Slava and the Arctic: One Glimpse into Life of the Most Cut-Off Man on Earth

Slava Korotki is a 63-year-old meteorologist. He lives in Khodovarikha, northern Russia, on an Arctic outpost (that’s an hour away by helicopter from the nearest town). Slava works at the worst weather station on Earth, with a Morse code machine for company. One day, a photographer Evgenia Arbugaeva came to him bearing oranges, champagne and a parrot.

“I spent two months on the ship and visited 22 weather stations,” she says. “I was looking for this romantic person of the north, a lonely arctic wolf. But most of the stations weren’t at all as I imagined. Many have been modernised into characterless facilities staffed by young people using new technology.”

One station, however, stood out – Khodovarikha, on the Pechora Sea. “It’s like the worst of all the arctic stations. Nobody wants to work there. So I was curious. When we landed, I saw Slava. His place was absolutely frozen in time. He had a portrait of Yuri Gagarin cut out of a 1961 newspaper. He still had a Morse code machine and his wallpaper was from another era. I felt so comfortable with him.”

Evgenia Arbugaeva stayed for two and a half weeks, photographing Slava, who had been there for 13 years. He measured temperature, precipitation and wind. Slava had been posted to Khodovarikha after a career on ships and was due to retire soon. “He is this place,” says Arbugaeva. “It was winter, so it was very dark. I was looking for a character who could deliver this feeling of polar night. Slava was the perfect representative.” (H/t: Theguardian)