There are no accounts of Feodor Kuzmich's early life. The first reported incident involving Feodor Kuzmich occurred on 4 September 1836, in
Krasnoufimsk of the Province of
Perm riding on a "snow-white
horse" harnessed on a
cart. Because he had no records, nor had any background, this caused suspicions from a local blacksmith with his behavior and evasive answers. He later reported him to the authorities. The old man was detained as a
tramp; there were traces of whip blows on his back, and he did not have any documents with him. On September 10, his case was considered by the court: the detainee called himself sixty-year-old Feodor Kuzmich Kozmin (after that, this surname, like any other, was never called an elder), could not name his origin. By age, he was unfit to give back to soldiers and therefore, as a tramp, he received 20 whip blows and was exiled to Siberia. Fyodor Kuzmich was satisfied with the sentence, but asked the bourgeois Grigory Shpynyov to sign for him, stating that he himself was illiterate (although subsequent facts indicate the opposite). On October 13, 1836, with the 43rd batch of exiles, he was sent in stages to the Bogotolsky parish of the district of
Mariinsky, in the province of Tomsk. During the journey through the stage, he attracted prisoners and
escorts to himself, showing care for the weak and sick. The elder was the only prisoner who was not shackled. In the materials of the Tomsk expedition about exiles, a description of Fyodor Kuzmich's appearance has been preserved. In the document, His height was described as 2
arshin and 6 with 3/4
verst. (Approximately 172 centimeters, or almost 5’8) Other parts of the description included
“hair on the head and beard light blond with graying, round chin, on the back - traces of beatings with a whip.” On March 26, 1837, a party of exiles arrived in Tomsk, from where Fyodor Kuzmich was sent further to the place of exile. The elder was attributed to the village of Zertsaly, but was settled at the Krasnorechensky distillery, where he lived for five years. Due to his age, the elder was not involved in forced labor. It is known that the local
Cossack Semyon Sidorov, seeing the elder's tendency to privacy, built him a cell-hut in
Beloyarskaya. According to his life's history, Feodor Kuzmich lived a life of rigor, sleeping on a bare board and wearing only simple clothes. Due to Feodor Kuzmich's strange appearance and mannerisms, residents assumed that his previous life was quite different from his present. Before and after his death many miracles were attributed to Feodor Kuzmich. When asked about his previous life, Feodor Kuzmich responded: "Why do you usually think that my situation is worse now than it was once before? At the present time I am free, independent, and, most importantly, – easy-going. Before, my peace and happiness depended on many conditions: it was necessary to take care of my loved ones enjoying the same happiness as I did, so that my friends would not deceive me ... Now there is nothing of this except what will always remain with me – except the words of my God, except for the love of the Savior and neighbor. Now I have no grief and disappointment, because I do not depend on anything earthly, nor on anything that is not in my power. You do not understand what happiness is in this freedom of the spirit, in this unearthly joy. If you would restore me to the former position and make me again the guardian of earthly wealth, perishable and now altogether unnecessary to me, then I would be an unhappy man. The more our body is pampered and groomed, the more our spirit becomes weaker. Every luxury relaxes our body and weakens our soul." Upon his death, Feodor Kuzmich's grave was visited by prominent people such as the
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich and
Nicholas II. In 1984, Feodor Kuzmich was canonized as a saint by
Patriarch Pimen I of the
Russian Orthodox Church. == Rumors of a previous life ==