A metaphor for the modern traveler. The name ‘Bieguni’ comes from a sect of Russian Orthodox Old Believers, who treated movement as a sacred state. Permanently moving and crossing borders meant for them not belonging to anything, as an escape from evil. Evil tries to take away their freedom.
Are you a Runner?
A Runner is a nomad. Maybe it’s the case that we all have within us, the memory of our ancestors who were nomadic. It is the settled civilization, within which people build their nests, that oppresses people.
The Stranniki (Russian for Runaways or Wanderers) are the strong Pomorsky Old Believers who rejected prayers for Tsar Peter and all government papers (identification, passports, money, etc). They would not wear clothing contrary to Old Orthodox Russia, nor eat with those of contrary Faith and Practice. Keeping themselves separate from the antichrist society they went far into the Siberian wilderness. This blog is about these people and my effort to conform my life to theirs.