One day in the life of a Russian homeless. homeless life

Allow me to introduce - Radik Garimyanovich with terrible surname Basaev, 45 years old. Ordinary provincial bum with a solid "professional" experience. Lives in the city of Orsk, Orenburg region.

A man of shitty fate, unable to overcome his weaknesses and sank to such a bottom from which they no longer rise.

Today it is fashionable to show your day: when you woke up, how you had breakfast, how you went to work, what you did. Radik does not have the opportunity to capture his day on his own, and such a thought never occurred to him, however, when I explained my plan, a light lit up in his eyes and he enthusiastically said: “That's good, that's right, brother! Write so that people do not repeat my mistakes.

Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to photograph this person all day, the homeless routine is too leisurely, so most I write from his words.

So, it is customary to show the clock on the display of a touch mobile phone with the first photo, but, as you understand, Radik does not have not only a mobile phone, but also ordinary wrist watch(they just don't need it). Radik gets up early:

This is what his bed looks like:

(There, behind the fence, Radik usually sleeps on cardboard and rags)

Like rain, I'll go to the entrance. They don’t let me in everywhere, but I go where they don’t drive me.

Instead of breakfast, a couple of sips of alcohol, which Radik buys in a nearby hostel. Drinks intelligently, only diluted. Today they are asking for 17 rubles for a cup, and for a flacon (as our hero says in the English manner) 35 rubles and no prohibitions on selling at night. Looking ahead, I will say that he is regularly applied to alcohol, and for him it is a boon much more necessary than food.

Having refreshed himself in this way, Radik takes his crutches, with difficulty rises to his feet and goes to the "stump":

"Stump" is a place on the porch in front of the grocery store. Here he spends most of his time collecting alms. When asked how much they give, he answers: “Enough. Always different. How are people feeling?" Our hero is a real disaster for the store administration. At first they actively fought against his presence: they drove him away, but he returned, they called the police, but they came and also could not do anything. And where to put it? The shelters are overcrowded, and no one needs him there.

As a result, Radik won in this long struggle. Now they have reconciled with him and are no longer driven, though they are not allowed inside. In this regard, he has a big problem - how to buy cigarettes. He sits on the steps and asks passers-by: “Brother! Help! Here, take the money, buy me a pack of red Optima!” Most refuse, but someone compassionate is always there and helps out. It is symbolic, but the store near which he is on duty is called "Fortuna".

When it's time for dinner, Radik gets up and goes to the Chkalovsky hospital, where they give free meals:

He walks very slowly and with great difficulty. This is due to a stroke that happened five years ago, which hit his legs great and predetermined him further fate. The fact is that Radik is not just a bum, but a lone bum. The rest of the city's homeless live in groups, it's safer, it's easier to earn money and it's more fun to drink. Radik is not accepted into the company, since he is not efficient and there is no sense in him, though he himself is local homeless not happy:

Rats are mostly. Ghouls are so specific. I don’t let them near me, I don’t communicate. Once a passer-by fell on the street, he had an epileptic attack, and a homeless person came up and cleaned all his pockets. If I had walked normally, I would have beaten him, the dog.

Radik himself has been homeless since 2002, since he returned from prison.
- Since then, as a robot, I walk, wander, no longer a person. Allah is punishing me.

And there is something to punish.
- What did you sit down for?
- One hundred and second...
- What is it?
- Corpse call...
- Killed someone?
- Yes, human.
- Are you drunk?
- No. I was sober.

I'm going with a friend, I look, they're standing,
They stood in silence,
They stood in silence,
There were eight!

Walked at night, it was two hours. Bridge over Elshanka, where YuUMZ. They are towards. I then counted, there were sixteen of them! Well, I clung to the railing, they ask: “Do you have a smoke? Or maybe some money?" Well, I sanded one, and the rest fled. WITH right hand, right under the heart. With a knife..., - Radik falls silent, and then, recollecting himself, almost screams, - But I didn't go anywhere! Then there were no cellphones, I stayed, I thought, maybe someone from work will return, call an ambulance. I stayed, I didn't leave! Then the cops accepted me, twelve fucked me. He was sitting in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, he was a stoker. I liked it! I didn't even want to leave. And then came back and...

