Moscow Woman Moves to Altai, Finds Love and Raises Foals
29-year-old Ekaterina Stakheeva moved from Moscow to the Altai Republic several years ago — to a village many kilometers from the only city in the region. There, together with her husband, they keep a farm and are building a house.
Read about why she moved to the Siberian backcountry and how she adjusted to village life in an interview with NGS22.RU.
Vacation in Altai and Meeting Her Husband
Ekaterina was born and raised in Moscow and for most of her life didn«t even think about moving to a village. In the capital, she had both parents and a job at the cultural portal Kultura.ru.
«I worked as a videographer and motion designer. We filmed in theaters, they let us backstage with cameras to make videos for social media. I generally like ballet and 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 gone online by that time. No shootings were planned for the near future, so I could work from anywhere. So I decided to come to Elekmonar to friends, where, as it turned out, I met my future husband Artemy,« recalls the Altai resident.
According to her, at first she didn«t like him at all.
«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 six months. 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, because a holiday romance is one thing, real relationships are another.
«At first, what I liked most about Tyoma was his dog. I made plans on how to wheedle that dog from him, maybe buy it, or something else. But it wasn»t necessary. They came as a package,« 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 risen from 60,000 rubles (about $650) to 120,000 rubles (about $1,300). We left for Moscow, lived there. There were pluses, of course, all sorts of cultural life, and I traveled for shootings. But for the most part, we stayed home since both worked remotely. We only went out with the dog Fox for walks. I certainly didn»t reach any ceiling because, for example, I could have started earning properly. And here in the village, I have to learn something new. Even village children help me because what is a 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 large tourist flow. The main criterion for the new home was the presence of a supermarket nearby.
«We simply 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 to visit, to look. Truth be told, we saw little because there was thick fog all days. They just told us: «And from this side there is such a ridge, and here there is a mountain,» and we just believed they were there,« recalls Ekaterina.
The family settled in a settlement in the Ust-Koksa district — in not the most developed and 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 is from a town near Yekaterinburg.
«Thank God, Tyoma understands village life, he knew how to heat the stove. I wouldn»t have ventured so far without him because here really children are more prepared for life than I am. I«m learning, of course, but not everything at once. Tyoma at least knows how and thus ensures our survival,» she shared.
Ekaterina admits that every day in the village she encounters situations that a local five-year-old child would handle better than she does. But she doesn«t find it offensive; on the contrary.
«Here children from about eight years old gallop so that I just look at 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 on 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 got a cat, which they named Koshmaк. 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 creepy. In -30°C (-22°F) he knocked on the windows, leaving bloody traces. We let him in during the cold, and then got used to him. We tried to make him only indoor, but he yelled so when he asked to go outside. We decided, apparently, that»s what he needs, so he comes and goes on his own,« the heroine said.
Koshmaк became one of the heroes of Ekaterina«s blog, which she started after moving to the village.
«I have many subscribers among local children, they immediately figured me out. 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 appeared with the couple rather by chance than planned. The first one was going to be sent for meat, but Ekaterina and her husband bought him.
«We were told that this is a boy of a good local breed, whose horses are very sturdy and have good running qualities. 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. Fortunately, people were understanding and allowed him to stay,« recalls the heroine.
Sivka appeared later. They were looking for new owners for him, and the couple«s first foal was very lonely.
«We even borrowed a neighbor»s horse for him, but understood that this couldn«t go on 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, who was born at home and never feared people, gives us endless terror. Just turn away, he steals my mitten, while I»m scolding because of that, they tip 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 is not ready to raise them harshly, using physical force.
«In the village, the attitude towards 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’
In two years of living in the village, according to Ekaterina, she has changed a lot. So, in Moscow she was often sick, but here she stopped. Besides, the heroine began to feel better mentally. After all, long walks with the dog in nature well relieve work stress.
«When you work and feel that your brain is a bit boiling because you»re being tugged at for one task, then you need to fix something. And so you go out for a walk with the dog angry, walking aggressively, and after about 20 minutes you start to relax. 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. So, Ekaterina has to travel to Gorno-Altaysk, 400 km (about 250 miles) away, to get tests done.
«Also, sometimes the electricity is cut off. Then you have to go to work in Ust-Koksa, which is 27 km (about 17 miles) away. There is a cafe with Wi-Fi, where they are fine with it, you just need to eat for a certain amount afterwards,» emphasized the heroine.
However, once there was no power in the whole district, so the couple had to travel about 150–200 km (about 90–125 miles) in search of internet.
«Naturally, I had deadlines burning then. We drove up some mountain and worked there because we needed to do something 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 that she doesn«t miss the city. There, according to her, her life would be more boring.
«I didn»t earn enough to allow myself to go to the center every day for some entertainment or something else. We, of course, went to the theater, exhibitions, but those are very bright moments of life, and exactly daily life in the city is more boring than life in the village,« emphasized the villager.
