RTG host Olga Degtyareva began familiarising herself with the traditions of Russian cuisine in St. Petersburg at the Russian Museum of Ethnography. The museum is home to many artifacts that show a lot about the beliefs and traditions of Russian people, their daily life and their holiday customs. Then, with the help of the head chef from the Masha and the Bear Tavern, Olga prepared some traditional Russian dishes. Beef in a mushroom sauce and with a vegetable puree, boiled pierogi and drunken apples with honey were all on the menu.
The Far East Marine Biosphere Reserve was created in 1978 in the Sea of Japan with the goal of preserving, protecting and studying the area’s very diverse and fascinating underwater world. The reserve’s aquatorium is home to more than 5,000 species of plants and animals, 150 of which are in the Red Book.
The lake district that has formed in southern part of Tyumen Oblast between the Ishim and Tobol Rivers serves as the perfect habitat for the many species of birds that live there. The Tobol-Ishim interfluve is located along one of the most popular routes that migrating birds travel, and each summer many geese, ducks and gannets nest here. Dozens of other seabirds do the same, including the Dalmatian Pelican, a feathered inhabitant from further north in Western Siberia.