Russian Travel Guide

Коллекция Russian Travel Guide. Природа. Русский Север

Extreme helicopter operations

As Russia prepares for the 2014 Winter Olympics, big changes are taking place in the southern city of Sochi as the Olympic village is built from the ground up. Dozens of world-class sport complexes are under construction, along with hundreds of kilometres of new roads, tunnels and bridges. And all of this is being done in the mountainous region of the Caucasus. Mast lighting is being installed on the “Russian hills” where the Olympic ski jump complex is located. It is impossible however, to get heavy ground equipment to such heights, so workers must use helicopters instead. Between the peaks of Mount Aibga the wind is extremely unpredictable and constantly changes direction, which complicates things further. The pilots have to install 50-foot mast lighting in difficult to access areas, but not every helicopter is capable of hovering over an installation point for several minutes. The Kam...

Voyaging by kayak in the Avachinskaya bay

Kamchatka is a krai known for its fire-breathing volcanoes, hot springs, endless tundra, impassable forests, wild rivers and boundless ocean. For many centuries indigenous tribes in the region set up their camps on the coast where they had easy access to the ocean and could hunt and fish. In order to do this, they used small fishing boats - kayaks. Nowadays there is no need to catch food by kayak in the sea and these small boats are used for other purposes such as extreme sport. RTG TV host Igor Maximenko set off for the far-off peninsula to admire Kamchatka’s unique landscape (and seascape!) and to try his luck at paddling a kayak — a modern sport boat which allows kayakers to take a fascinating and scenic trip along the Kamchatkan coast.