Russia with Simon Reeve (2017) s01e01 Episode Script

1
I'm starting a huge journey.
This time it's the big one,
I'm travelling across the largest
country of them all, Russia.
I'm in Kamchatka, in the very,
very far east of Russia.
This is a land of utter extremes.
This is where heaven and hell
are said to collide,
where ice meets fire.
Yes, that is an erupting
volcano over there.
The scale of this place
is just mind-blowing.
The same could be said for Russia
as a whole, I suppose.
But I am looking forward to this journey
as much as anywhere I've ever been.
This is a proper chance to explore
and try to understand this vast country.
I'll be travelling right across Russia,
from Kamchatka in the far east,
more than 4,000 miles
to Russia's western border.
It's a journey that will take me
through some of the remotest
parts of the planet
Where on earth are we going? I love it.
..across vast wilderness
..and natural wonders
This is glorious.
..to the heart
of one of the world's most magnificent
cities.
Saint Petersburg
was designed to impress.
A century on from the Russian
Revolution,
I'll discover a country
that is more diverse
..more challenging
So, there's just no doubt
that we are being followed.
..and more surprising
than I ever imagined.
It is extraordinarily beautiful here.
The Kamchatka Peninsula is one of
the world's last great wilderness areas.
It used to take more
than six months of travel
to get here from Moscow.
Nowadays, it's still a nine-hour flight.
I'm travelling here with mountain
guide Igor Sesterov.
The chopper could only take us so far.
It's a bit tricky to move around here.
So look what they brought with us.
You've got to admit, that's pretty good.
Ready? Get set.
2017 is a huge anniversary,
100 years since the Russian Revolution,
which overthrew the rule of the tsars.
It was one of the most significant
events of the 20th century,
ushering in decades
of communist control in Russia,
Central Asia and Eastern Europe,
much of which formed the Soviet Union,
one of the biggest empires
the world has ever seen.
In the frozen wastes of Kamchatka,
this was one of its
most easterly outposts.
Igor, what? What was this place?
It's completely abandoned?
There's nobody here at all?
It's actually really helpful
to me, in a strange way,
to come here at the start
of this journey, because
it reminds me so much
of what has happened
in this country in recent decades.
This is a memorial, in many ways,
to the death of an empire.
To the end of the Soviet Union.
If you want to go inside
Yeah, of course.
Through the window.
Moscow is 4,000 miles away.
But here in Kamchatka,
we are a shortish missile
flight from America.
When the two nuclear superpowers
went eyeball to eyeball
during the Cold War,
places like this were on the frontline.
Gas mask.
God knows what we're breathing in here!
The Soviet empire collapsed in 1991,
Russia was on its own.
Many military bases were abandoned,
left to wilder inhabitants.
It looks like something has tried
to claw its way through the door there.
- Igor?
- Yes?
- Look at that, Igor.
- It's like wolverine!
- A wolverine?
- Wolverine, yes.
- As long as it's not still in here.
Where were the submarines moored here?
Are you from here originally?
It feels a little bit sad
to me, to see this base.
How does it feel for you?
Of course, it wasn't just military
bases that disappeared after the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
The 1990s were a chaotic
and difficult time in Russia.
Central government support
for many remote communities
here in the far east disappeared.
The population of Kamchatka
has dropped by a third.
But there are still people who continue
to eke out an existence here.
I was visiting just before spring,
temperatures were between minus 25
and a balmy minus ten.
Russia is home to more than 100
different ethnic groups.
Reindeer herder Alexei Solodikov
is one of the Even people.
I'd love some.
Tea with fish?
Yes.
OK. Are the reindeer far, Alexei?
Alexei and his family are one of the
few still living a nomadic life,
following their reindeer herd.
In Soviet times, herders like Alexei
used to be guaranteed
an income by the government.
Now, reindeer meat is sold
on the open market.
It's a more precarious way of life.
So, Alexei, are they all yours?
I'd give myself three days, actually.
So, look, this is what they're after.
During summer, reindeer feed on grass.
In winter, they survive by rummaging
under the snow for lichen.
It's a fragile existence.
And in recent years,
the consequences of our changing
climate have been devastating.
