In 1847, a 24-year-old dandy named Sergei Lisitsyn stepped onto the deck of a Russian ship, dreaming of reaching Alaska. A hereditary nobleman and a retired officer, he was welcomed warmly and respectfully on board. However, carried away by a sense of freedom and having drunk too much, Lisitsyn insulted the ship’s captain and tried to incite the sailors to rebel against him, which at that time was a crime punishable by death.

The captain ordered that the troublemaker be tied up, blindfolded, and put ashore on a deserted coast. When the prisoner finally freed himself, he saw the ship disappearing beyond the horizon. The noble captain had shown mercy: Lisitsyn was left with a suitcase of clothes, three pairs of boots, a sheepskin coat, a pair of pistols, a sword, a knife, supplies of dried bread and tea, blank notebooks and matches. Along with all this came an excellent rifle with 26 rounds of ammunition and a letter from the captain:

"Dear Sergei Petrovich! According to naval law, you should have been sentenced to death. But because of your youth, your remarkable talents, and above all the kindness I have noticed in your heart, I spare your life. I sincerely hope that solitude and hardship will correct your unhappy character. Time and reflection will teach you to appreciate my mercy, and if fate ever brings us together again  — which I truly hope  — we shall not meet as enemies. A.M."

Knowing the ship had been sailing the Sea of Okhotsk, Sergei hoped he had

been left on one of the Kuril Islands. But he soon realized that his situation was far

worse. He was trapped between two seas. Before him lay the cold Sea of Okhotsk;

behind him roared the "green sea" of the taiga  — home to bears, wolves and tigers.

Within a week, the "Russian Robinson", who until then had never done any manual work, had built himself a house and made basic furniture. He crafted a bow and arrows, saving the rifle ammunition for the biggest and fiercest animals. That decision proved wise: in winter, a hungry wolf pack attacked his home. Earlier, he had killed a bear, providing himself with a warm fur coat and a supply of meat.

In spring 1848, while walking along the shore and assessing the damage caused by storms, Lisitsyn noticed a man lying face down, unconscious. The man, named Vasily, had come from a wrecked ship which was found nearby. On board were Vasily's 16-year-old son, eight cows, twenty-six sheep, food supplies, a samovar, and farming equipment.

Seven months of solitude had completely stripped the former nobleman of his aristocratic arrogance. With such resources and two additional pairs of hands, not only did he rebuild the house, but he also learned how to make butter and cheese...

In 1857, the writer Alexander Sibiryakov met Sergei Lisitsyn  — a hospitable owner of gold mines in the Amur region  — and in 1867 he wrote a book about him.

By that time, Lisitsyn had discovered gold deposits and become rich. He sent Vasily's son to study at Moscow University. He also found the old captain who had once abandoned him on a deserted shore, helped him in his old age, and took full responsibility for his children's future.

There is, however, a mystery to this otherwise wonderful story. Did Sergei Lisitsyn really exist or was he a figment of Alexander Sibiryakov's imagination? No documents about this person can be found.