Russe shows his “office” to ntv.de: IT expert hides unmobilized in forest

Fear of military service drives many Russians abroad. For Adam Kalinin, an IT expert from southern Russia, that’s not an option. Instead, he runs away into the forest. In an interview with Ntv.de he talks about his life in a tent – and how to set up an office with internet access in the forest.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin called for mobilization on September 21, hundreds of thousands of men hurriedly left the country. For Adam Galin, immigration is as questionable as going to war. A young IT professional chooses an unconventional path – he packs his things and flees into the forest. He has been living in the southern Russian wilderness for a month, far from draft officers and camps, but also from family and friends.

“I’m against mobilization and against war in general,” the backend developer explained in a phone call to ntv.de, explaining his motivation for fleeing to the wilderness. Kalinin took part in protests against Russia’s occupation of Ukraine and got into trouble with the authorities for this cause even before the mobilization. As he did not want to mention his real name and his exact age, he could not say more about it in the interview. Between the ages of “30 and 40”, only the anti-war manifests.

He was yet to receive a summons from the recruiting authorities, but decided not to wait. “It turned out not to be a ‘partial mobilization’, but a general mobilization. There were no rules. They took people who had never served or were sick. It was a scandal,” Kalinin explains. In his city he was constantly afraid that “I would be grabbed by a police officer and dragged into a car while I was walking.”

Solar panels provide electricity

His “relocation”, like his move to the forest, is not urgent. Kalinin was an experienced forest ranger, so he already had a lot of equipment. “In the last five years, I always bought new things and gradually expanded my outdoor setup: I already had a backpack, a sleeping bag and a tent. But I also had a chainsaw, a router and an antenna for Internet access” . According to Kalin, the most important thing he has yet to buy is solar panels with batteries. It can be used to generate electricity in the forest.

“All equipment is very expensive. But I compared the cost of my equipment to going abroad.” In the first weeks of mobilization, “because of the shocking news, the price of plane tickets abroad is 200-300 thousand rubles (equivalent to about 3200-4800 euros) and even they are rare. This is the cost of a new beginning. In another country,” later calculates Kalinin.

Kalinin says he needs to prepare first and foremost mentally. “I had to think about what I was leaving behind when I went into the forest.” Despite years of wilderness camping experience, he wasn’t sure if he could survive weeks or months in the wilderness without surviving a weekend. “I don’t know if the internet will work or if I can settle in. Chances are 50/50.”

Garbage bin becomes “supermarket”.

After a week of preparation, the time had come. Kalin’s wife drove him to a forest they both already knew from hiking vacations. There they parted. For the girl it was back home, for Kalinin – further into the thick forest. Since then, according to his own words, he has not met a single person.

As soon as he arrived, he set up a food store far from the road – an hour’s walk over rough terrain – so that he didn’t have to make many preparations for future camps. “I bought a big trash can. It held all the things I carried: canned food, instant noodles, beef jerky, dried vegetables, tea, coffee, sugar, and more.” If food is scarce in the tent, he grabs some from a container: “Like in the supermarket,” he laughs. “I take something from the store, put it in my bag and go back.”

For work? From the tent office

Kalin has set up two tents in the forest. He lives in one of them, and the other is his “office” – the programmer works from there. The work tent was a three-minute walk from where he slept. The man explains that the reason he splits the rooms is because the tent he lives in is in a good spot in the woods, “where there is no wind, the sun shines, it’s clear and everything is cool. But there’s no internet.” A video on his Telegram channel. “Where the office is, the weather is not so good. When it’s windy, it’s very uncomfortable to be there, but there is internet.” An antenna is attached to a tree next to the tent which provides good internet connection via mobile phone.

“The speed is more or less acceptable. It’s enough to call colleagues and finish my work,” says Kalinin in an interview with ntv.de conducted by Telegram. “Some things take a while to download or upload to the Internet, but that’s not a problem.”

“The Wise Forester”

According to his own words, Kalinin works in a large IT company. But his team is very small. Most of his immediate peers know that he lives in the woods. Some follow his blog on Telegram. in the channel “The Wise Forester” Kalinin shows his daily life in the forest. Currently with more than 20,000 followers, he shares photos and videos in which he explains how to use solar panels to generate electricity or how to choose the right equipment for life in the wilderness. “I made the channel for my friends so I don’t have to send everyone the same pictures. It’s so popular!” The blog helps Kalin to not feel alone. “I interact with my friends and followers and get a lot of questions and comments.”

Kalinin does not have much time to communicate with his subscribers – his day is strictly controlled. “Between 6:30 and 7 a.m. I get up very early and prepare breakfast — usually condensed milk or cream, and porridge with prunes or raisins.” Cooking is done on a small gas stove connected to an 18 liter gas cylinder. “Typical things for a city person take a lot of time,” Kalinin explains. He uses rainwater stored in plastic sheets spread on the ground for cooking and drinking. Everything edible should be hidden in boxes and bags — “so that insects and animals don’t touch it,” Kalinin explains. After breakfast we go to “office”. “I spend practically the entire workday there, except for my lunch break.”

Only after work can the IT specialist devote himself to his blog – but also to expansion projects. “Mostly I’m moving towards a hut, I prefer something more solid than a tent. So this time I collect wood suitable for construction and process it.” Kalinin usually does this in the dark, as the sun sets very early. But he cannot hesitate, time is pressing, winter is approaching. “I hope I have a safe house from the extreme cold, maybe with some kind of shower or even a sauna”.

Wet wipes instead of showers

According to Kalin, she really misses a hot shower. “Now I have to make do with wet wipes,” he explains. From time to time he washes himself by heating some water in a vessel. “This is my mini shower,” laughs Kalinin.

But while Adam Kalin sees showers—as well as fresh fruits and vegetables—as an expendable luxury, what he misses most is the closeness of his family. Since going to the forest, he has only seen his wife through video calls. “My wife supports me a lot, I could not have survived here without her help. I want to meet her again,” enthuses the monk. “Or she moves in with me! But I don’t think that’s realistic,” he laughs.

“I will spend the winter here”

He must be patient until Kalinin hugs his wife and friends again. Although living in the jungle may seem unattractive to some, man wants to return to the city as soon as possible. “But judging by the news, I will spend the winter here,” says Kalinin.

Here in the forest he was not afraid of being watched by the authorities. “Mostly no one interested me in target hunting,” the wartime protester asserts. “Even if they know where to look it’s going to be very expensive. I’m not an international criminal that the state apparatus will devote its resources to.” So Adam Kalin will stay in the woods until the war is over, or at least until the mobilization is over: “The chance of running into someone who works for the government is significantly lower here.”