The weather here is now
much less predictable,
they've had warm spells
when it should be minus 30.
Instead of snow, they've had rain,
which can freeze on the ground,
making it hard for reindeer
to get at the lichen.
Are you saying that reindeer
are starving to death?
Across northern Russia,
many reindeer populations
are in steep decline
because of climate change.
Tens of thousands of reindeer have died.
People and wildlife who survive
at the edge of existence
are already feeling the effects
of our warming world.
Alexei and his wife
Galina are finding it
harder and harder to make
a living out here.
Is this reindeer meat?
Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you, Galina.
Mm!
That is really good.
What do you think the future
holds for the Even people?
Have you got children?
Are any of them working as herders?
What does it mean for the future
of the Even people,
if your community aren't
herding reindeer?
Goodbye, my friends!
It's been a hell of a day.
I'm slightly reeling from
..just the extremes
that we're seeing here.
The landscape, the temperature.
I've got my little inflatable pillow.
And a couple of sleeping bags.
Oh!
I should be all right.
It got very, very, very cold.
And slightly uncomfortable.
The thing is, the cold is a real
killer for camera batteries.
So we all had to have some of them
inside our sleeping bags.
I've got bags of these in here.
We've got a long journey today.
And not by a comfortable
four-wheel-drive vehicle.
Alexei!
Thank you very much
indeed for having us.
I'd ordered a cab, or what counts
for one around here.
I was sad to leave Alexei
and Galina and travel on,
their way of life seemed
to be hanging on a thread.
There's few roads in Kamchatka,
and none linking the region
to the rest of Russia.
That isolation is part of what threatens
the very existence of these
remote communities,
and Russia's grip on its far east.
After a whiplash-inducing eight-hour
ride in temperatures of minus 25,
I finally reach the only town
for hundreds of miles around.
This is the small community of Esso.
It's rather nice, actually.
Nice, but sleepy.
The population of Kamchatka is falling,
a problem affecting the whole
of eastern Russia.
But I'd arrived on the biggest
day in the local calendar,
the start of an event called Beringia,
one of the longest dog
sled races in the world.
It is actually quite a big
government-sponsored event.
They pay a huge amount of money into it.
I suppose it's quite good
at promoting mother Russia
in very remote parts of the country.
And the winner gets about 40,000 quid!
Organisers of the race hope it
will attract tourists to Kamchatka,
boost the local economy,
and help reverse
the declining population.
It's part of an effort by the government
of President Vladimir Putin to keep
Russians living in this area.
I have come to meet one of the best
mushers in the village.
Vladislav Revenok has been taking part
in the event for ten years.
Simon.
THEY ALL PRAY
Just to be clear, Vladislav,
you're a Russian Orthodox priest,
who is also a dog musher?
OK. He's got to go.
We wish you good luck, and Godspeed.
That's it. He's gone.
Off for three weeks into this
Even the priests are tough here!
We often think of Russia
as a European country.
But two thirds of it
is actually in Asia.
My journey on across Russia
took me to Vladivostok,
just 40 miles from China.
It's the largest port
in the Russian far east.
This is enormous.
This is like the Golden
Gate Bridge, or something.
And it's painted the red, blue
and white of the Russian flag.
Wow.
Since the time of the Russian tsars,
Vladivostok has
been the country's Asian power base.
The Pacific Ocean, for goodness' sake!
And this helps to explain, I think,
why Vladivostok is so important.
Because if you are a big
power like Russia,
or a superpower like the Soviet Union,
you want to be able to get your ships
out to sea whenever you want.
Year round. And Vladivostok
is a warm water port.
They get ice around here, but they can
clear it with icebreakers.
That's incredibly important,
economically, militarily, strategically,
it's part of what makes
Vladivostok absolutely vital.
Russia's relationship
with Europe and the US
is increasingly fractious,
verging on hostile.
Some are talking of a new Cold War.
So Russia has been looking for new
partners in the east,
particularly for trade,
and for industry.
Billions and billions of pounds
have been spent revitalising,
almost rebuilding much of the city.
And it's helped to transform it.
They are trying to turn this place
into a real capital city for the
Pacific Rim area, for the Far East.
It's part of what some have called
Russia's "pivot to the East".
