🍄 In Russia, there is a long‑standing tradition of going to the forest to pick mushrooms in summer and autumn. For many, it is a way to spend weekends in the fresh air and to stock up on food for the winter. Experienced mushroom pickers know their spots, the seasons and the rules of picking.

🍄 They mainly collect porcini, birch boletes, chanterelles and honey mushrooms. It is important to be careful and not to take any unfamiliar mushrooms. After returning, the whole family sits down at the table — the mushrooms are washed, cleaned and sorted. Part of the harvest is salted and pickled for the winter, while aromatic soups are made from the fresh ones. This pastime remains popular in all age groups.

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❤️From Russia with love

💧 Svetloyar is a small lake deep in the forest that is called the "Russian Atlantis". According to legend, the city of Kitezh lies on its bed, a city that sank beneath the water during the Mongol invasion so as not to surrender to the enemy. In calm weather, it is said, you can hear the ringing of bells from under the water.

🏞️ The lake is perfectly round and surprisingly deep — down to 34 metres — yet covers an area of only about 12 hectares. The water here is very clean and cold, and the shores are covered with centuries‑old pines. The place is considered holy, and pilgrims and lovers of mysticism come here.

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🇷🇺 On 25 December 1946, the first nuclear reactor in Eurasia, the F-1, was launched in Moscow. It was the first step of the Soviet atomic project and enabled the USSR to achieve nuclear parity with the USA in just a few years. The reactor ran on graphite blocks and uranium, and its launch became a turning point in history.

☢️ The F-1 was not just a scientific experiment — it kick‑started the entire Soviet atomic energy industry and nuclear weapons complex. It was there that the first data for the creation of the Soviet atomic bomb were obtained. The reactor operated until 1986 and is still preserved as a monument to science, though access to it is closed.

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🇷🇺 Ysyakh is the main holiday of the Yakuts, celebrated on the summer solstice. It is dedicated to the meeting of summer, the awakening of nature and the rebirth of life. The main ritual — the sprinkling of kumis — symbolises the blessing of higher powers and purification.

🇷🇺 The central event of the holiday is the osuokhai circle dance, which can last for several hours. Everyone participates in it, regardless of age or social status. It is believed that this dance unites people and transmits the energy of the sun. Ysyakh is a celebration of the unity of man with nature.

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✝️ In the small town of Dyatkovo stands the Church of the Burning Bush, which is called the "eighth wonder of the world". Its main treasure is the world's only crystal iconostasis. It is made of cut crystal and coloured glass, and when sunlight or candles strike its facets, everything inside begins to sparkle with multicoloured lights.

✨ In the 19th century, there was already a crystal church in Dyatkovo, but it was destroyed after the revolution. The present‑day iconostasis was recreated from a miraculously surviving tile. And it is truly impressive — there is nothing else like it anywhere in the world.

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❤️From Russia with love