From Moscow to Altai: A Woman's New Life with Love and Pets
29-year-old Ekaterina Stakheeva moved from Moscow to the Altai Republic several years ago — to a village many kilometers from the region«s only city. There, she and her husband keep a household and are building a house.
To learn why she moved to the Siberian hinterland and how she adapted to village life, read the interview on NGS22.RU.
Vacation in Altai and Meeting Her Husband
Ekaterina was born and raised in Moscow and for most of her life never even thought about moving to a village. In the capital, she had both parents and a job on the «Kultura.rf» portal.
«I worked as a videographer and motion designer. We filmed in theaters, they let us backstage with a camera to make videos for social media. I generally like ballet, performances, so it was a real treat,» she shared.
She first visited the Altai Mountains as a tourist in 2017. She liked the trip and returned to the republic in 2022 to stay with friends.
«I wasn»t planning to move then, but my work had mostly shifted online by that time. No filming was planned for the near future, so I could work from anywhere. So I decided to come to Elektmonar to friends, where, as it turned out later, I met my future husband Artemy,« recalls the Altai resident.
According to her, at first she really didn«t like him.
«I thought: »What a bore!« He considered me arrogant. Well, somehow I stayed first for a month to make sure I didn»t like him, and then for half a year. He worked as an instructor on horseback trips, I rented a house nearby, and when he returned, we saw each other,« the villager said.
Ekaterina admits that at first they didn«t plan anything serious, since one thing is a holiday romance, another is a real relationship.
«At first, what I liked most about Tema was his dog. I made plans on how to wheedle that dog away from him, maybe buy it, maybe something else. But it wasn»t necessary. They came as a set,« laughs Ekaterina.
Soon the couple got married, and when the warm season in Altai was ending, they were already making plans to move together to Moscow. And the young people did live in the capital for some time.
«In Manzherok, we realized we could no longer afford the rent, which had been raised from 60,000 rubles (about $600 at current rates) to 120,000 rubles (about $1,200). We left for Moscow, lived there. There were pluses, of course, all sorts of cultural life, and I traveled for filming. But mostly we sat at home since we both worked remotely. We only went out with the dog Fox for walks. I certainly didn»t hit any ceiling, because you could, for example, start earning properly. And here, in the village, I have to learn something new. Even the village children help me, because what is habit for them is new to me,« noted the heroine.
«It»s Like Something from Fairy Tales«
The couple returned to Altai and started looking for a place to live. They immediately ruled out Manzherok due to sky-high prices and a large flow of tourists. The main criterion for a new home was the presence of a supermarket nearby.
«We just drew circles around large supermarkets and started choosing a place that would suit us. That»s how we found Ust-Koksa. Besides, our friend and resident of the village Rostislav invited us over to take a look. True, we saw little because there was thick fog all the days. They just told us: «And over on this side there»s such a ridge, and here there«s a mountain,» and we simply believed they were there,« recalls Ekaterina.
The family settled in a settlement in the Ust-Koksa district — not the most developed or populous locality, but with a fairly acceptable climate.
The heroine emphasizes that before moving she knew and could do little about village life, so she learned all the basics from her husband, who hails from a town near Yekaterinburg.
«Thank God, Tema understands village life, he even knew how to stoke a stove. I wouldn»t have ventured so far without him, because here children are really more prepared for life than I am. I«m learning, of course, but not everything at once. Tema at least knows how to do things right away and so ensures our survival,» she shared.
Ekaterina admits that every day in the village she encounters situations that a local five-year-old would handle better than her. But she doesn«t find it insulting; on the contrary.
«Here children from about eight years old gallop so that I just watch them in admiration. Recently they also went caroling and came to me in a whole crowd. Very cool and unusual. It»s really a different world. Here even people still ride in horse-drawn sleighs in winter. I look at them in delight, it«s like something from fairy tales,» noted the villager.
«They Are My Little Ones»
Along with the house, the young family also got a cat, which they named Koshmak. When the previous owners left, he was placed elsewhere, but the pet didn«t understand he had changed residence and kept coming back.
«It looked absolutely terrifying. At -30°C (-22°F) he was knocking on the windows, leaving bloody traces. We let him in during the cold spell, and then got used to him. We tried to make him indoor-only, but he yelled so much when he wanted to go outside. We decided, apparently, that»s what he needed, so he comes and goes on his own,« the heroine said.
Koshmak became one of the stars of Ekaterina«s blog, which she started after moving to the village.
«I have many followers among local children, they figured me out right away. They really like my videos with horses. On YouTube it»s a bit different: there the cat has more fans,« she added.
The foals Burka and Sivka are other pets of Ekaterina and her husband. Both are eight months old, and they came to the couple more by chance than by plan. The first one was meant to be sent for meat, but Ekaterina and her husband bought him.
«We were told that he»s a boy of a good local breed, whose horses are very hardy with good running qualities. For the first months he was terribly afraid of us. He grew up in a herd and saw a human for the first time. On the very first day he escaped from his pen to the neighbors« horses. Thankfully, people were understanding and allowed him to stay,» recalls the heroine.
Sivka appeared later. New owners were being sought for him, and the couple«s first foal was very lonely.
«We even borrowed a neighbor»s horse for him, but understood it couldn«t go on like that for long. As a result, we now have two horses. And now the one who was afraid of everything has become a real softie, a modest good guy. And the second one, who was born at home and never feared people, subjects us to endless terror. As soon as you turn away, he steals my mitten, while I»m scolding him for that, they knock over my thermos,« said the Altai resident.
At the same time, according to Ekaterina, for her, her horses are primarily pets and companions, so she isn«t ready to train them harshly using physical force.
«In the village, the attitude toward animals is different, more functional. Horses are transport or helpers in work. I can»t do that, they are my little ones, and I try to raise them gently,« she emphasized.
«You Look at the Mountains and Calm Down»
Over two years of living in the village, according to Ekaterina, she has changed a lot. For instance, in Moscow she was often sick, but here she stopped. Besides, the heroine started feeling better mentally. After all, long walks with the dog in nature relieve work stress well.
«When you»re working and feel your brain is boiling a bit because you«re being pulled in one task, then need to fix something. And so you go out for a walk with the dog angry, walking aggressively, but after about 20 minutes you start to ease up. You stand, look at the mountains and calm down, the tension passes,» noted the blogger.
However, life in such a calm and picturesque place, alas, has its minuses. For example, Ekaterina has to travel to Gorno-Altaisk for medical tests — 400 km away.
«Also, sometimes the electricity goes out. Then you have to go work in Ust-Koksa, which is 27 km away. There»s a cafe with Wi-Fi where they«re fine with it, you just need to eat for a certain amount afterward,» emphasized the heroine.
But once there was no power in the whole district, so the couple had to drive about 150–200 km in search of internet.
«Naturally, I had deadlines burning then. We drove up some mountain and worked there, because we had to get something done come hell or high water, and we couldn»t even warn that we were delayed because there were also problems with mobile internet,« she added.
At the same time, Ekaterina admits she doesn«t miss the city. There, her life would be more boring, she says.
«I didn»t earn enough to afford going to the center every day for some entertainment or something else. We did go to the theater, exhibitions, but those are very bright moments in life, whereas daily life in the city is more boring than life in the village,« emphasized the villager.
