A dugout with a toilet bowl and your own YouTube channel. Russian hobbit Car can be eaten for life

Hi all.

07/14/2018 my family visited the Hobbit the Hermit.

The hermit's name is Yuri and for several years he has been living in a dugout.

I learned about this man from youtube videos and I wanted to get to know him better.

After watching several videos that were filmed by various people dropping in on the way to an unusual resident (or specially coming to visit him), I realized that Yuri was already pretty tired of the guests, many of whom tortured him with questions about his personal life, all the while constantly ( in most cases without asking) filming it on camera.

I understood that the Hermit should have his own time when he sleeps or eats, so at night, in the evening and in the morning it is stupid to come to a person. A day is acceptable, in my opinion.

I will not hide that it was inconvenient for me to go and communicate with Yuri, but curiosity got the better of us and we went to visit while it was still possible.

I did not know what to bring him as a gift, I searched the entire Internet in an attempt to find out from others what the Hermit really needed, but did not find an answer to my request.

As a result, they cleaned the carrots for the Petrushka rabbit, and I found Yuri a cup with a picture of a rabbit, coffee and sugar. I brought coffee only because I knew that Yuri was quite hospitable and treats coffee.

I am embarrassed to drink and eat at a party, and my husband even more so, and it seems to me that we even offended Yuri with our refusal.

When we arrived, we saw a couple of parked cars, apparently, sooo many guests go to him.

We waited a bit and went to the booth with the phone. We picked up the phone and heard the voice of Yuri, he invited us and we went down to the dugout.

Yuri gave me his hand and laid a rug for us to sit down..

I can’t say for sure if the Hobbit needs something, but he loves to read books, there are a lot of them in his dugout. To be honest, I also like the paper version, not the electronic one. Since childhood, I read a lot, until now my father is very kind to books and the whole apartment is full of books (there are two rows of books on the shelves, books under the bed, books in the corridor, etc.), so books are the first thing I I noticed when I entered the Hobbit's dwelling.

He felt tired and he looked like a wise man, but his look betrayed his young age.

His views on life are not close to me, but perhaps he is right in some way ..

And I am absolutely not interested in who and what says about him, because a person can be judged only by talking to him personally. I mean, many people talk about the fact that they have left a residue from communicating with the Hermit.

I did not ask Yuri questions, it was clear that he was tired of them and, in principle, it is indecent to come to visit and start "torturing".

I tried to speak only on those topics that he himself touched on, and, basically, my husband talked with Yuri.

My son fed the rabbit Petrushka with carrots, which, by the way, the rabbit liked. Parsley allows himself to be stroked, but does not caress, he loves his master and tries not to stray far from him. Probably, numerous guests also tire him.

It seems to me that Yuri has practically no friends. Yes, there are those who support him, but more curious ..

It's hard to find friends these days though.

In general, we were satisfied with the trip, we had a "talent" from clay from the Hobbit the Hermit as a keepsake.

Passing the 106th kilometer of the Yaroslavl Highway, many people notice a strange building like a wigwam not far from the road, which is actually not a wigwam at all, but a tipi - the dwelling of nomadic Indians. But where do the Indians come from in Yaroslavl?

It turns out that a certain Yuriy built the building a few years ago, and also dug a dugout nearby, where he lives. Yes, not alone, but with Petruha ...

We went out to see what kind of housing it is. There is no fence, only the gates in the middle of the field are marked with columns - so that it is clear where to go.

Some people in the distance are launching a tolerant kite.

Parking at the entrance and some birdhouses ...

DOORPHONE
Feel free to notify about your phenomenon in order to avoid misunderstandings.

A red telephone from the 80s is connected to a dugout and works! We call and inform about the phenomenon of ourselves.

In principle, you can immediately guess what the secret is.

We look into the wigwam - no one. Only a hearth made of stones, books and a log with a chair. It's a reading room!

We go a little further and find ourselves in front of a real dugout, some kind of audiobook sounds from the speaker on the roof.

Entrance, inside view. Fire safety observed!

And here is the owner!

