Volunteer Cleans Yakutsk for Free for 23 Years
Anton Vasilyev is the most famous volunteer in Yakutia, founder of good deeds.
Anton Vasilyev from Yakutsk is well-known — the man has been working as a street cleaner for free every day for 23 years. Few people know that he not only cleans streets from dirt and garbage but also does volunteer work: he helps large families, an animal shelter, and people in difficult life situations. He is considered the main public figure of Yakutia. He is not married, has no children, and is not officially employed anywhere. Anton told 14.RU about his life — how he started his volunteer path, what he lives on, plans to launch the project «Choron Dobra» in Zabaikalsky Krai, and then in Kazakhstan, to increase good deeds.
Anton has a disability, but it doesn«t prevent him from working every day.
«The city isn»t ashamed — it«s used to me»
Anton has a sister and brother.
Anton Vasilyev came to volunteer work not by chance: from a young age, his father taught him to care for the environment and value the place where he lives. When he was a child and went duck hunting with his father, in the forest they cleaned up garbage left by other hunters and took it all to the dump.
In one summer, Anton removed thousands of liters of garbage from the Central Park of Culture and Recreation.
In 2006, Anton«s life almost ended: he fell from a height and was badly injured, lay in a coma for a month, and underwent five brain surgeries. Doctors assigned him a third-degree disability, and Anton is missing half of his skull — there is a plate in its place.
Anton cleared snow on Yefimov Street immediately after a blogger wrote about it.
Despite health problems, since 2009 Anton has continued to regularly clean streets, bus stops, and courtyards. For free. His personal record is 215 bags of garbage in one day. Every summer, he can be seen on Green Meadow, the city beach, or the Central Park of Culture and Recreation.
Anton«s workday starts at 06:00. Until lunch, he works part-time as a street cleaner and cleans streets, and then goes to do good deeds. Anton cleans daily on Oktyabrskaya, Gorky, Kirov, Yaroslavsky, Ordzhonikidze, Dzerzhinsky, Fyodor Popov, Bogdan Chizhik, Bogatyrev, Gubin, and other streets. He often goes to remote areas of the city — to the Vilyuisky Tract and Vilyuisky Lane, Bypass Highway.
One family helped by Anton expresses gratitude for his support.
Cleaning streets in summer and autumn takes Anton 2–4 hours. In winter, he says, cleaning is easier and faster.
The entire city of Yakutsk knows Anton.
«I don»t want to work officially. If I were officially employed, I wouldn«t have time to do good deeds. I practically spend the whole day on it. I go out in the morning, work until 12:00, then have lunch and go do good deeds. Now the days are getting longer, it gets dark late. So I manage to work a lot in a day,» explains the volunteer. «After the main work, I go clean streets for free: under houses, under windows. Over all these years, I already know where there»s a lot of garbage, so I constantly come. I was offered another side job.«
Recently, blogger Anastasiagav wrote in her Telegram channel that on Yefimov Street in the 203rd microdistrict, no one cleans the roadside from snow, and pedestrians have nowhere to walk. The street is not yet asphalted, repairs will be done only this year, but residents of the microdistrict use this road every day. Anton Vasilyev went without further ado and cleaned it the same day. It took him 1.5 hours.
People now write under Anastasiagav«s post that Anton should come and clean garbage for them too, pointing out areas like the 17th quarter and GRES.
«I often clean in the quarter anyway. There»s a spot there, opposite the «Aigul» store that sells draft beer, and next to a dismantled old two-story house. That«s where people leading an immoral lifestyle constantly gather. I go and clean up after them. I also often go to GRES,» says Anton.
The volunteer has had a tradition since 2017 — washing floors in the Transfiguration Cathedral in the first days of the new year. This year he plans to do it too, though later.
Townspeople are amazed why the city administration isn«t ashamed that for 23 years, instead of the relevant organizations, Anton is responsible for the cleanliness of streets and stops. The volunteer himself isn»t resentful.
«I have constant places that I»ve been cleaning for many years. This is the courtyard at 7 Yaroslavsky Street, the bus stop near school No. 2, sidewalks on Poyarkov and under the windows of the residential building at 8 Chernyshevsky Street. Every winter, I clear bus stops from snow and ice. The city isn«t ashamed, the city is used to me,» says Anton.
«Girls don»t need a person like that«
Anton is over 40, he is not married, calls himself «single, young». As he admits, girls aren«t interested in him.
