Chapter 1: Siberia It was a cold winter day in the small, snowed in village of Kansk, located 50 kilometers outside of Krasnoyarsk. The heavy snowfall of the previous day has receded, and the Siberian air had returned to its crisp, frosty nature. A handful of men inhabited this isolated place, which could only be reached 5 months out of the year. The sun has finally come out, but no signs of life were visible in or around the lonely looking, wooden made homes, except for one barking dog in the distance. The village of Kansk was industrially undeveloped, with no electricity or running water. It had received few visitors in the last twenty years, and almost all of them were male.
The new guy, who has recently arrived, was soundly asleep on a make shift raskladushka near the wood burning furnace. Ivan managed to receive four full hours of uninterrupted sleep when the noise outside his izba’s window finally woke him up. He cursed under his breath in bad Russian and turned over on his side to face the wall. His left ear did not hear as well, and he always turned on his right side to escape the irksome, sleep disturbing noise. |
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The dog continued barking, and by now several people’s voices could be heard yelling outside. Ivan cursed again, forced himself to sit up and gather his thoughts. He rubbed his head and his eyes to help himself wake up. The weather was so cold that he fell asleep fully dressed, even with the valenkis on his feet. His body felt weak all over, his shoulders and back were tight and sore. He slowly got up from the bed and walked over to the window. Some of the men whom Ivan already met, Dmitry, Vovan and Kolya were standing next to the barking dog having a loud discussion. Whatever they were speaking of, wasn’t good. Dmitry looked very alarmed and displeased. Ivan decided that he better go outside and find out what was going on.
He grabbed his ushanka and a scarf, and walked out the door. The men noticed him, and yelled for him to join them. The crisp snow squeaked underneath his feet as he made his way towards the trio. The dog was still barking, now excited that men were paying attention to it. - “Hey! Ivan! Good Morning! How are you?” Welcomed Dmitry in a very thick Russian accent. “Do you see what has happened??” He motioned with his long raised hand towards the forest, “The wolves have attacked us again! They took one of my dogs!” Dmitry was one of the tallest Russians Ivan has ever seen. A kind, long bearded man in his mid-thirties, with a pleasant and very welcoming demeanor. His dog was running circles around him, and seemed very happy to see it’s owner. |
- “It’s getting out of hand” Said Vovan when Ivan got closer, “This is the second attack this month. They killed one of my raindeers. A big one! They are becoming brazen if they decided to come into the village. Wolves never do that!” Vovan’s voice cracked with emotion. He was older than Dmitry, probably closer to fifty, but also a very warm, soft spoken man. Vovan was shorter than Dmitry, closer to Ivan’s height. He extended his hand to greet Ivan with a shake. Ivan nodded in agreement as the men stood around and discussed what can be done. He looked down at Dmitry’s dog, the one that woke him up with it’s barking and the one that managed to escape the wolves, and patted it on the head.
Ivan had several dogs of his own back home, he missed his dogs quiet a bit. He thought that the men were upset for a good reason. If the wolves attacked the village, then other predators might come looking for food. “What do you think?” Ivan asked the men while lighting a cigarette, “Go and hunt that wolf pack down? Set up traps around the parameter?” The men were nodding. “Yes, we have to protect the village. We must gear up and prepare to head out first thing tomorrow morning.” Said Kolya looking at the men. Until now, Kolya stood silent, because he did not know the new guy well. In his experience, new people who came to the village were either poachers or geologists, and he didn’t care for either. “It is best that you stay here. Our hunt can last several days, maybe two weeks even.” Kolya looked at each man, and steadied his gaze on Ivan. “Have you ever hunted wolves in Siberia before? Very dangerous. If the wolves won’t kill you, the weather will.”
Ivan had several dogs of his own back home, he missed his dogs quiet a bit. He thought that the men were upset for a good reason. If the wolves attacked the village, then other predators might come looking for food. “What do you think?” Ivan asked the men while lighting a cigarette, “Go and hunt that wolf pack down? Set up traps around the parameter?” The men were nodding. “Yes, we have to protect the village. We must gear up and prepare to head out first thing tomorrow morning.” Said Kolya looking at the men. Until now, Kolya stood silent, because he did not know the new guy well. In his experience, new people who came to the village were either poachers or geologists, and he didn’t care for either. “It is best that you stay here. Our hunt can last several days, maybe two weeks even.” Kolya looked at each man, and steadied his gaze on Ivan. “Have you ever hunted wolves in Siberia before? Very dangerous. If the wolves won’t kill you, the weather will.”
