Dersu Uzala

Dersu Uzala (; c. 1849–1908) was a Nanai trapper and hunter. He worked as a guide for Vladimir Arsenyev who immortalized him in his 1923 book Dersu Uzala. The book was adapted into two feature films, with the version by Akira Kurosawa being the better known. Life The Russian explorer Vladimir Arsenyev started his expeditions to the forests of the Far East in the area of Ussuri in 1902. He described numerous species of Siberian flora and the lifestyle of native ethnic people. When Arsenyev met the trapper Uzala he hired him as a guide for his journeys, Uzala earned the respect of Arsenyev and his team. When Uzala's eyesight and other senses began to fade with age, Arsenyev offered to take him to the city where he lived. Uzala discovered that he was not permitted to chop wood or to build a hut and fireplace in the city park, nor was he allowed to shoot within the city limits. In the spring of 1908 he asked Arsenyev for permission to return to the woods. As a parting gift, Arsenyev gave him a new rifle.