(Same place)

Did you have a family? - But how! Wife and daughter. My daughter is looking for me, - here Radik's swollen eyes take on a dreamy expression, - she has become an adult, they say she is beautiful, tall ... She graduated from the institute! In fact, she hasn't gotten married yet. Bye.

It can be seen that the theme of the daughter is the only thing that somehow touches his exhausted, calloused soul. He pauses, and then reaches into his bosom and pulls out the familiar yogurt bottle.
- Need to chill...

After drinking, he lights a cigarette and returns to his previous state.

Does the city support you? Why don't you go to the shelter?
- I go sometimes, but there it is like this: lie down and free the bunk. I need to go to another one, but it’s hard for me to walk, my legs are cheap. Yes, and you need to work there, but what kind of worker am I? I can hardly drag myself! So, I can only smoke and drink tea.
- Is it hard or already used to it?
- Get used to where to go. I still want to live, although, it is clear that Mike is my homeland (meaning the city cemetery in the village of Pervomaisky).
- Thank you Medvedev! - Radik unexpectedly gives out.
- Medvedev? For what?
- Supports us, that's what!
- How is that?
- Yes, that's it, support, brother. I go to Chkalovskaya, they give me something to eat. I don't need anything from him. At least he’s not like a hunchback, that real freak ...

This ended our political discourse.

Where is the apartment? Lost?
- No, what are you! Left the wife. He left everything, even his clothes. I'm that kind of person, you know...
- Cops don't offend you?
- No, what are you! The cops know me, well done, boys! They greet as they see. One cop, Rinat, he gave me a new crutch! - Radik boasts of a crutch - I have had this one for a long time, but this one, Rinat gave me. Good man!

When the war was, the Orenburg people came to raid, so they pressed me. When they see the surname, the first question is: “Are you by any chance a relative of Shamil?” Yes, I would kill him myself!
- What do you think, why did you have such a life?
- I was young, stupid ... I started playing immediately after perestroika, so I lost.
- And why did you go down after prison? What broke you?

Radik waves his hand hopelessly. How to explain here?

Radik rises heavily to his feet and leaves the "stump":

After walking a couple of meters, he suddenly comes up to the wall and, not embarrassed by passers-by, unzips his fly and urinates under his feet, getting on his pants and boots:

Having honestly paid Radik for the interview, I went to the car, but this man stopped me:

Hello, - he greeted, - and what newspaper are you from?
- Hello, this is material for the Internet.

The knowledgeable man nodded his head.
- This is Radik, - he said, pointing to my interlocutor, - he often comes to our hostel for alcohol. Colorful personality!
- So you know him?
- I know how. He's sick, it's a pity. They, drunkards, have very poor health. My wife has been drinking for many years, I can't help it. Leaves the house and drinks. And when she comes back, it's scary to look at her. The wounds have opened on the legs and do not heal, they rot.
- This is a good place, - he says, pointing to the "stump", - I used to stand here myself. He did not beg, but opened the doors to buyers. Well earned! It used to be 300-400 rubles in two hours! - He says with joy, as if he worked as some kind of top manager (yes, and even then, I doubt that many of the tops with such intonation would talk about their work), - Then , however, I had to leave, here the mafia decides who is standing and who is not. I didn't get in touch.

I look at this man with curiosity, and I understand that he did not appear here by chance. Here is a living and timely example of a person who also has a difficult fate. Dressed simply but clean. The shirt is fresh, he is pulled up himself, he speaks quickly, clearly, that after Radikovsky the lowing sounds almost like music. I ask him his name and ask him to take a picture. Alexei, feeling calmer, suddenly says:
- Excuse me, can I ask you a question? This is not just a question, but an intelligence test.
- Ask, - I say.
- Such a question: do you know how to walk upside down?
- I know, I always go like this.
- Wow! - Alexey is surprised in a completely childish way, - and when they asked me, I answered incorrectly! For a long time I could not understand what the catch was here!

