In the Tikhvin region, a hermit was found who had lived in the forest for a hundred years. Lost mushroom pickers stumbled upon the woman's hut. Near the dwelling, they found a semblance of a temple: a fireplace, a stone and several "anthropomorphic" pillars. The local historian was told about the find. Finding a resident of the forest by the approximate mark on the map was not easy, the search continued for several months.
On the first visit of the researchers, the almost 100-year-old woman ran away. Contact was not established immediately: the hermit did not speak Russian. When we managed to find those who knew Veps, it finally became clear that the name of Oks's grandmother is the Vepsian version of the name Oksana or Aksinya.
She said that once her grandfather took the whole family into deep forests, fleeing collectivization. Cast iron irons with Soviet stamps, left over from those times, are still kept in Oksa's house. The family was large: grandfather, grandmother, Oksa's parents, her sister and three brothers. The last representative of the family - Oksa's sister, whose name was Palag (Pelageya) - died several years ago. Oksa is sure that she has been living for a hundred years. But she admits that she never counted her years.
When asked how Oksa survived all this time, she replied that Christ and an old spruce marked with "heavenly fire" helped her - once a lightning hit the tree. She also told about her main patron - "the owner of the forest", to whom she prayed all her life. It is to him, as well as to the spirits of ancestors, that the home temple of Oksa is dedicated. She says that her ancestors constantly talk to her, warn against dangers.
- Once a bear came. I sat out in the house. The "master of the forest" warned me - he gave a sign, - said the hermit.
Oksa does not want to leave the forest for the big world, where there is medicine and social guarantees for the elderly. “I am healing with herbs and prayers. Why do I need anything else? - she wonders.