Ivan took a drag from his cigarette, blew out the smoke and looked at Kolya. “I have never hunted in these conditions before, but I have hunted. I am willing to do whatever I can to help. If you think it is best I stay behind, I will. Perhaps I can be of more use here, in the village.” He threw his unfinished cigarette in the snow, and turned back to walk towards his izba. “Ivan! Wait!” Dmitry raised his raspy voice, “You should come with us. Its best you learn how to hunt around these parts if you are going to stay here for a while.” Dmitry threw a disapproving look towards Kolya. “We will be glad to have you in our hunting party. Please don’t mind Kolya, he is mistrustful of strangers. But he is a great hunter, and knows every tree and river around these parts.” Ivan looked at Kolya to see if he was going to object, but Kolya stood silent, shifting his weight, and looking towards the forest.
Kolya was the oldest man out of four. He was born in Kansk and has lived in this village his entire life. He looked at Ivan and nodded slowly. “Thanks Dmitry.” Ivan held his hand out to shake Dmitry’s. “Good man,” responded the tall Russian. “We leave at first light. Come to my izba if you need help with your supplies.”
After the conversation ended in agreement, Ivan nodded at the men, turned around and walked towards his crooked looking, almost entirely covered with snow izba. As he approached the little wooden cottage, he looked back and saw the men still standing around, talking. He walked inside.
The temperature inside his izba has become uncomfortably chilly. Ivan walked over to the furnace and added some wooden logs to keep the fire burning. He grabbed a metal stick and shoved it in the furnace, poking at the wood to get it burning quicker. He stared into the fire, mesmerized, lost in thought, feeling warmth washing over him. The fire was getting hotter now. He looked away and noticed a kettle on the shelf behind the door. He leaned over, grabbed it and looked around for the water. There was a plastic canister in the corner of the room, but Ivan remembered that the night before, he drank all the water and it was now empty. He stood around for a moment, thinking what to do, and then walked out in to the cold again.
Ivan walked around the izba and found a spot of fresh snow. He kneeled and started filling up the kettle. “Ivan!” Kolya said loudly, approaching Ivan and startling him. “Hello again. I wanted to come by and offer you some of our cured venison meat, as a welcome gift.” He paused for a moment, “Also, I have brought homemade cheese, for you.” Kolya extended his gifts and waited for Ivan to take them. Ivan stood up, smiled and motioned for Kolya to walk over to the door of the izba. “Thank you, Kolya. I have not eaten since yesterday morning and I am starving.” Ivan smiled, “Thank you for the meat, especially. Let’s go in, where it’s warm.” The men walked over to the door and stomped their feet to clear snow from their valenkis. “Come in, come in” urged Ivan, happy to have company and food to eat.
“Nice place you got here, Ivan” said Kolya. “Listen, about earlier, I wanted to say..” Kolya didn’t have a chance to finish speaking, as Ivan jumped in and nudged him to take a seat at the table, “No, no, Kolya, please sit down. Let’s drink and eat, I am starving. Let’s try the venison.” Kolya smiled and sat down at the table, unwrapping the meat. “I sure do appreciate your hospitality,” said Ivan placing the kettle on the stove, “I arrived here couple of days ago, and haven’t had a chance to get my bearings yet.” Ivan walked over to the table and sat down beside Kolya, “I will need a rifle for hunting tomorrow, do you know where I might get one around these parts?” Ivan looked at the kettle and saw that it was almost bubbling, he grabbed two tin cups and a box of tea from the window sil next to the stove and poured some dry Russian tea leaves into each cup. By now, the water reached a boiling point, he picked up the whisteling kettle and started pouring water into the cups. The Russian black tea had an odd taste to it, or maybe it was the taste of the tin cups they were using, thought Ivan. Nevertheless, the taste of the tea had a slight resemblance to the British tea Ivan was used to, and that was good enough for him. He chugged the hot beverage, and poured himself another cup, while watching Kolya cut the meat. The izba finally started to warm up, raising the room temperature to a comfortable, homey feel.
