Yakutsk animal rescuer stranded with broken bus
She became stranded in Hilok with numerous animals after repeated mechanical failures.
Zlata Sycheva, a well-known animal rescuer in Yakutia, who decided to move permanently to Krasnodar Krai, ran into trouble: her bus, full of animals, broke down in the town of Hilok (Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia), 200 kilometers from Ulan‑Ude (Republic of Buryatia, Russia). In despair, she admitted that the «shed on wheels» fell apart, there is nowhere to place the animals, and nothing to continue the journey in. She reported this on 27 September on her Telegram channel.
«On top of everything, the bus’s crankshaft has come apart. The owner of this “shed” deceived us badly. Under its own power, we won’t get anywhere anymore. We either have to abandon it and find other transport, or order a lowboy and a crane to load this bus. I have no words; I want to cry from helplessness… The credit cards are maxed out, there’s about 100,000 rubles (about $1,000 at current rates) on the card», — Zlata wrote.
Where the bus came from
The tourist bus — the «shed on wheels», as the travelers themselves call it — was a swap Zlata made back in Yakutsk: she handed over her foreign‑make car, a Toyota Raum. Key for key.
«It used to carry guys from the federation of motorsport along with their motorcycles to competitions. A woman we deeply respect — a friend and sponsor — found it for me. She said the bus’s owner wouldn’t foist junk, that she “stood by” the bus», Zlata Sycheva told a reporter.
The bus’s former owner assured the animal rescuer that his “shed” would make it to the south and had no weak spots. Zlata admits she simply took him at his word, but the bus started falling apart on the road.
The blue bus, dubbed a ‘shed on wheels’, carried the family’s rescued animals.
The journey’s casualties
«First we broke down in Chulman (Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia) and almost froze: at night it was -15 degrees (5°F); young rats and a female spider died. And there our fuel filter flew off, all the diesel leaked out», Zlata recounts.
After that, the bus broke down again in Tynda (Amur Oblast, Russia). They managed to get through the night — several animals were placed in the Lassie Shelter, the rest stayed in the bus with Zlata. This time, none died.
Repairing the bus in Tynda cost a hefty sum. Parts from Vladivostok, their delivery, and garage repairs — all of it came to 64,000 rubles (about $640 at current rates).
But the problems didn’t end there: closer to Chita (Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia), oil began to leak from the gearbox, and a gasket had to be replaced. Then came a breakdown in Hilok — the starter disintegrated and the engine simply died.
«We were moving along briskly and confidently, and then we stalled while driving», Zlata wrote on social media, posting the last happy video.
A brief moment of optimism preceded the final breakdown on the road near Hilok.
«I don’t know what we should do… The impulse was to take all our charges — everyone we saved but haven’t rehomed — to show the right example of how to move with pets. We took all our disabled and elderly. There are eight dogs, nine cats, a parrot, and even rats on the bus. Here in Hilok, no one will take us in. The bus has fallen apart completely», Zlata wrote on 27 September.
Trains won’t help: compartments are booked
At first the volunteers considered sending the animals by train, but quickly realized it was impossible. «There isn’t a single completely vacant compartment for September–October. Only four animals can go in one compartment, and even then only in cages. There are three of us, which means we could theoretically buy only three compartments — that’s just 12 animals, and we have more than that. We won’t abandon anyone! We didn’t save them for that», Zlata explained.
Train travel proved unworkable because compartments were booked and animal limits too restrictive.
In the end, Zlata’s family found a garage, but it turned out they couldn’t fix the bus: there are no parts, and it would be far too expensive — and Zlata has no money left.
But the world is not without kind people — volunteers from Ulan‑Ude reached out to the animal rescuer and promised to help place the animals temporarily while the bus issue is resolved.
While waiting for the volunteers, Zlata’s team with more than a dozen charges started improvising: they settled into the garage’s guesthouse for 4,500 rubles (about $45 at current rates) per day, built a dog enclosure from whatever was at hand, and set up the cats in a tent right in their carriers.
Cats stayed in carriers outside, while dogs occupied a makeshift pen beside the workshop.
The garage owners allowed only the legless puppy Martin and the parrot Ashik into the warm house.
Legless puppy Martin and parrot Ashik were allowed into the warm guesthouse.
They won’t return to Yakutsk
The bus’s former owner — the one who sold her this oddity of a machine — is now in China, and Zlata couldn’t get through to him. She says she’s «protecting her nerves» for now, and when she reaches Krasnodar, she’ll consider suing him.
For now, Zlata has ordered a lowboy trailer to haul the bus to a service station in Ulan‑Ude. That alone will cost her 90,000 rubles (about $900 at current rates).
«I don’t want to abandon it here; better to give it to animal rescuers if it still needs a ton of work. Maybe the body could become a room for cats… Though we dreamed of turning it into a tiny home in the south. But right now the main thing is to get out of here — to move from Yakutia to the south with all our little tails. I want everyone to make it. We won’t leave anyone behind», the volunteer assured.
