This article has apparently been removed from the original site at EnglishRussia.com.
The website “English Russia” features “Russian Hermits” from a photo gallery of images from Danila Tkachenko’s project titled “Escape.” Here are hermits and their dwellings, an the editor notes: “It’s hard to say how many hermits are in Russia today. People go to live in a forest due to different reasons: someone wants to grow his own type of ginseng, another one just wishes to pray in a cave for some months.” One commenter suggests they are homeless former inmates. But the eremitic tradition has a strong cultural presence in Russia, and the men in these photos are clearly living in solitude, indefinitely.
URL: http://englishrussia.com/2014/02/24/russian-hermits/
URL of photographer’s project: http://www.danilatkachenko.com/projects/escape/