“I have a rifle you can use, Ivan” said Kolya taking off his vatnik. “It is an old SKS rifle from the 1960s. It still works very well, I take good care of it. But I won’t sell it to you. I will give it to you, so you use it while you are here. It used to belong to my father, you understand?” Kolya looked at Ivan and saw him nodding, “Yes, my father died a long time ago, but I still use his rifle all the time. It reminds me of him.” Kolya finished cutting the venison and handed a chunky slice of it to Ivan.
A silence fell in the room as both men ate their food and drank their tea. After some time has passed and the hunger was dissipating, Ivan was the first to speak. “Can you tell me anything about this village? I came here the other day looking for an old woman, an old relative. I learned that she passed on.” Ivan looked at Kolya, and continued “Her name was Aleftina. She used to live in Leningrad, but moved here in the nineties, to get away from everything. Have you ever met her?” Kolya looked up at the ceiling trying to remember, “Oh yes, I do remember her. She was a tough old broad, very independent. She used to live in this very house. Is that why you are staying here?” Kolya looked at Ivan inquisitively. “Yes, she was my great aunt, on my father’s side. I remember her vaguely from my childhood. I must have met her once or twice when I was a young boy. She was the only blood relative I had left and I wanted to find her. As you can see, I am too late.” Ivan took another sip of the tea, and continued “My family moved to London when I was young, so I never got to know the family that stayed behind.” Kolya was listening attentively as Ivan was speaking, “But Ivan, why now? Why did you decide to look for her now?” Ivan took another sip of the hot tea, and looked at Kolya, “I am a doctor by trade, and so was she. Recently, I had decided to close my practice and search for relatives I might have left in this great country.” Ivan stopped and looked out of the window, “This place is very remote and cold, I can’t believe Aleftina survived here all by herself all those years. She must have been a very strong woman.”
Kolya shifted in his seat, wondering why Ivan waited so long to find his great aunt or if he was running from something. Long lost relative did make for a great story, except Aleftina did live in this village ten years ago, and she was a doctor by trade. Kolya remembered how every Thursday there would be a line of people standing outside her cottage waiting to be seen by her for various ailments. Some superstitious villagers even thought she might have been a witch. Everyone that came to her with injuries, diseases, colds, they all got better within weeks, if not days. She was greatly missed after she died, and people who knew her in Kansk would still talk of her occasionally. And now, her mysterious nephew appears out of nowhere, looking for her. Something was bothering Kolya, but he couldn’t understand what it could be. He looked at Ivan and said, “Well, thank you for the tea Ivan. I have to go to my house and start preparing for the hunt tomorrow. You can stop by later, if you want, for that rifle.” Ivan nodded and stood up with Kolya, shaking his hand and thanking him for coming over. “I appreciate your help, Kolya, thank you. I will stop by tonight if that’s alright with you.” Kolya nodded, put on his vatnik and walked out of the cottage.
Ivan stood in the middle of the room for a moment, thinking to himself, and then started clearing off the table. He wrapped up the venison and the cheese, and put it in a small refrigerator for later. He grabbed the tin cups and started washing them with hot water from the kettle, carefully rubbing the sides. He kept thinking that Kolya did not believe his story about searching for Aleftina. Years of medical training, practice and traveling to hot spots with doctors without borders taught him how to read people instantantly. Ivan knew that if he wanted to convince Kolya, he still had a lot of work to do. He walked over to the furnace and added more wood to keep the fire going. It was minus 30 degrees Celsius outside and the wooden cottage hasn’t been warmed up properly in years. He looked up at the ceiling and decided that one of his chores today was to clear the vent pipe on the roof from the accumulation of soot. The inside of the izba was warm, but smoky. Something would have to be done about that.
After throwing some more wood into the fire, Ivan walked over to his raskladuzhka and sat down. His traveling bag was sitting on the wooden floor next to his bed. He pulled it towards him and started searching through his belongings, placing them carefully beside him. Finally, Ivan pulled out a map of Russia and opened it. He was specifically looking at surrounding territories near his current location of Kansk. Carefully, Ivan started searching with his eyes along the Russian-Chinese border, looking for abandoned supply towns that could be used in preparation for attack on the southern neighbor. “Tomorrows excursion for wolfs…”, Ivan thought “would be a great diversion for a reconnaissance operation.” According to Ivan’s earlier research, wolfs migratory patterns were supposed to be further north of Kansk, somewhere around Kuray region, but moose and elk have been scarce, which forced the wolves to increase their territory range. Ivan knew very little about Siberian wolves, let alone how to hunt them, but he did know that they traveled in packs and were highly territorial. He also realized that it would probably be best to hunt wolves during the day, since doing it at night would be too dangerous. He looked at the location of Krasnoyarsk and noticed that there was a large river, called Yenisei flowing through the city and going directly south towards the China-Mongolian border. “This may be a good point of attack to start from,” the corners of Ivan’s mouth twitched as he took out a pencil from his traveling bag and began to make markings on the map. “As soon as spring comes about and the ground starts to thaw, tunnel digging will begin…” he looked up at the ceiling while making calculations in his head. He wondered what the Queen would think about his plan… and hoped she would be pleased.
