At the tomb of the unknown villager

Tromping through the forest in search of things with more meaning

A tomb interior

The Edward Institute for Village Studies (EIVS) — considered the premier village academy by 9 out of 10 village experts — is tucked away in a quiet corner of Novgorod Oblast that one might delicately describe as half-abandoned.

In fact, there are long-forgotten settlements within walking distance from EIVS HQ that have been swallowed whole by the forest. These clusters of disintegrating village dwellings can only be reached on foot or by tractor.

Your correspondent is fascinated by these village ruins and spends much of his free time seeking them out.

In October I confessed:

[T]hese days I have trouble typing about the News. My mind wanders and I inevitably find myself tromping through the forest in search of things with more meaning.

Then in November your devoted blogsmith wrote:

I have also been trekking deeper and deeper into the forest in search of lost village civilizations.

But where’s the evidence to support these haughty claims?

This blog post marks the first installment of a new blog-series, At The Tomb of the Unknown Villager.

Today’s tomb is a log cabin, inaccessible by road, located approximately 1 km away from Edward HQ.

The cabin itself was unexceptional as far as abandoned village houses are concerned. The windowpanes showed signs of distress, the roof was sprinkled with holes, and the front door was AWOL. Inside, the décor was standard: a few pieces of dilapidated furniture complimented by soiled linen, miscellaneous grime-caked cutlery, and empty bottles of vodka and beer left behind by teenagers, or squatters, or teenage squatters.

There was nothing remarkable about it, until we found photographs lying on a stained, Soviet mattress. And suddenly, the gutted one-room cabin came to life:

The photographs speak for themselves. I’ve nothing to add. What could I possibly add? (According to a note on the back of the photograph, the cat’s name was “Candy Wrapper”.)

Photographs found inside the abandoned cabin (click on a photo to enlarge)

To quote Tatyana Dmitrievna: “What a sovkhoz it was! How much effort it must have taken to dismantle it!”

Meanwhile, your correspondent continues his search for things with more meaning.

Edward resting in a partially collapsed village domicile

Until next time,

— Riley