The lives of wild animals are filled with events and activities hidden from most of the world. Only by carefully and attentively observing them can people begin to comprehend and explain some of their curious behaviour and the secrets of their everyday lives. The Russian Travel Guide set off for the Kandalaksha Nature Reserve with a biologist to take an eye-opening trip around the islands of the White Sea. Specially-built shelters, equipment and experiments are all things that help us to better understand the private lives of birds. If you are a careful and grateful observer, many secrets of the natural world will reveal themselves to you right before your eyes.
Over the centuries, the Valaam islands have been abandoned, they have been the setting for bloody wars, they have flourished in peace time, they have seen incredible spiritual feats, and they have seen betrayal. Their calling — to be a bulwark of the Russian Orthodox faith — remains unchanged, however. Host Alexander Uvarov learns about the troubled history of one of the oldest monasteries in Russia. This cloister has repeatedly come back from the brink to be reborn with evermore strength.