An atmospheric though slightly misjudged museum about that most Russian of phenomena. Forests have been at the heart of the Rus' people since before anyone had considered building the Kremlin and to this day they remain vast and unexplored to quite an extent. Part of the museum is concerned with this last point and the worry that in actual fact the forests might not be as permanent as we would like; other displays include miniature models of traditional wooden buildings, some slightly baffled-looking stuffed forest wildlife and plenty on forest science, accompanied by a soothing soundtrack of birdsong and trickling brooks. Effort has obviously gone into the appearance of the place and it's quite an attractive museum; it would be good to see a bit more imagination and information on forest life and its importance in Russian culture.