Part of the government's new strategy
is to attract more Asian business,
but also tourists to eastern Russia.
On the outskirts of Vladivostok,
I headed for a brand-new super resort.
At the moment, they are calling it
the Integrated Entertainment Zone,
which, I think, they are going
to have to work on.
It sounds a bit odd
and definitely not very sexy.
So, let me show you a little bit
of our property.
This casino is the biggest
one in Russia.
OK.
Anna Marmaya was showing me around
the fancy Tigre de Cristal Casino,
which opened in 2015.
We have about 33 gaming tables.
We have more than 300 slot machines.
This is the gaming table area.
- Yes.
- We have poker, we have roulette,
American roulette, we have
baccarat, which is Asian.
You've got your own bank
here, of course.
Where you change money for chips.
These are Asian baccarat tables.
Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin,
has actually banned
gambling in most of Russia,
because it's seen as a major
social and crime problem.
But they've made an exception here,
in the hope of attracting
international high
rollers and their cash.
This is the premium zone.
The premium zone? I should
I shouldn't go into a premium zone!
Definitely not.
So I'm going to get
a lesson in baccarat,
the main casino game in Asia
Is that right, Craig?
- That's correct.
- ..from Craig,
who, of course,
is originally from Dundee.
What could be more normal?!
Let's go. Bring it on.
Originally an accountant from Dundee.
Well, let's be specific.
I was in the sports betting
industry for Ladbrokes.
Right, OK.
So that's accountant Is
that an accountant,
as in turf accountant?
- Turf accountant, that's correct.
- OK!
Craig Ballantyne
is one of the bosses at the casino.
Just to be clear, at no
point has any money
left my pocket at the moment.
No BBC money has been spent
on these chips, I promise you.
All right, what should I do?
The game is quite simple.
There's only four
cards in the initial deal.
And if an eight or nine comes out in
the first four cards in either hand,
then it's game over.
It's called a natural.
- OK.
- And you can see from the board,
all the scores that happened previously.
- And live as they occur.
- OK.
So you look at What
you are really trying to do
is look at the run of red and blue,
and decide which one you want to bet.
OK, I've already started
biting my nails!
It's quite interesting that you've got
it in English and Chinese,
as opposed to English and Russian.
This is why we chose this location,
because it's close
to the Asian communities.
We're close to,
within a two-hour flight,
close to 200, 230 million people.
- Wow.
- Most of whom are Asian.
That's really interesting,
because travelling in eastern Russia,
obviously, you see a lot of empty space.
Yeah.
You don't necessarily think
about what's to the south,
across the border. But
across the south of the border
is a lot of people, a lot of money.
Absolutely! So we're looking
for a three or a four.
Oh, we've got a six, that's a good hand.
- Is it? OK.
- We want the player to have less.
Yes!
- You've won?
- We've both won.
- We've both won?
- Because you bet banker as well.
OK. This is very good.
Is Asia the biggest casino
gambling market in the world?
I would say, yes,
there's 33 million visitors
go to Macau every year.
Macau alone?
Macau alone.
Which is, like, the Las Vegas of Asia.
- That's the Las Vegas of Asia.
- Are you aiming at that market, then?
Are you aiming to become
another Las Vegas?
I think it's more like we'll have
a slice of the pizza,
- but not the whole pizza.
- OK.
There are plans for half a dozen
more casinos here, plus theatres,
a golf course and water park.
All served by direct flights
from China, Thailand and Japan.
It's really interesting being here
and starting to understand where we are.
You realise that we are not
just at the edge of Russia,
it is close to the heart
of the most dynamic
and economically exciting
region of the world - Asia.
110 million people live in
the Chinese provinces
that border Russia.
Nearly 20 times the population
of Russia's far east.
Some Russians think
the growing influence
of China across this region
might represent a threat.
This was a Chinese area
until relatively recently,
it was only ceded
to Russia in the 1800s.
And some Chinese still smart about it.
They think it was one of the so-called
"unequal treaties",
where China lost land
to foreign powers unfairly.
Some Chinese would like it back.
With its huge population, China
is short of land for agriculture.
Thousands of Chinese farmers
have migrated into Russia
in recent years,
taking over millions
of acres of prime farmland.
