The Bryansk Forest Reserve, a small corner of untouched Russian wilderness, is home to thousand-year-old trees and many rare animal species. In the Bryansk Forest’s impenetrable thickets you can find birds believed by many to be almost mythological —- few people have seen black storks and ornithologists themselves consider a meeting with such feathered creatures to be one of great luck. In order to build their nests black storks chose the deepest and nearly impassable places. For mankind, reaching such places is no simple feat, and sometimes completely impossible. It is this quality which helps the Bryansk Forest to keep its many wild secrets. RTG TV presenter Igor Maximenko learned this for himself when he set out on a photo-safari to capture the elusive black stork on film in the wild thickets of the reserve.
The Sestroretsk Nature Reserve is located within the city limits of St. Petersburg. Here, just a short trip away from a megopolis home to a population of 5 million, natural landscapes formed many centuries ago have been preserved. For modern researchers this natural landmark is something that must be protected and studied. RTG TV presenter Yevgenia Altfeld got to learn about the different types of bogs, including the Gryadova-Ozerkovy system, as well as about the ancient dunes, offshore bars and pine forests. She also got to see rare species of birds and find out about their unique features and habits.