stumbled on mating tigers—he ribbed him, saying, “You’re lucky that
tiger didn’t try to fuck you instead of the tigress.”
“Well, he should have proposed it to me,” Sokolov replied. “I’d have
let him have his way with me if it would have kept him from biting.”
Infected by the tiger in mysterious ways, Sokolov found himself stirred
by powerful impulses he had no wish to control. As soon as he was able
to hobble around, he was overcome by sexual desire. “For a year and a
half I had to use crutches,” he said. “After that I had to use a cane. Maybe
some strength came from the tiger, or maybe I understood that I was
really alive, but I started fucking around.”
It is the wish to acquire this same form of potency, but at less personal
cost, that drives much of the illegal trade in tiger-based supplements. The
brandname Viagra is derived from vyaaghra, the Sanskrit word for tiger.
“I consider this event to be fate,” said Sokolov in conclusion. “If you go
to the taiga, you should be prepared to encounter a tiger—that is where
they live. In terms of my feelings toward this tiger, I have only feelings
of gratitude, and I will explain why: if a person goes through a tough
ordeal in his life, he either breaks down or becomes stronger than he used
to be. In my case, it was the latter. After this incident, I became stronger
—not physically, of course, but spiritually. Maybe it will sound funny,
but, possibly, some strength from this tiger was transferred to me.”
All told, Sergei Sokolov’s rehabilitation took three years. During that
time, he met his wife, Svetlana, and they have started a family. Their
apartment in Vladivostok feels like a cozy, happy home, and it is clear
that this has been a key ingredient in his remarkable recovery. “I vowed
to a friend of mine: ‘I will walk, and I will return to the taiga,’ ” said
Sokolov. “ ‘Even if I have to use crutches, even with a wooden leg, I will
return.’ This is what I decided for myself.”
Today, Sokolov’s leg bends only slightly, and it is a horror to look at,
but he can walk, and he can work. It is not a miracle so much as it is a