Alexey laughs happily and shakes my hand, we say goodbye, wishing each other good health. I'm leaving, and Radik is left to sit on the "stump". There is no point in photographing his day any further. After sitting for a few more hours, he will buy moonshine in the hostel and, filling his eyes, will fall asleep under his native bush.

Hard

In the city of Kuibyshev, Novosibirsk region, a 17-year-old boy set fire to a homeless man.
Allegedly, having heard abuse addressed to him, he went to the store, bought gasoline, doused the offender and struck a lighter. If not for the five friends of the bum,
he would be burned alive. Two years ago, a similar incident occurred in the Leninsky district. These stories show
that the homeless are sometimes considered inanimate beings. Protesting against such an attitude towards people, NGS correspondents. NEWS
lived one day in the Dry Log with a group of Bogdanovsky scourges (as they call themselves) and made friends with them.

This is a story about how we ended up in another world and lived one day with the scourge Oleg from the “Bogdanovsky group”. Here he is. Cunning, cheerful, with a broken skull.

Start of the journey: paid (2500 per month) rooming house on Spring. The "elite" of the homeless lives here - pensioners, they have already forgotten about the real homeless life. At the exit, we ran into a stately, proud old man - he winked at us mockingly.

Metro station "Zaeltsovskaya". Serega, a beggar: “I am a loner, I decide everything for myself.” Even for 300 rubles he refused to show the homeless life of the city. Kalinin Square - and so the bread place.

In the rooming house we were told about the settlement of homeless people in Sukhoi Log. Now the path lies to the garbage heap and garages between Narodnaya and the private sector (popularly it is called Shanghai and is a real Novosibirsk Harlem).

If you discard the everyday rubbish, you can find your joys everywhere. It is quiet here, there are many secluded places, and the stench of the garbage dump is mixed with the intoxicating aroma of flowering bird cherry and apple trees.

Basement in Khrushchev. We open the door and see 44-year-old Oleg, he just woke up. "This is how we wake up." - Do you dream about anything in the morning? - “A lot of things. I dream of being a welder so that sparks fly. I'm a great welder - such a topic.

“The ex-wife came yesterday, the rat, took all the money. And then the Shanghai youngsters were fucked on the head. Is it dangerous to live? Unpredictable. The same Shanghai people will sometimes call an ambulance if one of ours becomes very ill.

Oleg is friendly, he invites us to the bushes, where all the active members of the "Bogdanovskaya" will soon appear. “Now you will see how we live. We wake up, so we start working, we go around - for metal (2 rubles per kg), we all get drunk together.

“Look, I found some pink salmon, it’s just frozen! And we find as many sausages in garbage dumps as you don’t have in refrigerators. By the way, it is correct to call a container not a dump, but a parking lot or a Klondike.

“After we got drunk, we go back to work. We have how. Men earn money, and women find and cook food. We don't have a main one. Everything that someone received or found goes to the common fund. Hey Seryoga, get up! This is Seryoga, his legs are frostbitten.”

Serega cannot collect metal, but he is an old man, and therefore his scourge friends will never leave him. This winter, the frost almost deprived him of his legs. In the "good basements" on Kropotkin Street, whips survived, huddled together, basking in each other like kittens.

This simple wealth of Seregino is a mirror and a float to catch small fish in Eltsovka.

Beard appears (46 years old) - an artistic and ironic blue-eyed handsome man. If you wash - neither give nor take Hollywood actor. I recently returned from the Kozikhinsky Monastery.

“We have been living here for several years, we do not stick out in other territories - there are our own groups. If a stranger comes to us, we'll send it off quickly. - "Have you ever planned to relax, swim in the Ob?" - "I want to. But who is waiting for us there?

Zhenya (the youngest, he is 28 years old) and the dog Leshy. Economic Zhenya. “Look, what a carbon monoxide hacksaw I found.” Knows how to play the drums. “The guys in the garages played guitars, I asked them: can I knock? They allowed. Bliss!".

