World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia | Stories from the Hidden Worlds | Free Documentary

foreign [Music] Russia's Frozen Hinterland where temperatures plunge and Winters stretch endlessly the residents of a remote town have built lives in one of the world's harshest environments this is a town of a few hundred between two valleys in Russia's far-flung Saka Republic [Music] the town a cluster of wooden houses whose foundations are sunk deep into permafrost has earned a reputation as the coldest inhabited place on the planet [Music] temperatures reaching nearly minus 70 degrees Celsius the people of oymyakon have developed a distinctive culture mostly separate from the sweeping historical changes that have roiled this part of the world over centuries but two days drive from the nearest city the people's way of life here is constantly imperiled by Relentless sub-arctic conditions foreign out into this icy world is a matter of life and death [Music] as with anywhere else life in oymyakon is sustained by that most basic of Necessities water is foreign foreign [Music] foreign with Vladimir having taken care of the town's water supply the people here can go about their daily lives [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] fortunately for the residents of this frigid Outpost oymyakon has a coal-powered boiler house which pumps hot water throughout the community warming homes foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] boiling hot water from the station is transported via a network of artery-like pipelines that snake throughout oymyakon these pipes run throughout Homes and Apartments here hot water coursing its way through living rooms and kitchens and providing much needed heat in this most unsparing of environments [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] valleys which entrap cold air found in Russia's far Northeast its winter nights can last for some 20 hours outside of Antarctica oymyakon has recorded the world's lowest ever temperature a brutal minus 67 degrees Celsius back in 1933 the average mid-winter temperature here hovers around minus 50 degrees local meteorologist Valerie vinokurov explains more foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] was historically a layover for nomadic reindeer herders traversing this Frozen plateau however in the 1930s during Joseph Stalin's brutal reign as leader of the Soviet Union the authorities decided to establish a permanent settlement here part of the Communist push to civilize nomadic populations since then it has seen leaders come and go wars fought and lost remarkably it endured the harsh post-soviet years as Russia's economy was decimated throughout the 1990s living is better Josh is foreign [Music] [Music] even in the depths of Siberia people need a good hairdresser especially for special occasions like weddings this is Ina the town's beauticians foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] who will in a few short hours exchange wedding vows with his hair trimmed and styled the young groom is feeling rather debonair at a nearby Hall family and friends have gathered awaiting the ceremony baby [Music] foreign [Applause] namaste with the weddings formalities out of the way it's time to celebrate with food drink and even a bit of karaoke [Applause] um [Music] quantity [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] thank you [Music] again [Music] to survive in this isolated Outpost the yakuts long ago discovered how to utilize the limited resources that this mass of Otherworldly Tundra offers [Music] thank you but angling in this lethal expanse is cold and lonely work [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Music] s throughout the day to the relative warmth of his tent his wood burner provides a much needed respite from the punishing cold which takes little time to penetrate the multiple layers of fur and wool he wears [Music] for most people living on this stretch of Russian Tundra animal husbandry is an essential part of daily life foreign the practice survived Stalin's collectivization efforts and has adapted once again in Russia's free market era this is vinokarova of Dov Kia zaharovna a 58 year old who runs several dozen head of cattle means foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign foreign [Music] people who inhabit these lands have watered their cattle at a nearby thermal spring by some accounts oimiacon which roughly translates to unfrozen water was named after this spring due to its historical significance body of Crystal Clean Water still plays an important part in maintaining life here [Music] however another kind of animal is also prized in this foreboding landscape horses versatile the yakuts people have for centuries relied on these durable creatures for food and fur and of course for pulling sleigh and these beasts are revered here foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] despite its dependence on domesticated animals this settlement has grown a small Cosmopolitan core in contrast to its people's more nomadic traditions in the Township's humble Central store customers can select from a limited range of produce burst in from the regional Capital Yakutsk Min Adam is foreign [Laughter] [Music] for the town's youth one important aspect of growing up is taken care of schooling students trudge their way here each day filling classrooms and hallways while frigid weather closes many schools around the world classes and the daily ritual of singing the national anthem are only canceled once the temperature drops below -50 degrees Celsius [Music] um material strawberry services foreign [Applause] thank you foreign [Music] while racing about these hallways is all fun and games for the students here the school faces one particularly acute challenge disease foreign at the end of the school day here students prepare to Brave the bone-chilling cold thick down jackets are zipped up insulated trousers pulled over top of uniforms venturing out in minus 50 degrees Celsius is deadly serious the average surface temperature on Mars for example is only 10 degrees cooler than averages in wintertime or miacom um in Frigidaire that stings within minutes the students make a beeline for home they attempt to ignore the biting cold but to no avail footsteps Quicken but the sub-arctic trudge home for 13 year old Anne muta grinds on [Applause] I mean foreign foreign [Music] while opportunities for youth are scanned here the town's young men do find a way to let off steam via that time-honored Russian tradition wrestling [Music] um [Music] religions [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] Central [Music] to students [Music] yet as with any high impact sport wrestling often results in injuries broken thumbs and torn ligaments strained muscles and sore necks and so in a different corner of town the local medical center receives its share of the walking wounded treated with a mix of folk remedies and contemporary medical techniques [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] Salah despite the Soviet Authority's attempts to impose a homogenized Collective identity their Cuts retained many traditional beliefs and superstitions one custodian of those superstitions is salmon siftsev whose family has long been entrusted with safeguarding the Region's myths and customs [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Laughter] thank you foreign [Music] [Music] could not be good enough while sift Sev is a blacksmith by trade he also performs a central role in this community by channeling a revered deity known as chishan yes [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you yet tishan is not the only Idol that watches over these Frosty Islands nearby a local Shaman under a Petrovic is performing a ceremony to ward off malignant spirits [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] however the Soviet Legacy still permeates aspects of daily life here at oymyakon's Palace of culture a feature of Life under communism people gather regularly singing and dancing to locally produced pop music [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign fails Frozen in Time the arctic cold preserving its various epochs this Timeless pristine Tundra is straddled by a civilization that has integrated disparate ways of life and the systems nomadic communist that sustained it and as people go about their lives in this most remote of regions where mercury thermometer readings plummet and families seek refuge in the warmth of their homes there is a strange sense of certainty that oi miacon will always be here isolated and in the cold [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign

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Id: BBqCmhv7RdA

Length: 47min 49sec (2869 seconds)

Published: Wed May 10 2023