Are You Crazy? Ryazan's Most Unusual Farm

The Romanikhin family lives in a nature reserve they built with their own hands. Yulia, Alexei, their two daughters, and several dozen animals reside in the Agro-Desert, in a corner where there is no one else. A river separates them from other residents, which they cross by boat during floods to take the children to school. The bridge gets flooded, but life goes on.

Life is bustling on their farm, which is home to reindeer and sika deer, camels, Swiss sheep, goats, raccoons, seven dogs, gophers, a roe deer, a raven, and others. Nine years ago, this was a wild wasteland, and the first reindeer settled in the Romanikhins« vegetable garden.

One day, Alexei said the family should start their own business and suggested bringing reindeer to Ryazan.

«Are you crazy?» his wife asked.

The couple laughed at the spontaneous idea and even joked that Alexei couldn«t bring such an animal here. A year later, he went to the Kola Peninsula with his nephew to get their first reindeer.

Actually, it was a female. Her name was Gerda, and she lived in the Romanikhins« garden — playing tag with the Pomeranian and the children, sleeping under the couple»s window, and digging up all their flowers.

«She was like a dog, following us everywhere. We were her pack, her family. But after a year, we brought her a male, and she drifted away from us; they started their own family,» recalls Yulia.

Neighbors quickly learned about the exotic animals in the couple«s garden and came every day to gawk at the »pets.« Crowds began to gather on their property. That»s when the Romanikhins thought about opening their own territory where anyone could come to interact with the animals.

«We brought everyone here so people could come, feed, and pet the reindeer. Then a newspaper wrote about us, and a travel agency called; they wanted to bring people to us,» says the farm owner.

Schoolchildren began to be taken on excursions to «Olenyevo,» but the road to the farm is bad, and a large bus can barely get through. In spring, drivers refused to go to that part of the Agro-Desert. The couple quickly came up with a solution:

«We had to buy horses. Powerful draft horses that could pull a cart with children. We quickly made the carts ourselves and learned to harness the horses.»

The farm itself was gradually developed. As Yulia says, before, the wind whistled through and there was just one hastily built chum for atmosphere. Then during a visit from guests, it poured rain — it became clear they needed a roof. Then frost hit — they needed heating.

Now guests can rest and have a snack in that building. Yulia fries pancakes and makes coffee; Alexei prepares shashlik.

Besides the reindeer, the Romanikhins« farm now houses a wide variety of animals. Yulia says they »came to them« on their own.

«Many animals found us themselves. For example, we have a dog named Zara — an Alaskan Malamute. One day, a friend called who was fostering Zara and begged me to take her to the farm. The dog has a pedigree and a brand. Her mother is the Russian champion in dog sledding. But Zara was passed from hand to hand across the country and ended up on the streets of Ryazan.»

«Other people gave us Valais sheep, which live in the mountains of Switzerland, for a small fee. Their export from their home country is now prohibited, so there are only a handful of them in Russia. But at that time, they were living with a family that could no longer keep them, and they asked us to take the sheep.»

«We also have a circus donkey. During COVID, a troupe of circus performers got stuck in Ryazan. They called and offered us their donkey because they had abandoned the act with him. His name is Yasha; we brought him here in winter. He wasn«t used to the cold, so we wrapped him in blankets and tied them with a belt. We put heaters for him. But he adapted later.»

«Our camel Gordy is also from the circus; he even appeared in the film «Finist. The First Bogatyr.» Last year, his wife came to him, and they had a baby camel here,» Yulia recounts.

The Romanikhins spent more and more time on the farm; the chores never ended, and the animals kept increasing. After three years of operating «Olenyevo,» the family moved there permanently. They became very attached to their «pets,» especially the first reindeer. The family even had a «tame» reindeer that pulled children in sleds and even let them sit on its back. It died due to the carelessness of farm visitors.

«Visitors came with cabbage from their garden and fed it to the reindeer. They didn«t think it would make them sick, even though we warn that animals can only be fed what we give them,» recalls Yulia. Her optimistic, cheerful voice turns cold at this story.

As a result, four reindeer died from eating cabbage. The couple tried to revive them for five hours; the animals developed severe bloat that prevented them from even breathing. Only one reindeer was saved, by giving it goat«s milk.

«We thought: «Are you going to die like that? But at least we»ll try,«» Yulia explains their decision.

The farm owner says that today«s children, who often live in a virtual world, can gain new sensations and learn about their environment here. They can find out what a reindeer antler feels like, how camels jump, how a donkey brays.

But the spacious grounds, arranged with such love and care by one family, evoke tender feelings even in adults. During a walk around the farm, a Pomeranian will follow you, happily sticking out its tongue as it runs. The Romanikhins call him the director of the whole «establishment.» The reindeer will surround you, curiously examining the new person, especially if you have apples in your hands. The baby camel Raisa might run around you, or it might spit — you never know. The local landscapes will surely make you forget about city problems. And the Romanikhin family and their way of life, centered on caring for a farm of unusual animals, just like in the movie «We Bought a Zoo,» may make you think about what you really want in life.