Olya - Zhenya's friend - and mother-nurse of the entire homeless team. "I'm only his, no one else, no, no." Olga loves to read. In the garbage dump, “I found all of Dontsova and Marinina” and read it from cover to cover.

Next to Zhenya is the Professor, an alcoholic from a neighboring house. On the one hand, he pretends to be superior to them in status. On the other hand, he clearly lacks Bich's love of life and ironic attitude to difficulties - he is drawn to them. And to alcohol.

Beard likes such a life - neither a rooming house, nor work attracts him. On the collection of pieces of iron and the sale of the “team” found in the garbage he earns from 1 to 5 thousand a day. He has no malice towards the "civilian world".

The scourges like vodka much more than the incomprehensible spirit of "Shanghai" production (15 rubles per 100 g).

At some moments, it seemed that the scourges live in some kind of parallel, cozy world in their own way. Like the hobbits, for example. Or gnomes.

Beard: “Gentlemen of Novosibirsk, I want to make a short announcement: leave bottled beer unfinished. We are very thirsty when we work!”

Everyone is very drunk. We're heading to the basement. Suddenly Beard says: “Let's not go there. Other people live there. It's embarrassing to disturb them."

A collegial decision is made to go "work" and go to the mysterious Gavrila. At that moment, Dan appears, starting a whip, and gives the photojournalist Tatyana a beautiful yellow tulip plucked from a flower bed.

Dan is still young, he has an apartment and parents. Acting like a Harlem nigga from Harlem nigga movies. He prefers to live in the basement with Oleg - "like cool." He treats Beard and Oleg with love and filial piety.

Dan carefully makes a compress for Oleg from a piece of cardboard box soaked in alcohol. Oleg is dead drunk. But we still need to see Gavrila. "Who is Gavrila? Ha, now you will recognize our Gavrila.

Friends hug. Quite sincerely.

Oleg's day ends, he falls on the road - his friends carefully drag him into the bushes and put two Maxim cigarettes in his hand. Good night and good luck, Oleg!

The culmination of our psychedelic journey. Among the pipes dead cats, dirty toys, Gavrila settled down on a cozy couch, according to him, a veteran of the war in Angola: “Guten tag! Hello! Parlay vu france! Gyalse gyalse is Somali."

Gavrila also reads books that she finds in the garbage: “I recently read The Master and Margarita. So cute". Yawns sweetly and winks: “Most of all I love science fiction. Sank yu very match. Drinks from the throat: "Good health to you, gentlemen!".

DISH "MAKI" COPPER PLATE
PLATE KUZNETSOV

ASHTRAY	CUP	FRUIT BOWL	ICON
IRON	INKWELL	BOX	OAK POT

Not entirely true statement that only with the advent of a certain age we are literally “covered with a wave of nostalgia” when we hear the melody of youth, or see some attributes of that time. Even quite Small child begins to yearn for his favorite toy, if someone took it away or hid it. We are all in love with old things to some extent, because they keep the spirit in them. whole era. It is not enough for us to read about it in books or on the Internet. We want to have a real antique that you can touch and smell. Just remember your feelings when you picked up a Soviet-era book with slightly yellowed pages exuding a sweetish aroma, especially when turning over them, or when you looked at black and white photographs your parents or grandparents, the ones with uneven white borders. By the way, for many, such shots remain the most beloved so far, despite the low quality of such shots. The point here is not in the image, but in that feeling of spiritual warmth that fills us when they come across our eyes.

If in our life there are no “objects from the past” due to endless moving and change of residence, then you can buy antiques in our antique online store. Antique shops are especially popular now, because not everyone has the opportunity to visit such outlets, and they are concentrated mainly only in large cities.

Here you can buy antiques of various subjects

To dot all the "i", it should be said that antique shop is a special institution that carries out the purchase, sale, exchange, restoration and examination of antiques and provides a number of other services related to the sale of antiques.

