The mysterious Nivkh people, or “the children of the sea and the taiga,” as they call themselves, live in the northern part of Sakhalin Island. The Nivkh have lived hand in hand with nature for hundreds of years, and to this day their primary activities include hunting and fishing. They have, of course, also managed to adapt to modern life in other ways. The Nivkh number at a little over 5,000 and are known for their unusual beliefs. They believe that the spirits of the Sea, Forest, Earth and Air help them in their everyday lives. This belief is reflected creatively through their melancholy songs and expressive dances. The Russian Travel Guide’s Igor Maximenko found out what gear fishermen use when hunting salmon, the correct way to sun-cure the fish and how Nivkh summer and winter houses are built. Learn this and much more in RTG TV’s new programme from Sakhalin Island.
The chronicles don't tell us when the first cows appeared on the island of Valaam. We do know when the monastery's farm was built, however - 1881. Today, instead of kerosene lamps there is electricity, and the cows are milked by machines, rather than by hand. Prayers can be heard in the sheds, playing through loud speakers. Only one thing hasn't changed - the cows are cleaned, fed and milked by the monks and novices of the Valaam Monastery. In the 21st century, a cheesemaker also appeared here. How the Valaam Monastery's farm operates, in a film by RTG TV.
Two Russian athletes have managed to achieve that which many could only dream of. On July 1, 2011, Evgeny Novozheyev and Konstantin Aksenov were the first people in the world to ever to kite surf across the most dangerous section of water between Eurasia and North America, The Bering Strait. The two athletes braved the ice-cold waters and risked their lives as they spent seven straight hours kite surfing a total of 175 kilometres and accomplished something many believed impossible.