Mieczysław Kapłanow

Vanishing lives: Descendants of 17th century bearded radicals who fled to Poland from Russia to avoid religious persecution are now facing a new crisis as their numbers slowly dwindle out

It is easy to miss their presence - the three-barred crosses, the wooden banyas and the modest churches – unless you know what to look for. TFN travelled to the regions of Mazury and Suwalszczyzna in north-east Poland to track down the Old Believers, a minority which has almost disappeared, yet which still lingers among the hills, fields and virgin forests in the land of a thousand lakes.