Antiques are some old things that have a fairly high value. It can be: antique jewelry, appliances, coins, books, interior items, figurines, dishes and more.

However, in a number of countries, different things are considered antiques: in Russia, the status of an “old thing” is given to an object that is already more than 50 years old, and in the USA - objects made before 1830. On the other hand, in each country, different antiques have different values. In China, vintage porcelain is great value than in Russia or the USA.

In other words, when buying antiques it should be remembered that its price depends on the following characteristics: age, uniqueness of performance, method of manufacture (everyone knows that handmade valued much higher than mass production), historical, artistic, or cultural value and other reasons.

antique shop- enough risky business. The point is not only the laboriousness of finding the necessary product and the long period of time during which this item will be sold, but also the ability to distinguish a fake from the original.

In addition, an antiques shop must meet a number of standards in order to gain a proper reputation in the market. If we are talking about an antique online store, then it should have a wide range of goods presented. If an antiques store exists not only on the World Wide Web, then it must also be large enough for the client to be comfortable wandering between antiques, and, secondly, have a beautiful interior and a pleasant atmosphere.

In our antiques store there are very rare items that can impress even a venerable collector.

antiques has magical power: touching him once, you will turn into him big fan, antique items will take a worthy place in the interior of your home.

In our online antique store you can buy antiques most various topics By affordable prices. To facilitate the search, all products are divided into special groups: paintings, icons, rural life, interior items, etc. Also in the catalog you will be able to find old books, postcards, posters, silverware, chinaware and much more.

In addition, in our antique online store you can purchase Original gifts, furniture and kitchen utensils that can enliven the interior of your home, make it more refined.

Sale of antiques in Russia, as in many European cities, such as Paris, London and Stockholm, has its own characteristics. First of all, these are high costs for the purchase of antiques, however, the responsibility of a store selling antiques is also quite high, since these things represent a certain material and cultural and historical value.

By purchasing antiques in our store, you can be sure of the authenticity of the purchased items.

Our antique store employs only qualified consultants and appraisers who, without special work distinguish the original from fakes.

We strive to make our antique online store interesting for collectors, and for fans of antiquity and for the most ordinary connoisseurs of beauty who have good taste and those who know the value of things. Thus, one of our priority areas is the constant expansion of the range, both through dealers and through cooperation with other companies involved in the sale of antiques.

- a food storage room and a cooler. Old man in dirty clothes and smelling of fumes, he tries to pour boiling water over powdered puree. "Get out of here, old man!" the social worker yelled at him. Two more people, a man and a woman, are waiting for the homeless man on the street. “You won’t see anything interesting there, everything is washed and well-groomed,” the homeless tramp assured the AiF-Petersburg correspondent. - But I'll show you how the homeless live in reality. We are all street. People like us are not needed in the shelter. By the way, this is Tanyukha, and this is Tolya America. My name is Gena Finn, I can spit well in Finnish. As proof, Gena begins to speak Finnish quickly and selflessly.

Tanyukha has four bags of collected clothes and food in her hands. She carries them to the base - a place where homeless people from the same clan put the supplies they find. “Now we’ll give you a tour,” America winks, “just finish drinking marijuana.” Homeless people call the homemade windshield wiper that they buy cheaply from a local huckster. America pulls out a plastic bottle of dark liquid and disposable cups from her bosom. Finn and America drink slowly, savoring it as if it were expensive wine. “You have to drink a lot,” explains Tolya, “especially in winter. If you go to bed sober, you won't fall asleep - it's very cold outside, and everything hurts. Therefore, we try to get so drunk that in the evening it just cuts out: where you fell, there you fell asleep until the morning. We are trying to find a place where the heating main runs - it is warmer there.” Most often, the homeless sleep right on the street. At first, the police took the homeless to the station, then they stopped - what can you take from them? Now they only drive sometimes, and more often they don’t pay attention at all.

