Quote Originally Posted by Johanna
Is it true that there are people in Russia who never became completely Christian and who still believe in Pagan traditions?
I have heard such stories all my life but I don't know whether they are true or not.. In particular a people called Maries or something like that.. and misc. people in Siberia....
There are about 160 ethnic groups and indigenous people (whatever that means, lol ) in Russia, so yes, I suppose many of them are left more or less to themselves and their beliefs... I'm rather ashamed of my ignorance when it comes to various other peoples living in Russia. They have fascinating cultures of their own and very special fairy-tales, I read some of them as a kid.

Here's a link to some fantastic photos of a festival in Buryatia. http://forum.academ.org/index.php?sh...9&st=0&start=0 Buryats are Mongols, they live in the Irkutsk region (if I'm not mistaken), close to the Lake Baikal.

Quote Originally Posted by Wowik
Вагонный.
LOL. Вагонный. I wanna see that film now! I haven't seen it yet.

Quote Originally Posted by Johanna
I lived more or less near a fairly large forest as a child and I didn't fully believe such stories, but I didn't completely disbelieve them either.
Living near a forest is great! I've never been to a village but I've lived in the suburbs of Novosibirsk all my life, in a scientific center of Siberia, the so-called Academgorodok (or just Academ). It is basically built in the forest, so I've got trees all round me. Great gloomy pine forests covered in snow at the moment - it's fantastic. This is how Academ looks, though I live in a slightly different part. http://forum.academ.org/index.php?sh...7&st=0&start=0