Those who believe that there is nothing new to be discovered in Russia are grievously mistaken, the Russian Geographic Society, which is celebrating its 165th founding anniversary, confidently claims.
The Society has put more and more new landmark objects on the country’s, but what has been achieved by its researchers and explorers amounts to only a top of the iceberg, said Ekaterina Popova, an employee with the society.
It is misleading to say that Russia no longer has new things to be unearthed. There are still many untouched regions, among which deserts, plants, insects and birds are waiting to be studied, Popova says.
Russia occupies 17 million square kilometers of land mass and has a vast underground territory, the exact size of which is yet to be determined; it has thousands of karst caves, most of which have not been studied or even discovered; more than two thousand underground formations have been discovered and the largest of them is 100 kilometers long and 700 meters deep.]
The “Black Devil Cave” in Siberia is said to be the most secret place on earth. The first attempt to investigate it by Speleologists was made 25 years ago, but the attempt was abandoned. The cave explorers reported feeling nervous inside it.
Another cave in Hakassia, called “Pandora’s Box” is considered inaccessible. The cave explorers who attempted to study it 20 years ago, reported seeing the footprints of an ancient man, but the finding has not been confirmed.
“Averkina Yama” in Chelyabinsk is also waiting to be studied. It is believed that the Russian Robin Hood-Emelyan Pugachev kept the jewelry items he stole some 3 centuries ago, in that cave. It is said that his spirit is still guarding his looted goods.
Russia is a huge untapped country and its researchers, archaeologists and explorers will have enough to keep them busy for a long time to come, said Popova.
The initial aim for the creation of the Russian Geographic Society was the study of the county and its population, but 165 years on, the original objective remains as valid as it has ever been. The present Geographers still need to travel to explore the vast territory of Russia and its population made up of widely different nationalities.
Author: Inna Pantulina | Source: The Voice of Russia [August 23, 2010]