Meet Yuri Alekseev, a former lawyer, and now homeless, as he positions himself.
His house burned down a few years ago and this is already the second dugout that he dug out and lives here for his own pleasure - he does housework, reads and receives guests. He does not plan to return to the benefits of civilization - there is too much fuss and unnecessary effort.

For the construction of the dugout, it took a little - a shovel, dry pine trunks, polyethylene, clay and stones.
Water for the household is used rainwater, which Yuri collects (how exactly, she did not specify).
The sleeping mattress was somehow brought by guest workers, the rest was added as they arrived ...

And the photos of the classics fit perfectly into the interior.

A white rabbit lives in a hole, he is also Petruha and an old friend of Yuri.

Attentive and thoughtful.

Edgar the raven also lives here. This one was embarrassed by the guests and pretended to be interested in the traffic going on outside the window along Yaroslavka.

The survival manual came in handy for the first time.

Inside is the same red telephone, through which the owner hears a call from the intercom.

Rope shelf.

Life is quite simple - food is cooked on a gas burner, the most common products are used.
When asked what to bring, Yuri denied for a long time, assuring that nothing was needed. But already if you carry, then peas. Peas, buckwheat and other cereals...
From myself, I would add that tea, coffee, sugar and drinking water also do not interfere. Well, buns by default.

Behind the clay partition there are all amenities. Behind the other wall there is even a bathhouse, but it was dark there and there will be no pictures.

Yuri is a local landmark and guests appear in the house every day - he is a hospitable and sociable owner, he will give you tea or coffee, and guests usually bring cookies with them. It will not do without communication - we listened to a wonderful lecture about the absurd, Chekhov and cucumber, and other topics were probably discussed with other guests.

Not without the blessings of civilization - from the solar battery installed on the roof of the hole, a laptop works and Yuri regularly goes online.
He does not like to read news from the big world and says that the world has been going the wrong way for a long time.
However, he does not intend to cut off communication with the outside world, periodically posting news on the Facebook page of Polyana 106.

About travel:
– Let not I move past everything, but let everything move past me. I'll sit down, and let the whole world go...

The birdhouses on the street turned out to be a book depository. In addition to the crowd of books that are in the dwelling, they are everywhere here.
Do you know what Book Crossing is?

By registering yourself and assigning a special number to the book, you leave it in a pre-arranged place (cafe, park, train station, bus, etc.), where anyone can take and read it. In this way, the book is "liberated", saved from standing on the shelf.

The former owner of the book will always know about the movement of his "pet", receiving an e-mail about whose hands it fell into and how it ended up there. The second side goal is to turn the whole world into a "huge library".

Tea cups for new arrivals.

The role of the table is played by a coil from under the cable.

Tea from a samovar in the fresh air - what could be more beautiful?

By the way, not far from Yurina dugout, several more similar ones have recently appeared - there were followers of a lifestyle without unnecessary things. The territory was called Zurbagan, it is practically a camp of modern hermits.

Guests are guests, but it's time to know the honor. Moscow is still more than a hundred kilometers away, and we will only be at home in 4 hours, having collected all the traffic jams.
Do you have questions for Yuri? Ask, I hope he answers them here. Or drop in for a visit, but be sure to grab a book!

Petruha came out to see us off.

Hand on heart, would you risk being able to live like this?

Here is what the media shot about him two years ago:

The national Indian dwelling - tipi - appeared in the Yaroslavl region. And it's not a museum at all. The owner of the dugout, Yuri, has fully equipped his life here and hides from the noise of big cities. Although guests are always welcome.

A rare driver will not slow down on the 106th kilometer of the Yaroslavl Highway. It's really hard to get past this. A real tipi is a portable Indian dwelling. For its owner, 39-year-old Yuri, this house is not at all temporary, it is permanent. There is simply no other. " These are life circumstances, on which philosophy is then superimposed. Or which provide a basis for the development of philosophy", says Yuri.

