In 2021, we told the story of Vasily Gusarov from Khujand — a distinguished civil engineer and physical education teacher who, in his old age, found himself alone, without electricity, decent housing, or the most basic living conditions.
That story generated an enormous response. People who wanted to help began writing to the editorial office. In the end, Vasily Fyodorovich received not only financial support, but also the attention and care he so desperately needed.
“Who am I to them? A lonely old Russian man…”
Vasily Fyodorovich apologizes in advance for the inconvenience — the mess in the room, the cold, and the lack of a stool. He humbly offers shelled walnuts instead of hot tea. There is no light in the room — it was shut off due to large debts left by previous tenants.
“It’s fine, I’ll sort everything out myself, I just need to prove that I wasn’t living here all that time,” says Vasily Fyodorovich. “I grew up in a boarding school, so I’m no stranger to spartan conditions. You can say all kinds of things, but here, take a look for yourself — all the documents are right here.”
The folder contains several photographs from different years, certificates of merit, letters of appreciation, and a whole stack of letters with requests: help restoring stolen documents, assistance in obtaining housing, and applying for low-income status.
“I’ve reached out to so many people. Honestly, I’m tired of it. Who am I to them? A lonely old Russian man,” the man waves his hand. “Someone else in my position would have long since taken their own life or drunk themselves to death.”
Vasily Fyodorovich turned 68 that year, but thanks to his lifelong involvement in sports, he had kept himself in good physical shape. It was perhaps sport itself that gave him the strength to endure all of life’s hardships.
A Builder from a Boarding School
Vasily Gusarov was born in Isfara. His parents divorced and divided the children between them. Vasily stayed with his mother, while his father took his two brothers. He and his mother lived in great poverty. He walked several kilometers to school on his first day of first grade, and at school he received a food ration as a low-income student.
“My mom later sent me to a boarding school in Kanibadam — things must have gotten really hard for her with me around. My two brothers ended up there as well. I don’t judge my parents for it. It was at the boarding school that I got into sports — I played tennis, volleyball, and basketball, and did track and field. I even competed in various competitions, traveled to Dushanbe, and won prizes,” recalls Vasily Fyodorovich.
After graduating from the boarding school, he enrolled at the Zafarabad Construction Technical College, majoring in Roads and Bridges, and then left for two years to serve in Germany.
Upon returning to his homeland, he was assigned, as a young specialist, to the Leninabad branch of “Tajikgiprostransstroy” as a construction technician, where he worked for 28 years. As a lead geodetic engineer of the first category, he had hundreds of roads and bridges to his credit, spanning the route from Uzbekistan’s Beshariq to the foothills of Shahriston. According to Vasily Fyodorovich, he walked through all 18 cities and districts of what was then the Leninabad region.
He might have continued working there indefinitely, had it not been for the collapse of the Soviet Union, which led to the demise of many industrial enterprises. As a result, the man traded his career as a builder for that of a teacher.
A Homeless Teacher
His wandering from one dormitory to another began in 1996. At that time, due to family circumstances, he was forced to sell his apartment in Khujand and use the proceeds to send his ex-wife to Russia.
Under a will, he was supposed to inherit another apartment, but, as Vasily Fyodorovich recounted, that property was fraudulently transferred to strangers. The man was deceived, with others taking advantage of his naivety and helplessness. There was no one around who could have helped him. At that time, many other lonely Russian residents fell victim to similar housing scams.
For two years, the man was homeless and wandered the streets. Local newspapers even wrote about it. Vasily Fyodorovich shows a torn piece of newspaper with his photograph and the brief headline of the article — “Shelterless.”
Vasily Fyodorovich was invited to work at many educational institutions: schools, gymnasiums, vocational schools, and colleges. He lived in on-campus dormitories and utility rooms. He taught physical education and worked as an instructor-methodologist. He traveled with children to sports competitions and won prizes.
In addition to regular classes, he also worked with children with motor disabilities, as he has skills in therapeutic gymnastics and massage.
Vasily Fyodorovich admits that he earned a decent salary back then, but out of loneliness he didn’t save it for living expenses — instead, he spent it on gambling, placing bets on Formula 1 races at bookmakers.