After the conversation ended in agreement, Ivan nodded at the men, turned around and walked towards his crooked looking, almost entirely covered with snow izba. As he approached the little wooden cottage, he looked back and saw the men still standing around, talking. He walked inside.
The temperature inside his izba has become uncomfortably chilly. Ivan walked over to the furnace and added some wooden logs to keep the fire burning. He grabbed a metal stick and shoved it in the furnace, poking at the wood to get it burning quicker. He stared into the fire, mesmerized, lost in thought, feeling warmth washing over him. The fire was getting hotter now. He looked away and noticed a kettle on the shelf behind the door. He leaned over, grabbed it and looked around for the water. There was a plastic canister in the corner of the room, but Ivan remembered that the night before, he drank all the water and it was now empty. He stood around for a moment, thinking what to do, and then walked out in to the cold again.
Ivan walked around the izba and found a spot of fresh snow. He kneeled and started filling up the kettle. “Ivan!” Kolya said loudly, approaching Ivan and startling him. “Hello again. I wanted to come by and offer you some of our cured venison meat, as a welcome gift.” He paused for a moment, “Also, I have brought homemade cheese, for you.” Kolya extended his gifts and waited for Ivan to take them. Ivan stood up, smiled and motioned for Kolya to walk over to the door of the izba. “Thank you, Kolya. I have not eaten since yesterday morning and I am starving.” Ivan smiled, “Thank you for the meat, especially. Let’s go in, where it’s warm.” The men walked over to the door and stomped their feet to clear snow from their valenkis. “Come in, come in” urged Ivan, happy to have company and food to eat.
“Nice place you got here, Ivan” said Kolya. “Listen, about earlier, I wanted to say..” Kolya didn’t have a chance to finish speaking, as Ivan jumped in and nudged him to take a seat at the table, “No, no, Kolya, please sit down. Let’s drink and eat, I am starving. Let’s try the venison.” Kolya smiled and sat down at the table, unwrapping the meat. “I sure do appreciate your hospitality,” said Ivan placing the kettle on the stove, “I arrived here couple of days ago, and haven’t had a chance to get my bearings yet.” Ivan walked over to the table and sat down beside Kolya, “I will need a rifle for hunting tomorrow, do you know where I might get one around these parts?” Ivan looked at the kettle and saw that it was almost bubbling, he grabbed two tin cups and a box of tea from the window sil next to the stove and poured some dry Russian tea leaves into each cup. By now, the water reached a boiling point, he picked up the whisteling kettle and started pouring water into the cups. The Russian black tea had an odd taste to it, or maybe it was the taste of the tin cups they were using, thought Ivan. Nevertheless, the taste of the tea had a slight resemblance to the British tea Ivan was used to, and that was good enough for him. He chugged the hot beverage, and poured himself another cup, while watching Kolya cut the meat. The izba finally started to warm up, raising the room temperature to a comfortable, homey feel.
“I have a rifle you can use, Ivan” said Kolya taking off his vatnik. “It is an old SKS rifle from the 1960s. It still works very well, I take good care of it. But I won’t sell it to you. I will give it to you, so you use it while you are here. It used to belong to my father, you understand?” Kolya looked at Ivan and saw him nodding, “Yes, my father died a long time ago, but I still use his rifle all the time. It reminds me of him.” Kolya finished cutting the venison and handed a chunky slice of it to Ivan.