It has nothing to do with Indian culture. It was the teepee he built, because it is fast, only a few hours of work and simple - a few wooden poles and a piece of dense fabric. A dugout next door - a winter version - has been building for four months. He has almost two higher educations - a half-educated programmer and an accomplished lawyer. Three years ago, I went to the office every day. Rented an apartment in Moscow. Then there was less work, housing was more modest, the struggle for survival became more acute. " I begin to feel: yes, I do not need this apartment. Why do I need this apartment somewhere out there, it is not clear where, in some corners, in some gray house, it is not clear where. And life begins outside of this, that is, outside of this idea of ​​the physical. That is, it begins at the Bolshoi Theater, at the Conservatory. It starts in the images created by the writers in the books you read.", says Yuri.

The dugout built by him has everything necessary for life: light from the battery, heat from the stove, even its own bathhouse. Yuri does not play musical instruments, but he bought a violin. Speaks to better understand the process of interaction between the musician and the instrument. He, in principle, has a lot of time for everything - for understanding and awareness.

Now he is infatuated with Brodsky. Lines from Brodsky on wooden tablets he placed on a special stand. So he communicates with the world passing by.

Guests often visit him. Foreigners sometimes spend several nights. It's like being in an open-air museum here. There is even a symbolic Christmas tree for the New Year.

Yuri does not take money for stays and excursions, he does not need them here. Products are delivered to him by acquaintances and motorists passing by. Food is prepared exclusively on a fire.

How to call him - a downshifter, a hermit, yes, just a city madman, Yuri himself does not know. He says he expects this from visiting guests. And he also expects dialogue and dispute from them. After all, he is here to know the world and himself. And since visitors are distracting, so let them at least bring some benefit in the birth of truth.

Lilia Popova, Oleg Lapshov. TV Center.

For five years now, on the Yaroslavl Highway, 60 kilometers from Moscow, a 42-year-old hermit, Yuri Alekseev, has been living in a dugout. Once a successful Moscow lawyer, he dropped everything, dug a dugout, got a rabbit and now reads books all day.

As the man admits, he is tired of the gray office life.

My employers were good people. At first they told me: well, if you don’t want to go to the office every day, then go at least three days a week. Then they offered a day, then a few hours. But I thought: why should I sit in this Moscow, pay for rent? So, what is next? Take a mortgage on some cell in a residential area? And is this life?

Therefore, now Yuri lives in a dugout.

There are solar panels on the roof of the dugout, the generated electricity is stored in batteries. So Yuri always has light and communication with the outside world - there is a computer and the Internet in the dugout.

Yuri considers his library to be the main treasure of his dwelling. All of his books are registered in the World BookCrossing Library. People who come to visit Yuri can take something to read from him and leave their books in return.

From pets - Petrushka rabbit.

Yuri spends all his free time reading, music, thinking and talking with guests. The hermit does not maintain relations with relatives: they do not come to visit him. Downshifter was married, but admitted that the issues of starting a family and leaving offspring, so that there was someone to give a glass of water before death, did not bother him.

Yuri has a 33-year-old girlfriend Klara, who continues to lead a life so hated by him in Moscow: she rents a house, pays off a loan, works in the document management department. On weekends, Clara stuffs her bags with groceries and drives to the clearing. It was thanks to her efforts that solar panels, a generator, and a gas cylinder appeared here. She bought insulation for the dugout, a saw, an ax and even a water pump. But she is not ready to move to the dugout forever.

Numerous guests also come with gifts. Yuri opened a page on the Internet "

In the past, Yuri Alekseev is a successful Moscow lawyer. Seven years ago, he quit his job and moved to live in a dugout on the Yaroslavl Highway. The curiosity of the media helped him create the image of a hermit who refused comforts. And this is despite the fact that Yuri's house has a computer, a solar battery, a telephone and even an intercom for intruders. On the wave of general interest, the man started his YouTube channel and began to upload videos under the pseudonym The Hobbit Hermit. It now has over 100,000 subscribers. Yury's popularity was also increased by his attitude towards Alexei Navalny. The man regularly installs art objects next to his home - symbols of his oppositional views. Several times the local administration ordered the man to get rid of them.

The hermit's dugout is located on the 106th kilometer of the Yaroslavl highway.Finding her is not difficult, she stands right next to the track, surrounded by three handwritten posters. On each inscription: “The Hobbit Hermit. YouTube". Nearby there was a place for an actual political protest against raising the retirement age. On signs resembling road signs, the numbers 63 and 65 are crossed out.

