Photographer Alexis Pazoumian is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography.  From the book/project ‘Sacha’.

SACHA, KING OF THE TAIGA

In his quest for a sense of freedom that represents total independence, Sacha tends to his flock of a thousand reindeer. His daily routine revolves around caring for his animals. But his passion is also a constraint. It’s his whole life. Sacha’s days are difficult, harsh, wild, solitary.

While cities offer refuge to the feeble, several hundred kilometers away, you have only yourself to rely on. I’m astonished to observe how such inhospitable regions hold so much sway over those seeking freedom. But my surprise isn’t shared by Sacha, who believes that everything is connected. His life is defined by three inseparable elements, forming a perfect triangle between “man, reindeer and nature,” the very symbol of his existence.

Year after year, Sacha gradually moves further away from his village, putting a little more distance between his home and the private sphere of his life each time. A few times a year, he reconnects with his family, his last remaining ties to the village, providing them with the meat from his reindeer. Most of the year, the place he calls home is the taiga. A stranger to his kin, the bond he shares with his loved ones frays as the months pass.

Moving from place to place is further complicated by the absence of roads. In such conditions, life is a never-ending struggle against the elements. Danger, Sacha’s intimate friend, is his most faithful companion. Fear of even the slightest injury is a reminder of the ubiquity of death, which won’t wait peacefully for old age, and remains ready to strike at any moment.

Sacha’s people, the Evens, are animist. He believes that every element in nature not only has a soul, but protects him as well. The herder isn’t short on words when it comes to the spirit of the wilderness. He communicates with the fire and the trees, telling them that angry spirits are chasing him, before reassuring himself that the purity of his soul, cleansed by solitude, will save him.[…]

Continue reading: In The Name Of Freedom | Harsh Life In The Taiga