The history of the exploration of the northern regions of European Russia is an eventful one. The names of many of the pioneers appear frequently on maps of this region. The abundance of wildlife lured Russia's enterprising free-spirits, to say nothing about the rich supplies of fish enticing them to find seas in the North. However material gain is not and perhaps never was the only motive. Strange though it may seem, the severe beauty of the northern lands is a powerful attraction, especially for those who love travelling.

European Russia's northern regions, unlike those in Siberia, have been relatively well studied and have become civilized, to an extent. The existence of a railway network is an indication of this fact. But as soon as you leave the local main lines, you very soon find yourself in typical rural Russia, with very bad roads, half-abandoned villages, impassable swamps and forests. The traveller then has a chance to find out about old Russian ways of life, plunge into the world of primordial forests or even make their own discoveries.

Our story is about the Pinega Nature Reserve, situated in Arkhangelsk Region, on the right bank of the Pinega River, a tributary of the Northern Dvina River, in whose estuary lies the city of Arkhangelsk.

Tens of thousands years ago, not all that long ago geologically speaking, there were a number of small shifts in the Earth's crust which changed the local layout. As a result, a small upland appeared in the landscape, which is nowadays known as the White Sea-Kuloy Plateau. The nature reserve was created due to the unusual geographical landscape of the plateau, though of course the taiga's rich flora and fauna, with their lists of ancient plant life as well as endangered species, were also an important consideration.

Established in 1974 with an area of over 500 square kilometres, the reserve is surrounded by a protected area to safeguard it as much as possible against any human intrusion. No one lives permanently in the reserve, but there is the settlement of Pinega nearby. Incidentally, the settlement itself is a place of interest for historians. Its inhabitants are proud of the fact that it was first mentioned in the chronicles 10 years earlier than Moscow.

So, what is so unusual about the plateau within the reserve? it is built on a foundation of limestone and gypsum, both easily dissolved in water. As a result, the landscape of the plateau constantly changes. Rain and flood waters have and continue to create and recreate a large number of under- and over-ground karst phenomena,  such as gullies and caves. The frequency at which they appear and change is unprecedented. Nothing of its kind can be found even in warmer latitudes, to say nothing about the permafrost latitudes with their short summer. It can be explained by the specific physical and chemical features of the local kinds of limestone and gypsum. In some places the surface is so covered with dense networks of sinks, and also thick taiga forest, that it is hardly passable on foot. It is easy to lose one's way in all that mess.

Also fascinating are the so-called logs (broad gullies), which are in fact so deep that they look more like canyons. In an otherwise plain landscape it is amazing to see the kind of relief that can normally be seen only in the mountains. The local water flows are also unpredictable; springing up suddenly from underground here, or disappearing again there, governed by unseen subterranean formations.

Of course, the most beautiful things are underground. There are about 75 caves within the territory of the nature reserve and surrounding area, 37 of them being 100 m or more long, and 10 of them are over a kilometre in length. The largest caves are Konstitutsionnaya (6.7 km) and Kumichovskaya (4.5 km). However, they are closed to tourists for the time being. But as the peculiarities of the place are becoming more and more popular with those interested in underground sights, they have opened caves for tourists in some areas adjoining the reserve. Many groups are brought to see the best-known of these caves, Golubinsky Gap (800 m). Some might argue that it is time to fit the caves with lights and other facilities to make them more attractive for tourists. However the peculiar nature of the area causes difficulties; you would have to redo the job every year. The spring floods are very strong in the area and they often completely fill the caves, washing away everything in their way. Those working at the reserve say that sometimes it is impossible to even get close to them. So the spring is a closed season for tourists. Early summer is also not very good time, as anything of interest will have been washed away and there is often a lot of dirty clay around, which will later dry out. This also explains why there are virtually no stalactites or stalagmites in the caves. However, compensation for this deficit comes in the early autumn when, in the place of rock sculptures, appear ice ones. Sparkling in the torchlight with all the colours of the spectrum, they create an unforgettable impression. By March there will be whole curtains of ice stalactites and stalagmites, covering the walls and roof of the caves. The best time to feast your eyes on these natural masterpieces is in the winter and early spring.

The Pinega caves have not yet been studied in sufficient detail. In the past speleological research (the scientific study of caves) was supported by state funds. Nowadays there is no such support. Nevertheless, devotees keep on working and researching, reporting their discoveries of new caves every year.

However, some pages in the history of research are tragic ones. Occasionally the caves make people pay dearly. It was during an expedition to Pinega Reserve that Vladimir Kiselyov, one of the most renowned and experienced champions of speleological research in Russia and indeed the world, once failed to resurface from a flooded cave into which he had plunged with an aqualung. While the accident may have made his colleagues think more carefully about safety measures, but has not stopped the bold-spirited from continuing their search for new discoveries.

By Srgey Karpukhin

(“Moscow today & tomorrow”. November / 2002)