Saturday, July 25, 2009

USSR - Flora and Fauna

Russia is a huge landmass spreading across many time zones. This is amply brought home to air travelers, who travel from say Petrograd (formerly Leningrad during the Soviet days) to say Khabarovsk (That is almost the route of the Trans-Siberian Express.). These passengers may have to eat the same meal say dinner many times over and over again. These huge expanses experience a variety of weather and climatic changes. From frozen wastelands to lush green meadows. Thus, Russia is home to many different kind of flora and fauna. It is also believed that Russian literature and poetry have been influenced by weather. Epic tales such as Dr. Zhivago and poets such as Lyermontov were products of the vagaries of Russian weather, especially, the severe winters. But, these very winters were also a strong defence against foreign armies. Who can forget General ‘Winter’ and the defeat of Napoleon in the Siege of Moscow, and of Hitler at Stalingrad.
This huge landmass is home to a variety of flora and fauna which would be any botanist or zoologists dream come true. You may like to see a few samples here. Lets take a look. Click the images for an enlarged view.

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