In the 1820s, among the Old Believers in disgrace, a saying was popular: "As long as we get to Kostroma, to Sudislavl! There they will surely hide us." It referred to the community of dissenters that accepted almost all in need. The founder of this secret hermitage was merchant Nikolai Andreevich Papulin.

Born in 1779, he was accustomed to hard work from childhood. At that time, Sudislavl was surrounded by forests, and the locals mainly gathered berries, honey, and mushrooms. Papulin particularly excelled in mushroom gathering, and rumors circulated that he became wealthy to the level of a millionaire. These rumors had some basis, as he truly did not need money.

Papulin supported his co-religionists and in 1812 submitted a petition for the construction of a shelter for Old Believers. Initially, it was planned that about ten people would live there, but ten years later, the gendarmes reported at least 60 dissenters present. According to law enforcement, the merchant provided refuge to both Old Believers and runaway serfs.

However, calling this a noble gesture is a stretch: all the arrivals worked from morning till night for pennies. Some of them lived in the forest during the summer, where they gathered mushrooms, dried, salted, and processed them. Papulin sold these natural riches and used part of the profits to support the residents of the shelter.

Additionally, Nikolai Andreevich was a passionate collector and acquired over 1000 icons, including works by the Stroganov icon painters and Andrei Rublev. In the 1830s, the gendarmes became interested in his activities. An inspection was decided upon, but the merchant had such "agents" that by the time the inspectors arrived, nothing suspicious was found in the shelter.

Nevertheless, Nikolai Andreevich was accused of illegal icon trading and arrested. The court sentenced him to exile in the Solovetsky Islands, where he died two years later. The location of his burial remains unknown.