In the forest

In the forest

By Ewan Paterson,
Zlatoust School student

Деревья — trees
The main trees in the forests near Moscow and Saint Petersburg are birch and pine (берёза и сосна),
not a lot of variation. In the south of the country you can find trees like chestnut growing.
It is well known you can eat chestnuts, but did you know you can eat pine cones too? Well, at least a jam made from pine cones, that purportedly has medicinal properties.
Ingeniously, you can get a refreshing drink from the birch tree by drilling a hole and draining off the
sap. Would you fancy drinking a cup?

The word for firewood, дрова, is related to the word for tree, дерево. Here is a wonderful Russian
tongue-twister (скороговорка), see if you can say it without making a mistake:

На дворе трава, на траве дрова.
In the yard there is grass, on the grass there is firewood.

The wearing of a wreath made from leaves or flowers is an ancient tradition that was associated with events like
the birth of a child and some festivals. Getting photographed with a well decorated wreath is now a very
fashionable tradition of its own.

Ягоды — berries
Berries are very popular among Russians and are collected at the end of summer when the woods come
alive with this bounty. There’s way too much to just eat ripe, so Russian grandmothers frantically prepare a glut of jams (jam = варенье) to last the winter.
Here are a few types of berry you should know:
Raspberry - малина
Strawberry - клубника
Gooseberry - крыжовник
Blackcurrant - чёрная смородина
Blueberry - черника
Blackberry - ежевика
When you visit, don’t forget to try the traditional Russian drink, морс, made from berries.

Грибы — mushrooms 

Now getting into autumn, the thing to look for in the woods are mushrooms, of course! You’ll have to
get up early to avoid disappointment, and the best time to look for them is the day after a heavy downpour. From this quality comes the Russian expression:
Расти как грибы после дождя – to grow like mushrooms after the rain. Which expresses the sudden and abundant appearance of something.

One of the most sought after mushrooms, and which is especially good in soups, is белый
гриб. Remember, always be careful when picking mushrooms, take care not to choose a poisonous
mushroom (ядовитый гиб) or a toadstool (поганка).


Медведь — a bear
Perhaps the most well known symbol of Russia, the bear. The bear gorges himself on the fruits of the forest
and then the salmon in the rivers, building up his body for the long winter hibernation. He hibernates in his
lair, берлога, which is usually dug in the ground. Tolstoy’s famous children’s story The Three Bears (Три Медведя) is similar to, and was based on, the English tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Леший — Leshi: the forest spirit
From folklore, he is the guardian of the forest and master of all living things within. Those wandering
in the depths of a forest should beware, for the Leshi will try to lead you astray on strange paths and big
circles, into a maze you may never escape from! He can take the form of a tree, a stump (пень) or even
a mushroom, and will have a beard, perhaps from moss (мох), resembling an old man. A girl should
never walk alone in the forest, for he may carry her off to make her his bride. If you want to get on his
good side, try leaving some kind of treat, like biscuits or gingerbread, out on a stump for him.