Boyarsky did not pick up the phone

In order to somehow brighten up their lives, the homeless invent a past for themselves and pass it off as reality: “Do you want to be stunned at all? America asks. - I used to be a drummer in the group "Earthlings". And he played with Tsoi too. And I still communicate with Misha - well, with Boyarsky, for me he is Misha. He doesn't know that I'm homeless, I hide it. Sometimes we get in touch." America pretends to dial Boyarsky's number and waits for an answer. "Does not answer the phone. On the set, probably busy, ”concludes Tolya. According to him, he used to have a chic apartment with eighteenth-century furniture, but envious people pulled off a scam, took away the apartment and documents - and now Tolya has been living on the street for two years now. Finn is a former sailor. His wife kicked him out of the house, and Gena went to live with his sister. It was impossible to get a job for health reasons, my sister was always angry, and Finn left home. He's been homeless for five years.

“I used to have three cars - my wife took everything away,” recalls Finn, “and by the way, in my youth, I listened to Brodsky in Saigon, we were friends with him. I come, it was, to his performances, and he told me: “Genka, great!” and begins: “I don’t want to choose either a country or a graveyard; I’ll come to Vasilyevsky Island to die.”

We approach a small brick booth. Here the homeless sometimes spend the night. The bed is built on a pipe with hot water. True, there is only one place in the booth - the homeless spend the night here in turn. Tolya's phone rings. Almost all homeless people have mobile phones. “This is for work,” America explains, “part-time jobs often turn up. It happens that you need to give someone a lift or unload the goods. And last year we worked at the SKK at the Pirate Station, handing out advertisements. I still have a bracelet,” America proudly shows off a red paper bracelet on her wrist.

Garbage can archaeologists

On the way - the first garbage dump. “There is nothing to do here,” says Finn, “archaeologists have already walked here.” The homeless call archaeologists or geologists all the homeless who dig in garbage cans. Finn and America know all the homeless people in the city. “There are cool geologists on Vaska, on Petrogradskaya,” says Finn, “but there are also clans with whom we are at odds, sometimes we fight. They are completely degraded people, they steal, and often from the same homeless people. They are too lazy to hand over bottles. They sit in the passages and ask for money. And we have a principle - we never steal. And we do not swear by the mother. And we don’t swear at all, have you noticed?”

Once America and Finn noticed that a woman walking in front of them had mink coat fell out of pocket bank card Visa. The homeless picked up the card, called out to the woman, and returned the lost item to her. “She looked disgusted, took the card by the edge with two fingers and didn’t even say “thank you,” America recalls. “Though we are used to such treatment, it’s still insulting every time.”

The next dump has not yet been processed by archaeologists, and Finn and America begin excavations. America finds St. George ribbon: “Wow, what people throw away! This is the memory of the great feat of the Russian people!” - and he puts the ribbon in his pocket. Finn found two pairs of pantaloons, big and small: “Wow, they still make them,” Finn wonders, “how old are they? These are, apparently, the pantaloons of Alexander Vasilyevich, the commander Suvorov, and these are his wife Palashki. But luck smiles at the homeless: they find a metal table, you can get good money for it. They hide it around the corner of the dump - they will pick it up on the way back. Suddenly, America notices a soft toy in the trash can - a fluffy chicken. “What a cute pygmy! - America admires, - why did they throw him out, he's so cute. I'll take it."

Any door can be opened

Now I need to buy a windshield wiper for the evening. Half a liter - thirty rubles. We approach the entrance where the huckster lives. America rings the intercom, but no one answers. "He's at home, he's probably stoned," Finn says. He takes an ordinary lighter, leans its metal part against the intercom lock, and the door opens. “You can do this with almost any door,” Finn smiles, “didn't you know? And you can just pull harder.” Huckster and the truth is not at home. America lights up Belomor. The date of manufacture is indicated on the pack - 1975. “Rosenbaum gave me this,” America boasts, “I once took him to a concert.”

