Happy People: A Year in the Taiga Page #2

plenty of daylight...

the mosquitoes aren't out yet-

time for trappers.

Those living off trapping and wanting

to earn a bit to go out to the Woods.

They will go into the taiga

for nearly four weeks...

setting up their properties,

storing food and suchlike.

Some will make new (koolyomka traps.

Others will drive new paths

through the taiga.

In short, folks are out working.

Will come in the fall and finish it.

It'll be a proper (koolyomka trap, all

right, While now it's just a spring job.

We do have these large

territories, you see...

so need to make a thousand of these,

give or take.

Gennady marks the

location of his trap...

so he can find it at the beginning

of the hunting season.

His territory comprises

of some 1,500 square kilometers.

This area was consigned to him

during Communist times...

when he trapped for the state.

came north in 1970

and was immediately employed.

They told me to get ready.

They gave me traps,

advanced some money, issued a gun.

And me and my partner- we were both 20-

boarded a chopper.

They showed us our site

and just left us there.

We didn't have a radio.

We didn't have anything.

They promised to bring some food

by New Year's Eve...

a stove and some other stuff.

We didn't have anything.

My partner somehow

didn't prove equal to the challenge.

Was left alone.

They didn't bring anything

at the promised time.

Well, things happen.

It's aviation after all.

It's a long story, but survived-

interestingly enough.

It was not like that island on TV

where they're all heroes...

and catch and share crabs or scorpions.

Me, was really struggling

for dear life...

because snow fell

and had no winter clothes.

There was no stove in the hut.

Just bread rusk to eat.

Was lucky to have a good dog.

She really fed me.

Thought was a hell

of a seasoned trapper.

But when it really came down to it,

it turned out was a complete novice.

That was my initial season.

Was flown in on August 5

and brought back on February 20-

some season.

Well, matter of fact,

I don't think I blew it.

The hunters return to the village.

Here, the kids enjoy a last chance

at Ice-skating before the thaw

May 1 marks a big day for Russia.

It is their traditional Labor Day

and marks the end of the winter.

Winter is burnt In effigy;.

The appearance

of the first geese flying north...

is a sure sign of spring.

This is followed quickly

by May 9, Victory Day -

the day the German army surrendered..

bringing an end

to the Second World' Wan

This marks an event of epochal

proportians In Russian history...

as more than 20 million Russians

lost' their lives In this wan

Every family lost' someone.

This sign marks a residence

of a veteran, a war hero.

Everyone yelled and shouted.

We screamed, "Hurrah!"

asked, "What happened?"

They said, "Yell hurrah. it's victory!"

Then Stalin spoke on the radio.

His Russian wasn't too good.

We came out into the street

in the morning-

overwhelmed by memories of the war,

he can no longer speak

As if responding to the shots

fired In celebration...

the fee of the Yenisey River

begins to break

An entire landscape

starts to move north...

towards the Arctic Ocean.

Spring is the time to

build' dugout canoes.

This man, Gennady Tiganov...

belongs to the get native population

of this part of Siberia.

He is their last' remaining

expert' boat builder

Tools and techniques being used

are all traditional

It' is essential to hollow out

the precise amount and no more.

Markings point out

the positions of dowels

which will be driven

into the hull.

From the inside, this tells the

boat maker how deep he can carve.

One of the last steps

is the widening of the canoe.

Exposing the body to heat

makes the shape of the canoe permanent

What remains is a layer of tar.

The hunters head

out to test their new

canoes with some fishing

and duck hunting.

This week-long expedition

Is also the first time...

these pups are being taken

out into the wilderness.

The nets have been out overnight'...

and, by morning,

Ice has formed around them.

But it's a good time of year

for catching pike and other fish.

The most dellicate fish will be smoked

for the season to come.

Summer brings an abundance of life.

This is a sable In short summer fur.

Come winter, it' will be

the main quarry of the trappers.

Even though the hunter

does not want to go for the reindeer...

his dog can't help but give chase.

He has no chance, but try he must.

Preparations are in full swing

for the upcoming trapping season.

This means stocking up

on as much fish as you can catch...

to feed both man and dog.

Some of the pike can be real specimens.

Negotiating the shallows of the river

becomes a real problem.

The propeller has to be protected

Summer Is the season for the hunters

to help each other build' new cabins.

The real challenge are the mosquitoes-

clouds of them.

Honestly, mosquitoes

are all right for me.

When you're busy,

you don't notice them that much.

Here are the nails.

You drive them in, leaving the tip.

And then you twist it, and that's it.

The hunters are so

self-reliant that they

make virtually everything

themselves.

Chain saws are one of the few

modern tools they use.

All right, the Window to Europe.

Moss and earth. In the cities,

they have special insulation.

Here, moss and earth are the insulation.

We usually do it in the summer

after piling up logs in the spring.

By early summer, the log frame is ready.

You now have to cover it to protect

it against rain, to let it dry...

so that the hut is ready

by the start of the trapping season.

For good measure, we'll dig a cellar...

to store potatoes, onions.

On a warm day in a windless place,

the mosquitoes bite like crazy.

The best place is in the wind

close to your home.

The mosquitoes bite.

This dog is eaten up by mosquitoes.

As there is no corner drugstore...

the hunters have to make

their own insect repellent'.

The bark of birch trees

can be processed..

to produce a tar

which is equally as effective out there.

I'll cover his face with tar,

and it'll be okay.

Use almost half a

liter of fish oil or

some other kind of oil

for a glass of tar.

In the evening,

you have to go to the bathhouse.

Dogs stink with tar.

Their owners stink with tar.

Gennady now resumes

the making of his skis.

They make special skis for every season.

Even in the fall when the snow cover's

thin, it's hard to move Without skis...

because you Walk knee-deep in moss

and, later, in snow.

Small skis are great for this.

That's why they make them crude-

strong and small.

Here is quite a thin board.

If it were not made

from a straight-grained

wood, it would have

broken at once.

He puts the tip of the plank

into boilling water for a few hours...

In order to make it pliable.

He passes this age-old' technique

on to his son.

Now look, Kirill.

You don't press here.

You press on the ski here. Get it?

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