Now on air
13:00
The nature of the Commander archipelago
The far-off Commander Archipelago - tucked away in the endless expanses of the Pacific Ocean - marks the edge of Russian territory. It is a place characterised by pristine nature, where waves relentlessly crash against the shore, rays of sunlight shine through the spray of mountain waterfalls and the wind fills people’s lungs with the spirit of freedom. Here all those who visit are struck by the air of calmness, greatness and the feeling of timelessness that seem to be an inherent element of the islands’ atmosphere.
Zhostovo painting
In the Moscow suburb of Zhostovo in the 19th century a craft appeared which was to bring fame to these Russian craftsmen all over the world. And what exactly was their claim to fame? Nothing other than carefully painted trays decorated with detailed images of flowers and other colourful pictures. Such trays were initially designed for townspeople and peasants as the everyday item played a central role in the Russian tea ceremony and was also a sign of a family’s prosperity. With time this purely utilitarian item transformed into a piece of art. Among collectors these trays are valued for the colouristic richness of their subjects, defined by the free, full movement of the brushstrokes. In Zhostovo the art of painting these beautiful blossoms on planes of metal is passed down from generation to generation. To this day there are craftsmen in Zhostovo whose ancestors were the first to popul...
Now on air
13:00
Zhostovo painting
In search of the black stork
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.
Now on air
13:00