stop filming process for 8 months so as not to interfere with the progress of the experiment. You need professional equipment and a team. Without this, it is impossible to qualitatively reflect all the most interesting aspects of the test.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, a high level requires high costs: equipment rental, filming and editing.
We have already started work, as it would be a shame to miss some important details of the experiment.
This is how the site construction process progressed
But enthusiasm alone won't get you far, if you're talking
It's on such a scale. Pavel Sapozhnikov will travel back in time 8 months. And all this time you need to monitor how he copes with all the tests.
So what are we raising money for?
Filming the hero's life on a farm (this requires professional equipment, with the help of which we can capture the most interesting moments without disturbing Pavel's loneliness). Renting this equipment, as you understand, costs money.
Installation. A huge amount of material needs to be processed. It's no secret that editing such programs on television costs tens of thousands of dollars. But this takes into account all the markups from the producers. We don’t overcharge and therefore can handle it for less. But it also needs to be collected!
Graphics. Not a single high-quality modern film can do without a graphical shell. Screensavers, fillers, dies and so on. And this requires considerable effort from very expensive specialists. I don’t want to do it on my knee, it could ruin the whole process.
Remember that if there are not enough people willing to support the idea of creating the historical documentary film “Alone in the Past,” then the money of all sponsors will return to their accounts - this is how the Boomstarter system works, so the funds will not go into emptiness and will not be lost. But of course we will be upset. However, let’s not be sad at the very beginning of the process, but rather cross our fingers for good luck!
We ask all those who are curious about the fate of our hero, as well as those who are interested in history, to become accomplices of a great and important cause. Let's create a documentary film together dedicated to the history of Rus', worthy of world festivals and competitions!
Details about rewards.
We don't want our sponsors to get a pig in a poke, so we'll break down some of the rewards here.
Time Machine reward. Invitation card to the ethno-village in Khotkovo. Let’s not lie, people in ancient Russian costumes don’t walk around the ethno-village 24/7. But it's still interesting there. You can feed local animals, geese, donkeys and even camels. But most importantly, you will be able to look at the farm where the hermit Pavel Sapozhnikov lives. From afar, so as not to disturb his sacred solitude! The cost of this reward is 400 rubles!
Reward “Image and Likeness”. Here is an example of a processed photo. The cost of the reward is 1000 rubles.
The reward “Hey, let’s whoop” also requires decoding. What kind of miracle club is this? Look how it looks in the hands of the hero of the project, Pavel Sapozhnikov. Such a club was the main weapon of the ancient Russian militias. Not all warriors could afford swords, and it was with the help of such clubs that many battles were won. The cost of the reward is 5,000 rubles, delivery in Moscow and the Moscow region at our expense!
The “Memorable Verses” reward was invented not without a bit of humor. To understand approximately what type of poems will be, let's give an example. If you wish, you can print out such a birch bark letter (sent by mail or via social networks) and hang it on the wall - let it please the eye! Cost 600 rubles.
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 the 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 a 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 Alexey Ovcharenko, the initiator of the “One in the Past” project. — In some cases, due to time constraints, a modern instrument was used. 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 prepare firewood, repair clothes, sew new ones, spend a long time in the forest in search of animal prey, and engage in 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, and 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 panyags, “ratobortsy” made copies of things from Ancient Rus', studied historical analogues and finds. The consultants were researchers from the State Historical Museum and the 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, heating it required a large amount of 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 dim 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. One happy day, 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 the 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 is very corrupt. 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, are you going to use the Internet, TV, or 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, convenience, modern technology and devices affect him? Scientists hope to put the results of the experiment into scientific circulation.
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 the new reality and live with it in the present.
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