Voices come from the open door. The hobbit cheerfully explains something to his interlocutors. He notices me and the photographer and smiles: “Sorry for not meeting you. I just have guests. Yuri offers his hand, and I go down to him, touching the doorway with the back of my head. Painfully.

Outwardly, the dugout resembles the house of Bilbo Baggins from the movie "The Lord of the Rings" - a round wooden door, a flat roof. True, it has a solar battery installed on it, which hobbits should not have, but this does not spoil the overall fantasy still life. Inside, there is a surprisingly high ceiling, log walls along which books are placed on the shelves, there is a small stove, a bed. We stop at the door so as not to disturb the conversation.

“So, when Vladimir Putin came to power, troubles began in Russia ...” - the Hermit addresses his interlocutors. They listen to him for about ten minutes, then interrupt and say that they have to go. Yuri sighs sadly and escorts the men.

When he comes back, I hand him two bottles of sunflower oil.

"Here. You asked to be brought,” I say. Yuri takes the bottles and holds out the money. I refuse. Gift.

The hermit takes me in like an old friend. At least he tries to make it feel that way. He hospitably offers to sit down, talks about how his day went, and the shooting of the next video for the YouTube channel. During the conversation, he picks up a log, which seems to be specially prepared for our meeting, and begins to saw it. Right there, in the corner of the dugout. 2.5 hours. Saws and speaks. Saws and speaks. Sometimes complains about popularity.

“You know, I often have guests. If this continues, I will put up a sign: “Meetings by appointment only!” - complains Yuri.

I ask him about the people who came before us. The hermit, in response, talks about the importunity of the public and how tired he is of answering the same questions.

“They ask: “How do you live here?”, “How is your day?” If you ask such questions, I can still answer, because you are a journalist. I am good material for you. I don't want to answer them. Why do people need to know all this? - says the man.

True, such meetings have their advantages, the owner admits. For example, products that guests bring. But the man immediately notes that sometimes he refuses things if he understands that he does not need them.

After these words, I pay attention to a strange structure with products tied with a rope to the ceiling. Boxes with gingerbread, dryers, cookies and sweets stick out of it. Due to the large packages of sweets, the design sways slightly in different directions. Rope cabinet, something, I think.

Yuri notices where I’m looking and continues in a satisfied tone: “You see, I’m just in front of everyone and I don’t hide from anyone, that’s why people are so interested. In addition, I made everything so attractive that you all go to me, and not me to you, ”he explains.

The hobbit is lying. For its popularity, you have to get out of the dugout. For example, in May of this year, he, along with the popular blogger Amiran Sardarov, was in Chelyabinsk and starred in one of the issues of Khach's Diary.

As planned, Yuri came to Chelyabinsk to meet another local "hobbit" - Sergei Andryukov. A resident of the Southern Urals built a whole "village of hobbits". An exact replica of the village from the Lord of the Rings movie. Yuri then spent the whole day with Sergey and interviewed him for Sardarov's YouTube channel.

“Amiran said they needed an actor and offered me the role. The impressions from the trip were positive: I was treated like a star. The only drawback is that I didn’t get enough sleep then, ”says Yuri.

Yuri is talking to me, expressively leaning on the saw. Periodically, a man is distracted from the process and changes his position. Everything for the photographer to catch an interesting angle. With a saw in his hands, barefoot and bearded Yuri perfectly wins back the image of a wild hermit. He resembles Tom Hanks' character in the movie Cast Away. Only instead of the silent ball of Wilson next to Yuri is the fluffy rabbit Petrushka. He doesn't speak either, but at least he's alive.

However, the furnishings of the hut are not as well thought out as the image of the owner. There is a sense of props and pretense. A hermit who has abandoned the comforts of civilization is easily found to have a laptop, an iPhone, a coffee grinder, Fumitox mosquito repellant tablets and fresh bedding, neatly covered with a shabby plaid. Portraits of the classics watch the guests from the walls: Chekhov, Shakespeare, Rachmaninov. Opposite them is a crumpled leaflet with Navalny. In my head, all this does not fit with the concept of "hermit".

