The Oak and The Larch: A Forest History of Russia and its Empires

There’s a Russian saying: ‘The heart of another is like a dark forest.’

This book explores the forest as Russia’s heart – throughout history, and now in an ailing state.

Russia has three times as many trees as we have stars in our galaxy. The Amazon might be considered the world’s lungs but Russia’s colder, less celebrated forests are just as vital; they provide nearly one-fifth of the world’s forest cover, and they have been the inspiration for cultural expression over the centuries.

Russian forests are home to both mythical creatures – vexatious wood sprites and sinister mermaids – and animals whose pelts are coveted around the world. Russia’s greatest writers and artists have enshrined the forests in works like Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov. Today, the forests are in peril. In Putin’s leadership alone, nearly 10% has been lost through logging, fire and climate change. This will have unavoidable consequences for the world’s climate.

Drawing on literature, art, music, and original reportage, this book will explore the significance of the Russian forest from medieval times to the present, from pre-Christian forest spirits to the canonical figures of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Turgenev to modern tree-worshipping eco cults, examining the philosophical and environmental impact – and political power – of the vast Russian wilderness. It will encompass Indigenous traditions and folklore, Soviet visions of communist trees, daring moments of activism and intense political repression.

Nature nourishes art even in the darkest of times. This book pays attention to all that we stand to lose in nature’s undoing.