29 November 2016. It Was Just Another Ordinary Day in the Rodina… Why Is It “Winter” Before Winter?

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It’s not winter, but it’s “winter”. Yes, there’s been warming in Russia, too, but it’s still COLD there in most parts. It still snows early and hard, and the thaw still comes late and slow. The more things change…

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26 November 2016. It Was Just Another Ordinary Day in the Rodina… It’s the “Winter” Before Winter

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You’ve heard of the famous Russian winter. Did you know that “Russian Winter” begins BEFORE “official winter?” Yup… it often starts to snow in late October! Here’s a view of the Russian countryside taken this week.

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25 November 2016. Our Great Russian Motherland… Sunset Over the Lena River in Yakutiya

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The Lena River is 4,472 kilometres (2,779 miles) long and navigable for about 90 percent of its length. The navigation season lasts 125 to 175 days (longer in the south, shorter in the north). The Lena’s course runs completely through land affected by permafrost. It’s not always winter in Yakutiya…

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23 June 2016. Our Great Russian Motherland: Morning Fog in Perm Krai

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Perm Krai is near the western slopes of the Ural Mountains, making it one of the easternmost parts of “Europe”. Most of the territory is in notional Europe, with only 0.2 percent in “Asia”. Of course, such distinctions are merely academic, as there’s little to mark the difference between the “continents” (indeed, I prefer to see it as “Eurasia”, as one unified continent and landmass). In short, it’s “Siberian”, with the same climate, folkways, and topography. 71 percent of the Krai is forest-covered.

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