One of the oldest people on the planet, Appaz Iliyev from the Russian republic of Ingushetia, has got his sight back thanks to a successful surgery. One of the oldest people on the planet, 121-year-old Appaz Iliyev from the Russian republic of Ingushetia, has got his sight back thanks to a successful surgery. Born in 1896, the man still works daily in his garden in the North Caucasus mountains.