But on the ground, the roads, or paths, are rutted and flooded. The houses collapsing. It is impossible even to purchase glass here, so most windows are boarded over. Rusted and abandoned machinery is tossed here and there. Children wander around, their faces smudged with dirt, their clothing mismatched and threadbare, their feet often bare or covered in rubber slippers.
Adults wander aimlessly, many appearing drunk, hungover, ill.
The whole place has an otherworldly feel. A man in thin black socks, his words thick and his balance wobbly, wanders through the mud and rain, approaching everyone in the road. He is Russian and he serves as the local administrator. He explains how during Soviet times, the government tried to turn the Tofalar traditional practice of herding reindeer into a communist-style enterprise. They created a cooperative, paid the shepherds a salary, and produced a herd of about 1,000 reindeer.