00:00Meet Elena, the only woman in the world working on frozen ships, in temperatures so extreme
00:20that most people can't even step outside.
00:24For 15 years, she has spent her winters clearing ice from ships trapped in Yakutsk frozen river.
00:30She has to clear the ice to access the machinery underneath the ships that needs repair.
00:36Her job is crucial, these ships must be repaired during winter so they are ready to bring supplies
00:41as soon as the ice melts.
00:43With no railway and a massive river cutting the city off, ships are the only way to deliver
00:49food, fuel and other essentials.
00:53Since summer is the only time for transporting supplies, ship maintenance has to be done
00:58in the brutal cold of winter.
01:00Elena works from sunrise to sunset in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius.
01:05With no weekends, no breaks, in this frozen world her job never stops.
01:11In 2009, I arrived.
01:16In 2010, I came to work on the factory.
01:19And there I started to see how it was in winter, how it was cold.
01:23I went to the manager and asked me if I could try it.
01:27He looked at me and said, you want to try it?
01:31I tried it, it turned out, it liked it.
01:34Once winter locks the vessels in place, there is no time to waste.
01:47When the ice melts in spring, these ships must be ready to haul thousands of tons of cargo
01:52across Yakutia.
01:54Every lost day of shipping means remote villages risk running out of food, fuel and supplies.
02:01Elena knows the urgency.
02:03She works tirelessly to clear ships from thick layers of ice so they can be repaired.
02:09The work is tough and precise.
02:11All the crucial parts that need to be repaired, including the propellers, rudders and other
02:16essential machinery, are trapped beneath thick ice under the ship.
02:21To reach them, Elena cuts tunnels beneath the ships.
02:31The process is slow and physically exhausting.
02:34Every movement drains a lot of energy in the extreme cold.
02:37There were no breaks, no warm shelters.
02:40If she stops, she freezes.
02:42If she goes inside, her clothes get wet and stepping back out in this cold could be deadly.
02:50After just 20 minutes outside, my comrade team started to feel the cold creeping in.
02:55You could see how quickly the harsh temperature take their toll.
02:58Yeah.
02:59Yeah.
03:00Ну, одеваться надо, соответственно, и надо что-то такое, чтобы дышало
03:05тело.
03:06Самое главное – валенки.
03:09Валенки – это прям незаменимая выморщика.
03:13Мы раньше вообще не грелись, а у нас есть время на улице с термоса
03:19там попить чай.
03:20Но горячий чай уже нельзя пить.
03:22Вот он так как-то зубы начинают трескаться, а это больно.
03:26Мы только вот такой чуть теплый, либо уже холодную воду.
03:30Пить обязательно надо, потому что ты же, соответственно, потеешь.
03:34А туалета нет.
03:35Туалета нет.
03:36И мужикам, мужчинам, конечно, это проще.
03:40Они где угодно спрятались, а вот мне проблематично.
03:44Да, мне приходится куда-то там.
03:46Но это, соответственно, у меня комбинезон внутри.
03:49Это надо снимать куртку.
03:51Это очень холодно.
03:52Поэтому, ну и, в принципе, когда потеешь вот это время
03:57с утра и до вечера, не хочется и не ходишь.
04:01Потому что, опять-таки, вот потом все уходит.
04:04Мы привыкли с детства, мы родились здесь, поэтому
04:07как-то нам это, видимо, уже передается уже генетически,
04:13наверное.
04:14Ну, твус, плюну, я не болею.
04:17С сердцем были проблемы.
04:19Сейчас вот, видимо, гоккардия нагрузка вот эта вот, да, у меня вот.
04:24Твус тоже не сгладить бы, но все хорошо.
04:30Елена's work is not just exhausting, it's dangerous.
04:33She uses heavy, sharp tools to break apart thick layers of ice.
04:38One wrong move, and she could injure herself badly.
04:42But the real danger lies beneath.
04:44If she cuts slightly too deep, pressurized water can burst like a fountain,
04:48refreezing the tunnel she spent days clearing.
04:51In an instant, all her hard work could be wiped away,
04:54and worse, the icy water could trap her inside.
04:58Every cut must be precise, there is no room for mistakes.
05:02«Я со всему, со всего размаху, как бы не рассчитала и ударила себе по ноге,
05:05и проткнула, и проткнула прямо палец.
05:10Да, было очень много крови и соответственно, ноги немножко примершие были.
05:14Я боль-то не почувствовала, но почувствовала хлюпанье в валенках.