"Are you cold? Finn asks, "Let's go warm up by the fire." We approach a long four-story building. These are long abandoned baths. There are no windows or heating. Now it's a homeless base. It's no warmer to sleep here than outside. Homeless people cook food in the building and sometimes spend the night. We rise to the top floor by stairs without railings. “Walk carefully, hold on to the wall,” Finn and America shout at each other, “otherwise we sometimes get drunk on the cleaner and fall from here, it hurts a lot.” America's nose and chin are torn as a result of yesterday's fall.

bath day

A large room on the fourth floor is littered with piles of rubbish and clothes. Homeless people bring everything here. There are supplies of food on the window: a jar of sauerkraut, a container of potatoes and pasta, tea, sweets and a package of cat food. A black cat walks on a pile of rubbish. In the center is a table and a sofa. “Yesterday we celebrated Tanyukhin's birthday,” explains America, “we bought groceries at Auchan, sat down. That's even balloon remained".

Two more homeless people are sitting against the wall. They have built a fire and are warming the kettle on the grate. "Are we going to the bathhouse tomorrow?" one of them asks. “Of course, let's go,” America responds, “we go to the bathhouse once a week. The bathhouse on the Bolts costs only ten rubles, this money can always be found. I handed over an aluminum can - now 40 kopecks, bottles are more expensive. And I always have money, but I earn extra money.

“You come here, if anything,” Finn and America say goodbye, “we are always happy to talk, if not drunk. And yet - we do not need to feel sorry. Each person is the master of his own destiny. We chose this life for ourselves. We're not bums. We are vagabonds. Do you feel the difference?

IN different years and epochs, the attitude towards this category of states was different: they were hanged in the squares, put in prisons, warmed up in shelters. How do homeless people live today, and what to do if you suddenly met such a person on your way?

Homeless under the window

In search interesting topic for our readership, I once asked my husband at breakfast at home:

Where have all the homeless people gone from the streets? You rarely see them...

What are you! Just look out the window! - answered the husband.

Indeed, in a small forest near the "Orbita" was sitting not yet old and not so dirty and degraded man. As it turned out, he had been sleeping under our windows for three days already, but I didn’t notice him ... It was early in the morning: we boiled dumplings, took a little alcohol that was dusty from the New Year and went to an unusual interview.

"Hello, I'm Dima"

Good morning! We have drawn attention to ourselves.

A man in his 50s, all dressed in black, appeared before his eyes. Slightly unshaven, but neatly trimmed, his face is not at all drunk, but he looks better than many of our ordinary, "home" men, I tell you!

Hello. Dima, - the man appears.

As it turned out, he had been living on the street for 16 years.

A lot of us. In the summer we mostly live in the forests. They live there (points to the Millennium Park), they live there (points to the Ravine near the Memorial of Glory". In the summer it’s good, but in the winter we move in all directions, I personally go to the entrances, drive, but not always, it happens that they will regret it, - said Dmitry .
Physically, he is developed, well-built, such, as they say, to wash and he will turn out to be another man. But Dmitry inspired something to himself - to be ordinary person he doesn't seem to want to.
- I've been in prison since I was 14 ... I sat down as a youngster for theft, and when I got out, no one needed it, - he says.

From family hearth to the street - one step

In his "testimonies" he is slightly confused, obviously disingenuous, but we did not arrange an interrogation for him. It turned out that once after all he was needed by someone. Was even married! And he had an apartment. But, apparently, the craving for adventure tore him away from home for a long time and family life. Having quarreled with his wife, he left for Ukraine, and when he returned, it turned out that his wife had discharged him as missing, so Dima was left without housing and registration.

I have a sister in Bratsk. But I dare not go to her. She is alone with three children one-room apartment lives. Where do I go! – says the man.

Earns food for himself

What I liked most about Dmitry was his positive attitude. He doesn't complain and better fate does not want to do it for himself, the main thing is not to disturb anyone, not to upset anyone. One can only envy his endurance. Spending the night on the street in early October, he has an "iron" immunity, no ailment takes him. Dmitry is a decent person, he does not eat in the garbage dumps, he earns his own living.
- I work in the market. I'll unload the boxes, then I'll take the garbage. Almost all day at the market. For this they give me 50 rubles, and even feed me. A woman in a kiosk will constantly treat you with samsa or whitewash. You can live, - says the bum.

