The Braguine and Kiline families live in the middle of the Siberian taiga, 500 km from the closest village. These two families, who are a part of a community of “Old Believers” – a sect of the Russian Orthodox Church dating from the time of the tsars that rejects State authority, went deep into the forest to live by their own rules and principles. There are no roads leading to where they live; you can only reach them by taking a long boat trip along the Yenisei River and then by helicopter. Braguino is a small village with wooden houses surrounded by the taiga. Every year the threat of fire increases, intensified by climate change.In the middle of the village, a fence separates the Braguines from the Kilines. The two feuding families refuse to speak to one another, leading completely self-sufficient lifestyles. A dozen or so of children are growing up together, escaping their parents’ feud. This is another type of community : free, unpredictable and sometimes violent. Between the fear of wild animals, fires that consume everything, and the joy provided by the immensity of the forest and its resources, children and adults are somehow trying to live together.
Clément Cogitore