“The Most Terrifying Thing Is to Be Completely Alone”
Vasily Gusarov now lives in a small room in dormitory No. 7. He obtained it several years ago after repeatedly petitioning the local government office. Because he spent most of his life within the walls of a school, he never really lived in his room. During that time, other people managed to move in, and the man had no time to fight and stand up for his rights.
He returned home last year when, due to the pandemic, the school simply did not call him back. He was lucky, in a sense — the woman who had been living in his room illegally was convicted. The previous tenants left large electricity debts, and the room is now without power.
“I won’t go back to school, even if they ask me. How can I go there? I don’t even have anywhere to wash my clothes — sometimes I have to ask the neighbors,” the man laments. “Right now I work at a café, helping to peel vegetables. They pay me 10 to 20 somoni a day, and they feed me there too. They promised me a security guard position — then the pay will be better.”
Vasily Fyodorovich also receives a small pension. He was also promised a low-income assistance benefit of 120 somoni. To prove that he is indeed low-income, he had to spend a long time going through various government offices.
“In my life I have moved 60 times, living wherever I could. There was a time when my belongings were unceremoniously thrown out onto the street — and there were many things among them that were valuable and dear to me. No one paid any attention to my complaints. Are there really that many Russian teachers living in conditions like these?” the man says with disappointment.
Despite having seen a great deal of cruelty from people, Vasily Fyodorovich has not grown bitter toward life. The only thing he fears is falling into despair. To prevent that from happening, he starts every day with physical exercise, doing Nordic walking with poles to strengthen his muscles and maintain his fitness.
“I’m not worried about going without a piece of bread — that’s not what matters most to me,” says Vasily Fyodorovich. “I don’t even notice these conditions anymore — I’ve never known anything better. How much time do I have left? Ten years? The only thing I truly need is human connection, because the most terrifying thing is to be completely alone.”
After the Publication
The story of the lonely Russian teacher touched the hearts of many readers. Dozens of messages began pouring into the editorial office: “Write his contact information,” “How can we help him?” “I would like to take him in.”
At the request of numerous readers, we opened a bank card in Vasily Fyodorovich’s name. Some people wanted to help him personally. One kind young woman immediately gave the teacher a tracksuit and sneakers — the very things he had mentioned during our meeting.
When we visited Vasily Fyodorovich again some time later, he was barely recognizable. He greeted us in a bright, freshly renovated room and, just as before, invited us to have hot tea with shelled walnuts.
This time we found him watching melodramas. The film collection, along with a DVD player, had been purchased for him by kind residents of Khujand. Those same people renovated the room, bought all the necessary furniture, and installed a water heater, a washbasin, and a toilet.
“We would prefer not to reveal who we are. We were deeply moved by Vasily Fyodorovich’s story, and we decided to help him from the bottom of our hearts. We would like to see more kind, compassionate, and caring people in our lives. May the chain of goodness never be broken,” the benefactors said at the time.
We also came bearing gifts. Those same caring people passed along warm clothing and footwear for him.
“For the first time in many years, I believed in a miracle. I always tried not to lose heart, to keep doing sports. But at a certain point I felt complete despair. And it was precisely at that moment that kind people came to my aid. I still feel awkward about it. I’m not used to this kind of attention and care. I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart,” Vasily Fyodorovich confessed.
Despite his age, he still got up at five in the morning, started his day with physical exercises, and went Nordic walking. A basketball sat on the windowsill — Vasily Fyodorovich said he missed the children very much and dreamed of working again.
“Just recently, kids from School No. 9, where I last taught physical education, called me. They want me to come back,” he said. “I’d be happy to, if they invited me. I was also offered a job as a massage therapist at the stadium. Right now I want to take a massage course to get a certificate — without one, they won’t hire me.”
As he saw us off, the teacher easily descended from the fourth floor of the dormitory and, posing for a photograph, demonstrated several impressive basketball moves.
PS. In republishing this story, we decided to find out how Vasily Fyodorovich is doing today.
Unfortunately, several attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. The phone number the journalist had on file was answered by a different person each time. He said he did not know Vasily Fyodorovich and had no idea where he currently is.
If you know what has become of Vasily Gusarov, please write to us.
