A Russian woman has been quoted as saying that her long life is nothing but “punishment.”

128-year-old Koku Istambulova, from Chechnya, narrating her life history says she has not had a single happy day in her entire life, and that she has no idea how she has managed to live this long.

“I have not had a single happy day in my life. I have always worked hard, digging in the garden. I am tired.

“Long life is not at all God’s gift for me — but a punishment,” she was quoted as saying.

“Looking back at my unhappy life, I wish I had died when I was young. I worked all my life.

“I did not have time for rest or entertainment. We were either digging the ground or planting the watermelons.

“When I was working, my days were running one by one. And now, I am not living, I am just dragging through.”

Officials say all her documents were lost during the Second Chechen War from 1999 to 2009.

The pension fund, a state body, claims there are 37 people over 110 years of age in Russia yet all these claims, including Istambulova’s, are impossible to verify because of the lack of reliable birth or early childhood written records.

Most live, like Istambulova, in the Caucasus which has a history of longevity among its peoples.

Her 129th birthday is upcoming.

Istambulova, who dislike meat but loves fermented milk, believes its ‘God’s will’ that she will live to see her 129th birthday next month.