05:23I just didn't get stuck in my mind, well, I had a good friend,
05:32from the water, I got stuck in the water, and I got stuck in the water.
05:40If you didn't have a good friend, for a minute, you can get stuck in the water.
05:48You can get stuck in the water, but when you're cold,
05:51And if you have panic, it's not so easy to escape.
06:21The operator loading and unloading the very ship she spent the winter repairing.
06:26The season changes, but the work never stops.
06:29Yelena has 5 children and everything she does, she does for them.
06:51It's not easy to escape, but for this one too.
07:21After a long exhausting day, Elena returns home where more work awaits.
07:27Her first priority is warming the house.
07:30With no central heating, she relies on coal to keep the cold at bay.
07:35Heating the stove twice a day is essential – once in the morning before she leaves
07:39for work and again in the evening when she returns.
07:43But even with the stove burning steadily, the house struggles to retain heat.
07:48During the coldest days when temperatures can dip below minus 50 degrees celsius, the
07:52house never quite feels warm enough.
07:55The walls, windows and floors remain chilled and the air always carries a bite of frost.
08:05The task of feeding the stove is a constant one.
08:08Coal is expensive and Elena must carefully ration it to make sure the fire lasts through the
08:13night.
08:19Once the house is warm enough, she turns her attention to her animals.
08:23In her small barn, Elena cares for her goats and chickens, keeping them sheltered from the
08:28harsh winter.
08:31Elena's routine is fixed, shaped by the cold and her responsibilities.
08:35From checking on her animals, to maintaining her car, to ensuring that every corner of her
08:40home is functioning properly despite the freezing conditions.
08:44Time for rest is a luxury she simply can't afford.
08:50Elena grew up in a small village in Nikutia, where work wasn't a choice, it was a way of
08:55survival.
08:56Her first job was a dairy farm worker milking cows before sunrise.
09:01From there she took on whatever work she could find – farm worker, lab assistant, cleaner
09:06and even a pastry chef.
09:08But life was not easy.
09:10In 2009, Elena made the hardest decision of her life.
09:14She left her village with her children, escaping a broken marriage.
09:18She packed up what little she had and headed to a small town near Yakutsk.
09:23She had no plan, no job waiting, just a desperate need for a fresh start.
09:29She worked wherever she could, slowly rebuilding her life.
09:32As a mother, Elena's daily life is a constant balancing act.
09:38After hours of grueling work in the cold, she returned home to care for her youngest daughter,
09:43just 7 years old.
09:45Her older 4 children are already grown and have families of their own, and Elena is proud
09:51that through hard work with no weekends or breaks, she raised them all on her own.
09:58Despite the exhaustion weights heavily on her, she never shows it.
10:02Her daughter needs her and Elena's love for her family gives her the strength to continue.
10:08Every day she is not just a worker, she is a mother, making sure her daughter is fed,
10:13educated and loved.
10:15Elena dreams for her children.
10:16She dreams of a future where they don't have to fight the cold in the same way she does.
10:21She hopes her daughter will one day have choices, opportunities and a life that is not defined
10:26by the freezing temperatures of Yakutia.
10:28We buy coal, we have a lot of water, we buy water, we buy water, we pay it, we pay it, we pay it.
10:33We pay it for her, we pay it for her, and we pay it for her.
10:38And all this, I don't have enough money, and I need to pay somewhere else.
10:43And we pay it for her to live the winter.
10:49The most important dream is to buy a house.
10:52It is the only dream and the most famous dream is to buy a house and live with a good, with a busy, with a busy, with a busy, and, so, you can come home and rest.
11:03We have no kind of prestige.
11:07We have to come and open the stove,
11:11and help us to help the stove.
11:14I always wash it with my hands.
11:16It's very difficult to come after such a job.
11:20So I have a dream of having a house.
11:25And with children,
11:27I think, once a while,
11:29and relax, I think this will Kelsey will wake up again.
11:38Elena's story deeply moved me, a reminder of the quiet heroes
11:42who face the impossible day in and day out.
11:46In every corner of the world there are people like Elena
11:49living lives that are shaped by the extreme challenges
11:52and hardships we often don't see.
11:55We all have different paths, different struggles,
11:58It's these everyday heroes who remind us of the strengths of the human spirit.
12:03Elena's story is a powerful testament to resilience and determination,
12:08showing that no matter the challenges we face,
12:11hard work and persistence can help us push forward and never give up.
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