A silence fell in the room as both men ate their food and drank their tea. After some time has passed and the hunger was dissipating, Ivan was the first to speak. “Can you tell me anything about this village? I came here the other day looking for an old woman, an old relative. I learned that she passed on.” Ivan looked at Kolya, and continued “Her name was Aleftina. She used to live in Leningrad, but moved here in the nineties, to get away from everything. Have you ever met her?” Kolya looked up at the ceiling trying to remember, “Oh yes, I do remember her. She was a tough old broad, very independent. She used to live in this very house. Is that why you are staying here?” Kolya looked at Ivan inquisitively. “Yes, she was my great aunt, on my father’s side. I remember her vaguely from my childhood. I must have met her once or twice when I was a young boy. She was the only blood relative I had left and I wanted to find her. As you can see, I am too late.” Ivan took another sip of the tea, and continued “My family moved to London when I was young, so I never got to know the family that stayed behind.” Kolya was listening attentively as Ivan was speaking, “But Ivan, why now? Why did you decide to look for her now?” Ivan took another sip of the hot tea, and looked at Kolya, “I am a doctor by trade, and so was she. Recently, I had decided to close my practice and search for relatives I might have left in this great country.” Ivan stopped and looked out of the window, “This place is very remote and cold, I can’t believe Aleftina survived here all by herself all those years. She must have been a very strong woman.”
Kolya shifted in his seat, wondering why Ivan waited so long to find his great aunt or if he was running from something. Long lost relative did make for a great story, except Aleftina did live in this village ten years ago, and she was a doctor by trade. Kolya remembered how every Thursday there would be a line of people standing outside her cottage waiting to be seen by her for various ailments. Some superstitious villagers even thought she might have been a witch. Everyone that came to her with injuries, diseases, colds, they all got better within weeks, if not days. She was greatly missed after she died, and people who knew her in Kansk would still talk of her occasionally. And now, her mysterious nephew appears out of nowhere, looking for her. Something was bothering Kolya, but he couldn’t understand what it could be. He looked at Ivan and said, “Well, thank you for the tea Ivan. I have to go to my house and start preparing for the hunt tomorrow. You can stop by later, if you want, for that rifle.” Ivan nodded and stood up with Kolya, shaking his hand and thanking him for coming over. “I appreciate your help, Kolya, thank you. I will stop by tonight if that’s alright with you.” Kolya nodded, put on his vatnik and walked out of the cottage.
Ivan stood in the middle of the room for a moment, thinking to himself, and then started clearing off the table. He wrapped up the venison and the cheese, and put it in a small refrigerator for later. He grabbed the tin cups and started washing them with hot water from the kettle, carefully rubbing the sides. He kept thinking that Kolya did not believe his story about searching for Aleftina. Years of medical training, practice and traveling to hot spots with doctors without borders taught him how to read people instantantly. Ivan knew that if he wanted to convince Kolya, he still had a lot of work to do. He walked over to the furnace and added more wood to keep the fire going. It was minus 30 degrees Celsius outside and the wooden cottage hasn’t been warmed up properly in years. He looked up at the ceiling and decided that one of his chores today was to clear the vent pipe on the roof from the accumulation of soot. The inside of the izba was warm, but smoky. Something would have to be done about that.
After throwing some more wood into the fire, Ivan walked over to his raskladuzhka and sat down. His traveling bag was sitting on the wooden floor next to his bed. He pulled it towards him and started searching through his belongings, placing them carefully beside him. Finally, Ivan pulled out a map of Russia and opened it. He was specifically looking at surrounding territories near his current location of Kansk. Carefully, Ivan started searching with his eyes along the Russian-Chinese border, looking for abandoned supply towns that could be used in preparation for attack on the southern neighbor. “Tomorrows excursion for wolfs…”, Ivan thought “would be a great diversion for a reconnaissance operation.” According to Ivan’s earlier research, wolfs migratory patterns were supposed to be further north of Kansk, somewhere around Kuray region, but moose and elk have been scarce, which forced the wolves to increase their territory range. Ivan knew very little about Siberian wolves, let alone how to hunt them, but he did know that they traveled in packs and were highly territorial. He also realized that it would probably be best to hunt wolves during the day, since doing it at night would be too dangerous. He looked at the location of Krasnoyarsk and noticed that there was a large river, called Yenisei flowing through the city and going directly south towards the China-Mongolian border. “This may be a good point of attack to start from,” the corners of Ivan’s mouth twitched as he took out a pencil from his traveling bag and began to make markings on the map. “As soon as spring comes about and the ground starts to thaw, tunnel digging will begin…” he looked up at the ceiling while making calculations in his head. He wondered what the Queen would think about his plan… and hoped she would be pleased.