Several times Yuri looks into a small box with me - there is money. On the question of where they come from, the hermit catches up with mysteries: “I'm on public security. That is, I am engaged in social work, and society provides me for this.

By "social work" Yuri means his communication with guests, as well as shooting videos. The hobbit believes that such publicity is a kind of work for which you can receive a fee in the form of food, medicine (Yuri does not deny that he uses them) or money.

“I now have 100,000 subscribers on the channel,” Yuri repeats every now and then. “If earlier power and the parameter of success were measured by money, now they are measured by subscribers in social networks.”

Yuri does not want to talk about the past. Not about parents, not about personal life. These topics are taboo. His admirers should not know about this. This will destroy the image of the "hospitable hermit."

But we talk about Alexei Navalny and the politics of Vladimir Putin for a long time. Yuri considers the oppositionist the only alternative for Russia.

“This is a man who very quickly managed to gather public attention. He has no alternative. Navalny's shares are now the most profitable and powerful on the political market. And I am ready to invest in them, ”the Hobbit shares his opinion.

We drink Turkish coffee and continue. Already without a recorder, I ask him: “What is the real reason that he lives now in a dugout?” Yuri replies that he became a hermit for two reasons: firstly, he had nowhere to live, and secondly, in protest.

Seven years ago, everything went downhill: he was once again asked to move out of a rented apartment. And then he decided to stop. All his life he did not have his own corner and a roof over his head. First, the parental home in Stary Oskol, then a hostel, an army barracks, a hostel again and now rented housing. Different districts of Moscow, different conditions. Eternal attempts to please the new owners. Loitering around rented Moscow apartments and going to an unloved (albeit prestigious) job. Tired. He dreamed of his own apartment, but even the young specialist did not have enough money for a mortgage.

Trying to decide what to do next, Yuri decided to go abroad and seek his fortune there. But here a new barrier arose. Expired passport. To get it, you had to ask for leave at work and go to Stary Oskol. True, the Moscow police, to whom he turned for help, hinted that all issues could be resolved for money. It was the last straw. Yuri is broken.

“Russia is a welfare state. Budgetary funds are enough to provide the minimum needs of all citizens of the country for a roof over their heads and food. But the state machine has no such purpose. This means that our president is also the guarantor not of the rule of law, but of the regime of his power in order to enrich his family and the families of his friends, ”the hermit argues.

The man left the law firm, took the old tent and settled on the Yaroslavl highway. In protest. The tent then turned into a dugout, and the homeless Yuri - into the famous Hobbit the Hermit.

“Just imagine, I worked in an office, everything was boring and monotonous. And now I have a colossal project here - 100,000 subscribers!” he exclaims.

A blog for a former lawyer is a serious project. He makes videos every day. In the vicinity of the dugout and in it itself, several filming pavilions with scenery are equipped.

The Hobbit leads a tour of creative domains. The Hollywood Film Company, that's what he calls it. Having reached the last scenery, Yuri offers to take a cool photo: he will sit in a chair with the inscription "director", looking thoughtfully and purposefully at the set. We refuse. There are too many staged photos.

After the tour we return to the dugout. She has guests again. Middle aged man and woman. They look upon the Hobbit as a saint.

“Do you really live here?” the woman asks with interest. The hobbit is silent, he goes down to his house and returns with two postcards: “There is a link to the YouTube channel. Take a look and then come visit." The couple nods and tidies up the cards: “We will definitely, definitely return!”

Yuri also gives us postcards. He signs them with a black pen and adds, "Giving autographs is part of my community service."

The Hobbit waves goodbye to me. This gesture seems rehearsed. I get into the car and imagine how, after our departure, the dugout falls with a roar, turning out to be a cardboard scenery, and Yuri himself goes into the actor's trailer, washes, gets into the car and leaves back to Moscow. Live a real life.

On February 28, 2018, I, taking a companion with me, left St. Petersburg. We got the car quickly. Right before Pereslavl. I needed to go there. The driver drove under 180 km-h and already at 8 pm we were at the place - at the Hobbit-Hermit. Unreal fart.
I agreed with the Hermit in advance about a meeting, but now I’ll go alone or not alone, I didn’t know until yesterday, and I didn’t have time to warn. He was waiting for one person, two arrived - it turned out inconveniently.
We arrived at the wrong time - the Hermit recorded the fairy tale on video. He asked me to be quiet and not move. I put the phone on a tripod, sat in front of the camera and began to read a fairy tale. Then he fed us "pea food" and treated us to tea and cookies.