«Mom says: »Antonych, get married.« I answer: »Yes, everything in its own time will be.« But, frankly: who would look at me? I work as a street cleaner, I have a third-degree disability. Girls don»t need a person like that. Hiding the truth or believing in fairy tales, in love — it«s not for me, I»ve long moved away from that. I had relationships, I had a loved one. I pursued her for a very long time, but couldn«t achieve it. We parted ways. Most likely, because I do volunteer work. Even though I do good deeds, people don»t like it. I practically have no future.«
For the sake of family, Anton doesn«t want to change his lifestyle.
«On the contrary, I believe I»ll meet that girl who will accept me as I am.«
When asked what he does in his free time, Anton couldn«t answer immediately. For him, this concept doesn»t exist.
«What»s that, free time? I just came home now, I«m drinking tea, then I»ll go do good deeds. Otherwise, I don«t live alone, but with my mom. She»s already 75 years old. She«s sick, I help her: I cook food, give massages, give medicine,» explains the volunteer.
«Choron Dobra» — a project that helped 72 children
Since 2013, Anton has been implementing the social project «Choron Dobra» in Yakutia — helping large families and those in need. Last year, he launched his project for the seventh time, but already in the Nizhnekolymsky district. Over the years, many officials of the republic have participated in it, including the head of Yakutsk, Yevgeny Grigoryev, who bought warm winter clothes for one family.
«First, I find sponsors in Yakutsk, provide them with all sizes, they buy clothes, and I handle all the logistics. I send families hats, jackets, shoes, and everything necessary for children. That»s how I keep busy. We«ve already helped 72 children. Strangers helping strangers — that»s great. The government of Yakutia supports me with logistics, the Yakutsk city administration, the Public Chamber, and other organizations. People actively participate in the project. Now there«s one family: a single father is raising children — his wife died last year. I»ll look for sponsors for him. He lives in the Nizhnekolymsky district,« says Anton.
Not only those in need reach out to Anton, but also those wanting to help. Thus, one of Yakutsk«s entrepreneurs has been contacting him before New Year since 2016 to find families needing support.
«Lyudmila Anatolyevna is a small business owner. Before New Year, she bought a new bed for a single mother — her daughter, who is already 17 years old, had been sleeping on the floor all the time, they are low-income. For another family, Lyudmila bought groceries and New Year»s gifts,« says the volunteer.
Anton constantly helps 75 children from low-income families in four naslegs of the Nizhnekolymsky district. He looks for sponsors to buy them warm clothes.
A small but important dream
In 2024, Anton«s volunteer life changed: he was offered a side job, and for a year and a half he has been cleaning garbage and clearing the area near the »1000 Melochey« shopping center for money. Last year, he started cleaning streets in three districts under an oral agreement with one of the city administration»s contractors.
«He has a contract with the city administration. He offered me a side job. These are the same streets that I myself have been cleaning from garbage every day for many years. But here you clean these places and get a salary for it. It was very good. I agreed, I»ve been working for the fifth month. I clean the Central, Gubinsky, and Oktyabrsky districts. I divided the streets into sections. Today I cleaned Oyunsky, Kalandarishvili, Petrovsky, Lermontov, and Turgenev streets. The entrepreneur promised to pay me 50,000 rubles (approximately $556 at current rates), but pays irregularly: the city administration delays salaries since November. In December, he paid me from his own money. And for January — I haven«t received it yet,» said Anton.
The volunteer admits that not everyone would want to be in his place, especially «to work for free»: the work is hard, exhausting, many who worked for the same entrepreneur at the «1000 Melochey» shopping center as street cleaners quit after a couple of months.
Anton needs money to continue his project «Choron Dobra». This year, the Yakutsk volunteer plans to go federal — with plans to move to Chita.
«There is an agreement to launch the project in Zabaikalsky Krai. As soon as I earn the first amount, I»ll fly immediately. I need 200–300 thousand on purchasing clothes and food to help those in need. I«ll buy right in Chita — everything is cheaper than here. Now I»m looking for sponsors and saving money from side jobs. Most likely, it will happen in summer or autumn,« says Anton.
According to him, through public figures in Chita, he managed to agree with the government of Zabaikalsky Krai to launch the project «Choron Dobra» in other districts as well.
«It»s a relay baton. If everything works out, we«ll launch the project in other regions of the country. I also have the opportunity to go to Kazakhstan. I think, why not launch »Choron Dobra« there? Many of my acquaintances live there, who moved after the start of the SMO. And so I want to propose this idea to them and implement it. Then the project will reach an international level,» dreams Anton Vasilyev.
Despite the lack of income and personal life, looking back, Anton regrets nothing.
«I»m not disappointed. On the contrary, I become stronger every year. I do good deeds so that there is more good in this world. I don«t expect anything in return. No one owes you anything. You owe the universe. That»s the principle I live by,« concluded Anton.