For his helpfulness he is constantly rewarded: good people haircuts, warm clothes, blankets, hygiene products. We did not remain indifferent either: for interesting interview donated some things.

Now Dima is a little worried that the market on the street. They want to close the Soviet one and build a modern one in this place shopping mall, in such conditions, there will most likely be no place for him.

Why are you in our center social adaptation don't apply? It's good there! I suggest.

Yes you! There people are like herring in a barrel. There are very few places, not enough for everyone, so I don’t even go there.

We didn’t say goodbye to Dmitry, we decided to give him warm clothes, but the next day he mysteriously disappeared from our forest. Maybe the cold drove him from his familiar place, or maybe light feeling shame...

Who helps the homeless?

According to the most rough estimates, about 3 million homeless people live in Russia, and far from all cities keep records of this category of citizens. So, for example, in Ulan-Ude there are 1.5 thousand homeless people per 430 thousand inhabitants, in Bratsk there are at least 400 per 230 thousand population. This number includes only those who do not have a residence permit and housing, in reality, according to statistics, there are much more people prone to vagrancy and an antisocial lifestyle - up to 7% of the total population in Russia.
Measures are provided for people in this category in Bratsk and the Bratsk district social support. In particular, the center of social adaptation on the street. Yangelya, 14 at a time is ready to provide 35 beds for such citizens. The institution is ready not only to warm, but also to wash, feed, cure, restore documents. According to the center's employees, most of their guests prefer to leave the institution after receiving such assistance - craving for the street or alcohol is stronger than comfort, since it is forbidden to drink in the center.

In addition to this, in last years in Bratsk, private charitable organizations began to develop that could help the homeless. Thus, in 2014, the public charitable organization "Peacemaker" was officially formalized by the Department of the Ministry of Justice of Russia for Irkutsk region year. With the silts of the organization in the village of Sakharovo, the Bratsk district, a home for the homeless appeared. The functions of the house are the same as those of the adaptation center; in the two years of operation, dozens of people in need have passed through it, some have lived there since the day it was founded. The “Peacemaker” urges not to pass by such people and help in any way they can.

Elena KUTERGINA

Where should the homeless go?

Alexey Rudykh, head of the charitable organization "Peacemaker":
Ordinary citizens often turn to us: “Here, a bum, dirty, smelly, has settled in our entrance, what should we do with him? Take him away!" In such cases, I always answer that you first need to talk with a person, is he ready to go to a rehabilitation center? A lot of people don't want to, and you can't force them. If a person is ready to be helped, we will definitely come for him, bring him to Sakharovo, wash him, feed him, and help with documents. We don't throw anyone out on the street. Those who wish can stay to live, but in 2 years only 5 people settled in us.

Tel. Organizations "Peacemaker" 8 924 822 22 88.

What to do with the homeless?

Residents of Bratsk answered a philosophical question

Ivan Popkov, manager:
Personally, homeless people do not interfere with me in any way, I think that let everything be as it is. People will help them - feed, warm. Everyone lives the way they can, no one should be judged.

Vladimir Reshetnikov, schoolboy:

I think the solution to the problem can be employment. We need to create programs where such people can be provided with initial assistance. For example, a hostel and employment, help in getting rid of alcoholism and bad habits.

Anzhelika Mikhailovna, social worker:

For them, we have a house for the homeless on Yangelya Street, I was there and talked with the leader. In this center, homeless people can come to warm up, spend the night and eat and take clothes.

Galina Kirsanova, physics teacher:

I have a bad attitude towards such people. I think that a person should have willpower and a desire to change something.

Arina Chuprun, student:

There are people who do not want to work and their life is arranged, extortion, life in the garbage, I do not respect such people. There are people who really have a difficult situation in life and they really need help, I am not indifferent to such people. I think it is necessary to create a help center where such people can be helped, find jobs (for example, cleaners, janitors), and also help them with housing and food.

Prepared by Marina SHUKOVSKAYA