I offered to cook my own buckwheat, but the owner of the dugout said that he didn’t feel sorry for cereals, this is not such a valuable thing, my time and attention are most valuable. During the meal, I asked how best to communicate - on "you" or on "you" - I read many articles where journalists mostly spoke on "you", but Yuri was categorically against it - and gave an example that there is no English at all words "you", and intelligent and educated people say "you" to each other. I gave the Hermit a book and a pack of wheat flour, which he didn't want to take because he doesn't eat it. And the video about how he bakes pancakes, it turned out, was made for the hype for Shrovetide. In fact, he does not like to cook something.

It was not possible to communicate - Yuri was busy with installation work, and we went to bed on the bunk, where the table was and the rabbit was running. At night, the Hermit did not sleep at all, he kept rereading the fairy tale, and it is not clear when he sleeps. "Or maybe he's an alien and doesn't sleep at all?" - suggested the driver who picked us up.

It's good in the dugout - clean, dry, no insects. There is no garbage, there are exhibits - for example, socks hanging on a rope. The oven maintains about 20 degrees, by morning the temperature drops a little, but even in my summer sleeping bag it was warm.

At six in the morning I woke up and took my pills. The hermit pushed my fellow traveler aside. Now Yuri was more talkative. He talked about why he went to live in a dugout, although I did not ask such a question. The fact is that he studied in Moscow (and he wanted to enter St. Petersburg, but they didn’t take it) - setting out to graduate without fail from one of the best universities in Russia. Lived in a hostel, worked. But the living conditions did not suit him, and there was no time left for his life. Then Yuri Valentinovich said to his boss: "Can I work half as much?" The chief answered - "then you will receive four times less." He stood in line for the improvement of living conditions, but they did not give him an apartment. As always, it went to some official. And then he went to the dugout. And he seems to be happy. I am my own boss, I don’t owe anything to anyone, I don’t need to stand in traffic jams and be nervous, I have free time to do my own thing. When Yuri talks about the production of the video, his eyes light up. "Imagine, earlier, to make a movie, you needed a movie camera, like this. On television, to shoot a program and watch it by the audience, you need a lot of people and equipment, but now it's enough to have a phone, tablet and Internet access! I have a channel on statistics, my video was watched at the same time ... a person, that is, it is ... cinemas "- Yes, - I nod - in the digital age you are your own actor, director, editor and so on. I asked if Yuri is making a profit from his channel. It turned out that commercial profit is not a goal, but a goal - to convey information, to use YouTube as a means of mass influence on people. It is the only medium available to all and free from censorship, which the government does not yet control. There is also LiveJournal, but who is on LiveJournal now? Bloggers who write articles are mowed down by the FSB for articles. YouTube tried to close after the scandal with the oligarch, but could not.

In addition, there was time for reading books. There are a lot of them - a whole library! Previously, Yuri was fond of bookcrossing. Now he fills in the gaps and reads classic literature and fairy tales that are still relevant today.

In parting, Yuri gave me an autographed postcard and a clay chip with the inscription "Talent".

In general, the hermit, of course, is not the same as he appears in his funny videos, such a friendly, cheerful hippie, he is smart, well-read. a very serious, purposeful and hardworking person who clearly knows what he wants.

He acted very wisely - you need to get out of the country before it's too late, or at least go to the bunkers. To not depend on slave conditions. After all, the pension contributions that we pay now are burned out. Everyone knows this, but no one is outraged, everyone is forced to pay. In addition, housing rent and groceries eat up wages, not even their own housing, from where they can be evicted at any time. Here, the water was turned off in our house - and tryndets, no washing, no tea brewing. And in the dugout there is always a spring or snow / ice. In the city, the snow is dirty, and they also drown it with reagents. In the forest, the snow is clean, the air is coniferous, it is pleasant to breathe, the sun is shining.