Petretsovo: Far Away From Civilization

Far From Civilization: "The village of Petretsovo is located in the very North of the Region of Perm. It’s very difficult to get there, especially in winter. Cars have problems with such a great quantity of snow and horses are almost the only means of transport used here (besides skis). There are very few residents living

The village of Petretsovo is located in the very North of the Region of Perm. It’s very difficult to get there, especially in winter. Cars have problems with such a great quantity of snow and horses are almost the only means of transport used here (besides skis). There are very few residents living in the village and a shop and a school are its only sightseeings…

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The road going to the North.

A tall building looking like a mill but without any vanes stands right on the road to Petretsovo.

And some gates not far from the mill.

A boat waiting for spring – the time when everything begins to move here.

There are no any bridges in the village. In winter one crosses the river on foot, in summer – by pontoons.

The road will be over in several kilometers with another turn of the Kolva.

This building serves for boat filling and repair.

In appearance this base looks abandoned but it isn’t. A special man watches the crossing and the warehouse.

The container is empty though. The fuel will be brought here when navigation begins.

“Don’t carry flammable fluids in open containers”. Fire safety rules are strictly followed here. At least, on the posters… The nearest and only fire station is located 20 km far from this place.

Here one can still see the road bed but it’s covered only with traces of horses and sledges.

The village of Petretsovo consists of two parts divided by the river. In former days the colony was located here. Now it’s closed and slowly turns into ruins.

This house with firewood is a new base of the weather station.

The village is quite large. Though there are some abandoned houses, generally all buildings are in a very good condition. Some can even meet the youth on the street.

One of the local residents went outdoors for the first time in several months – the feet don’t work as he explains.

He says that sometime these lands were quite prosperous. People went hunting and fishing, felled trees and the Kolva was partially navigable. That was the post-war time. You see how it looks now…

It’s very difficult to walk along such a road. Snow and bare ice under it hamper your movements.

Some local men.

To get to the next village one should either use skis or a snowmobile. Even a horse can’t sometime get over such an amount of snow.

The fate of such villages is quite sad. The administration of the Region of Perm doesn’t care about them. They admit it will be much better if all the village residents move to the cities.

And Petretsovo is still alive only because of the Kolva river, the shop and the school located there…

Location: Petretsovo village