Isolated Hermits of Ukraine and Russia

"Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, and great enough to die for." These great words from Dag Hammarskjold can relate to the men of Ukraine and Russia that have become alienated from human society to live "off grid" in the back woods of their countries. They have chosen to find peace and harmony with the unknown world, and are willing to die in and for it. 

A hermit stands and watches for people passing by.

Hermits, another name given to the men that have extricated themselves socially, have made their own shelters/homes out of the surrounding resources. The names to these hermits were not included because some of them do not even have documents.


A home in the middle of nowhere.

Photographer, Danila Tkachenko, was on a mission to find and interact with the men of the woods. He had called local authorities, park rangers, newspapers, and nature reserves to find the men in Ukraine and Russia.  

Before he had taken these photos, he had spent days with these men. He observed that they were "quite talkative and nice." The hermits live off of what they gather, hunt, or find. If they become terminally ill, they find folk methods to deal with their conditions. They never have or will leave the woods, it is their home.  



A burrow home  built into the hill.