Village Baykit, Evenkia (78 photos)

11 June 2012

At the end of May I was lucky enough to escape from Krasnoyarsk and fly to the north of our region to Evenkia. I stayed there for almost a week - filming, talking with people. For two days we went on a motor boat up the Podkamennaya Tunguska. During this trip, I had the opportunity to see how people live completely far from civilization, how they make a living and what problems they have to face. But first things first, for now I’ll tell you about the village of Baykit.

1. First, a few photos from the flight. Podkamennaya Tunguska River.

2. It’s the end of May, and there is still snow in Taiga in some places.

3. This is what Baykit looks like from an airplane. Due to the cloudiness of the glass, we had to create this effect.

4. Baikitik River.

5. Now about 4,000 people live in the village.

6. Airport. The plane flies to Krasnoyarsk three times a week.

8. The distance to Krasnoyarsk by air is 670 km, to Tura - the administrative center of the EMR - 350 km.

9. This is what the hotel we lived in looks like.

10. The hotel is far from luxurious. A double room cost 800 rubles/day per person.

11. The village was founded in 1927. Before the active development of the territory, a small number of indigenous peoples, Evenks and Kets, lived here. Now just over 400 Evenks live in Baykit.

12. Secondary school. The only one within a radius of several hundred kilometers.

13. Wooden decking for pedestrians is laid along many streets. Thanks to them, residents can afford to wear something other than rubber boots to work.

14. The village stretches for almost 5 kilometers from the so-called “Kolkhozka”, which is near the airport, to “Mamaevka” (Stroitel microdistrict). The hilly terrain makes it very difficult to move around the village, so most families have a car.

15. Most cars are SUVs, but this is by no means a luxury, but a necessity - there are no good roads either in Baykit itself, much less in the region. If in the cold season winter roads save you, then in the summer there are many places you can’t even drive an SUV.

16. Therefore, most people have boats - Podkamennaya Tunguska is a more reliable transport route than roads through the taiga. But again, there’s no way without a car, because the boat needs to be at least transported to the shore by something.

17. The roads in Baykit are only gravel. They have been promising to lay asphalt for a long time, but no one knows when this will finally happen. Local residents envy Toure - not long ago asphalt appeared on several streets. In the summer there is dust from the roads, so sometimes a car comes by and sprays water on the roads.

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19. The village has running water. But the water supplied to residents’ homes is only cold in the summer and only hot in the winter.

20. And here she actually is.

21. WWII Memorial.

22. There is public transport in Baykit, represented by one route from Kolkhozka to Mamaevka through the center. The bus runs approximately once an hour and costs 12 rubles.

23. Most local residents are engaged in hunting and fishing, although many work in a hospital, school and other institutions.

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26. Construction of the temple. The opening is planned for this year.

27. The climate here is harsh; in winter there are often frosts beyond

rock degrees. The locals are used to frost and don’t complain; they say a good frost invigorates. In general, residents are not used to complaining.

28. Baikits rarely keep their dogs on a chain. There are a lot of them running around the streets. But these are mongrels. Real hunting huskies are highly valued; they say that nowadays it is very difficult to find a good dog. Therefore, they are not allowed to roam the streets.

29. The Internet in Baykit is bad. Now a 1 Mbit/s channel is allocated to the entire village. Internet is provided via satellite channel. You can’t dream of any “unlimited” plans - as a rule, all office workers are allocated 100 MB per month. Recently they began to connect individuals - for them the Internet costs from 2.3 rubles / megabyte.

30. Despite the harsh climate, almost everyone has their own garden. True, almost everything grows only in greenhouses and greenhouses.

31. In addition to private houses, there are many apartment buildings in the village. In such houses there is water everywhere, but all amenities are outside.

32. Improvised playground.

33. Public toilet.

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36. Evenks, like most indigenous peoples of Siberia, quickly get used to alcohol. This woman could not pronounce her name, but was able to offer me to buy her vodka. "I'll show you Evenkia!" she repeated.

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39. Electricity is very expensive, since fuel for the diesel station is supplied by river. Power outages occur frequently. There was an attempt to create an oil refinery in Baykit to provide cheaper electricity to the residents of the village. The administration bought an American installation, the installation was tested, and trial products were received. However, it turned out that American oil differs from Evenk oil - the presence of sulfur and salts in it did not allow continued operation.

40. There are a lot of abandoned, crumbling houses in the village. Children often play in them.

41. Although there are several well-equipped playgrounds for children.

42. One of two kindergartens.

43. Second kindergarten. On the one hand, everything looks good. Funds for repairs are allocated annually.

44. On the other hand, they are going nowhere. Repairs have to be done constantly, since the building itself is dilapidated.

45. There is not enough space in the kindergarten.

46. Manager Elena Yuryevna shows the veranda that has moved 10 centimeters away. Children are not allowed here - they are afraid that everything could collapse at any moment.

47. The situation in the hospital is similar - the main problem is the dilapidation of the buildings. Of course, there are many other problems, such as attracting young specialists. For example, now there is no ophthalmologist in the hospital. There are few people willing to go to work in the north, even taking into account the increased wages. Another reason is the difficulty of obtaining housing for visitors. After all, no new municipal houses are being built in Baykit.

48. A general practitioner sees a patient.

49. Chief physician Marina Algisovna.

50. KGBU NPO Professional Lyceum No. 91. This is the only place where young people can get at least some vocational education without leaving for the “mainland”. Here school graduates can become power line installers, cooks, and driller's assistants.

51. Head teacher Zhanna Viktorovna says that for many children this is the only opportunity to learn a profession. People from neighboring villages also come here to study; there is a hostel for them. But teachers’ salaries are small - about 15 thousand rubles.

52. Employment center. It is located in

private house for rent. Prior to this, workers were forced to work from home for several months. There is nowhere for young people without education to work in Baykit. You can get a profession at a local vocational school, but most prefer to go to Krasnoyarsk to study. Some people get jobs as shift workers at oil wells. However, they are reluctant to hire locals there. Paradoxically, delivering them to their destination is more expensive, because it is easier to gather people from the south and put them on one plane than to transport several residents from each village by helicopter, the distances between them are very significant. Plus, residents of the EMR are supposed to pay a northern salary supplement.

53. Anna Olegovna - works at the Baikit branch of the Evenki Local History Museum, moonlights as a teacher at school.

54. Prices in stores are slightly higher than in Krasnoyarsk. Of course, this is due to the poor transport accessibility of the village. Products that can be stored for a long time are not much more expensive, but prices, for example, for milk, gingerbread and everything that quickly spoils are much higher.