If the «shed» finally falls apart and needs more investment, Zlata is ready to buy a pazik (PAZ small bus). She has already found a suitable one — 350,000 rubles (about $3,500 at current rates), in good running order. To buy it, the animal rescuer has launched a fundraiser and is seeking sponsors. If the money falls short, she is ready to take out a loan — anything but returning to Yakutsk.
Fleeing the horrors of the past
Zlata Sycheva has rescued animals across Yakutsk for more than a decade.
Zlata admits she actually doesn’t want to go to Krasnodar — she can’t stand the heat. It’s her mother who wants the south, so the animal rescuer is willing to endure. In fact, she doesn’t care where she goes, as long as it’s far from Yakutsk.
«Few people know — I don’t talk about it; it’s painful even to remember. And in Yakutsk, too many things take me back to that day», Zlata says.
Before becoming a well‑known animal rescuer, Zlata Sycheva worked as a journalist. She entered the profession for the «Gorodskoy Patrul» (“City Patrol”) project: she rode with the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate (GIBDD), filmed violators — all in order to find «those bastards, because they were never found or punished».
At her request, details of her story are not disclosed here, so only part of it is included. She calls «the bastards» two young men who, she says, assaulted her in December 2014. She crossed their path by chance.
«I had a preschool‑age daughter then, and to get her into kindergarten I had to work there for a pittance. Of course there wasn’t enough money, so I drove taxi through a mobile app — with decals on the car», Zlata recounted.
That day, «two guys of Asian appearance» stopped her near Lenin Square on Kirova Street at about 15:00 and asked for a ride to Prituzova.
«Why did I pick them up off the street? It was very cold that day; the guys looked frozen, and I, feeling sorry for them, agreed. Even though it was out of my way, since I was heading to pick up my child from kindergarten on Yaroslavskogo Street», Zlata says.
One passenger sat in the front seat, the other in the back. On the way they asked whether she was married, how long she had lived in Yakutsk, and where she worked. She answered honestly: she was raising a daughter, worked at a kindergarten, and didn’t date.
When they were already driving along Prituzova Street, the guys asked to stop by a house.
«I turned on the light so it would be easier for them to prepare the money and pay. Instead, the person sitting behind threw a garrote over my neck. I tried to resist — grabbing the garrote with one hand and trying to honk with the other to draw attention. At that moment, the one on the right pressed something like a long awl into my solar plexus, pressing very hard, and I, frightened, stopped resisting and then lost consciousness from asphyxia», Zlata said.
Further details are omitted. According to Zlata, the men dragged her onto the back seat and slammed her head against the door to keep her unconscious.
«It hurt terribly and I was scared. I felt that my jeans had been removed. From pain and suffocation, I lost consciousness several times and came to briefly», the woman recalls.
Then the attackers dumped Zlata on the Bypass Highway and drove off in her car, assuming she would die: it was December, with temperatures around -37 degrees (-35°F).
«Not even the fact that I’m a single mother with a small child — whom they tried to make an orphan — stopped those bastards. They really tried to kill me», Zlata believes.
She survived, managed to get up, and flagged down a ride — though not at once: drivers thought «some drunk woman was wandering along the road», Zlata suggests, which is why they drove past.
At the police station she gave a statement; later her car was found abandoned on one of the city’s streets, along with her phone. According to Zlata, the rapists were never found — and perhaps no one even tried to find them.
Nor did her «City Patrol» project help find the attackers.
«I found my purpose»
She says helping animals is her purpose and a way to survive trauma.
«I just want to explain why I suddenly began helping animals. I’m not a zooshiza (animal‑nut slur) and not a holy fool — by saving them, I save myself. I found my purpose. There must have been a reason I survived back then», Zlata explains.
The animal rescuer candidly admits she doesn’t want Yakut media to write about her, because «armchair analysts» and haters immediately appear, judging her behind her back and constantly insulting her, without knowing anything about her past tragedy.
For ten years, Zlata has been helping stray animals. Virtually all residents of Yakutsk turned to her when they found dogs and cats, ducks, geese, spiders, and other creatures in stairwells. Through her Telegram channel, owners also searched for their pets or rehomed those they no longer wanted. Many volunteers and animal rescuers across Russia know of Zlata, so even now — despite a difficult situation in Zabaykalsky Krai — she is not alone.
Volunteers from Ulan-Ude offered temporary placements for several dogs requiring special care.
Volunteer Elena from Ulan‑Ude came to Hilok and took the dogs: Roma, Karas, Thor, and the legless Tina, Garik, and Boris — «those who need care now, those who mustn’t be exposed to the cold». Zlata is very grateful to her. The remaining animals will travel on with her family as soon as the bus issue is resolved. In any case, the animal rescuer will not return to Yakutsk.
«I definitely won’t return, but I will come to visit friends for sure. I love Yakutsk, but being there is torture for me», Zlata concluded.
