In 1975, the USSR sent some geologists on a scouting mission to an isolated section of the Russian Taiga. The group traveled by helicopter because of the complete absence of roads or even any human knowledge of the area. Now, you should know that the Taiga is a vast section of conifers, lakes, swamps, and mountains that is home to, well, practically nobody. And that’s why, when the helicopter was flying a couple of hours away from any semblance of a settlement, that the geologists onboard were amazed to see a collection of buildings and farmland in an area where no one was supposed to be living.

The chopper found a suitable flat and clear space to land, and they touched down not too far from the group of wooden buildings. After setting up their camp, the group of scientists decided to check out the small settlement they’d seen from the air. It took them a short hike because of the terrain, but they managed to reach the place. As they approached, an elderly man came out of one of the log houses and nodded acknowledgement to the geologists but he said nothing. In an effort to make the old man feel more at ease, one of the geologists said, “Greetings, grandfather; we’ve come for a visit!”

Well, that broke the ice. The old man waved the small group into his cabin and and said, “Since you’ve come this far, you could come inside!” Once their eyes had adjusted to the dim light of the low-ceilinged cabin, they men saw that the place was very simply decorated and sparsely furnished. The man was getting glasses for the men so that they could share a drink together, and that’s when the geologists decided to ask about why the old guy was there. And the story he told was amazing.

Turns out that the man and his family had lived there off the grid for some time. He introduced the men to his family, his wife and children, and especially to his daughter, Agafia. She helped her father get some food for the men as her dad got the drinks. As they settled down around the crude table to drink, the group was told that the man’s name was Karp Lykov. It seems that, years before, the family had left civilization because they were unwilling to give up their religious beliefs when confronted by Soviet pressure to do so. Rather than change or even pretend to change, Karp and his family decided to quietly and simply drop out of Soviet society by moving deep within the Taiga. The place they’d found was over 160 miles from the nearest settlement.

The scientists were confused. How could they survive off the grid–and out of the reach of the Soviet authorities–for so long? Remember, this was 1975, and the Soviet Union’s ability to control their citizens was beyond question. How an entire (and not small) family group could simply drop out was, well, incomprehensible. The Lykov children began asking questions of the men; what was it like in the outside world? How were things in civilization? The men tried to explain the latest news, but the family looked puzzled. They had no frame of reference for what the men were telling them.

Karp told them that he had seen stars moving rapidly and asked about them. Now, it was the geologists’ turn to look puzzled. “Do you mean satellites?” one man asked Karp. The old man’s eyes widened with curiosity. “Hold on a minute,” one of the scientists said. “When was the last time you all have been to a town? When did you all leave civilization to live out here?”

Karp looked up at the low log ceiling above him in thought. The men could see he was figuring the time in his head. “This is 1975, right?” he asked, finally. The men nodded assent

“We left your world in 1936.”