Often, these Chinese
migrants are reviving farms
that were abandoned after the collapse
of the Soviet Union.
They're reopening, restarting farms
that have been dormant for a long time.
Some Russian politicians
aren't happy about it.
They are concerned
that it's some sort of
attempt by China to take control
or get its claws
into the Russian far east.
A peaceful land grab, if you like.
The increasing numbers of Chinese
living and working in Russia
is an extremely sensitive issue here.
It was hard to find anyone
willing to be filmed.
THEY SPEAK RUSSIAN
Finally, we met Slavoran,
who agreed to show me the farm
he manages for Chinese investors.
It looks like the American prairies.
Is it very productive?
So, Slavo, what are you farming here?
The government here is desperate
to lure Russians to live in this area.
They are now even offering free land
to any Russian who will move
here to farm.
But most of the workers
I saw were Chinese.
Ni hao.
There's a Chinese worker there.
I think Slavo
is not that mad on us talking to him.
Fair enough.
Estimates put the number of Chinese
working on this side of the border
in the hundreds of thousands.
Some Russians think
their presence indicates
Moscow is losing its grip
on the vast east of the country.
But the Russian government doesn't like
being seen as weak or out of control.
Russia's not free or open,
much of the media is controlled.
The authorities in this region
suddenly started taking an unhealthy
interest in my journey.
OK, we've been pulled over.
Oh, no, it's the police.
A few miles outside Vladivostok,
we were stopped by police.
The officers demanded our drivers
get out of the vehicles.
Right, they're pulling away.
Look at that! They've taking him away.
We were held by the roadside for hours,
our drivers were taken to a dingy
psychiatric hospital, questioned,
and subjected to a battery
of tests for drugs and alcohol.
Are you all right?
Everything is fine. So we can go.
Of all the cars that are passing,
since we were stopped, the police
haven't stopped any other vehicles.
- Are they still with us?
- Yeah.
We'd picked up a tail, and they weren't
even trying to be discreet.
He's just come through a red light
- Yeah.
- ..to follow us!
I have to say, it looks
like two cars are following us now.
He is over and undertaking
other vehicles
to make sure he stays behind us.
So, there's just no doubt
that we are being followed.
Unmarked cars, I would imagine
it's the FSB.
And the FSB is what replaced the KGB,
which we have all heard of.
We headed back into Vladivostok
to catch a train.
Is it normal for you to just
push the cameras away?
SHE SPEAKS RUSSIAN
So heavy-handed, guys, why?
What's the need for that?
It's just incredible.
THEY SPEAK IN RUSSIAN
So, we're rapidly running
out of time to make our train.
It became clear government agents
were using the police to harass us.
Welcome to Russia!
So the police have,
obviously, let us go,
just moments before the train
is about to leave.
ANNOUNCEMENT IN RUSSIAN
Screw the police, we are doing
something amazing here.
This is the Trans-Siberian.
Number ten. Spasiba.
You see, this is how
Oh, I can't turn around!
You see, this is how nice
most Russians are.
At almost 6,000 miles,
the Trans-Siberian is the longest
train line in the world.
Just look at this.
Stunning.
This train, I think,
crosses seven time zones
on its way to Moscow.
Seven time zones.
If you think the world
is becoming a smaller place,
travel through Russia
and realise its scale.
We're heading towards Siberia,
and it is utterly vast.
Siberia, on its own, is one-twelfth
of all the land on planet Earth!
OK.
Let's go.
Spasiba bolshoe.
Russia does epic scale
like nowhere else.
The Russian boreal forest
is the largest on the planet.
Bigger than the Amazon.
Russia is home to around a quarter
of all the trees on earth.
It's one of the great
lungs of the world.
We slid backwards
off this little wooden bridge.
And in this forest
CAT MEOW
..the biggest wildcats
on planet Earth roam.
Back on the track, I was headed
to the Durminskoye Reserve,
to meet one of the true
champions of this wilderness.
Alexander Batalov has dedicated his life
to protecting
the forest's most iconic inhabitant.
The extremely rare
Siberian, or Amur tiger.
Flipping heck!
I'm getting in the back.
Alexander, what are we looking for?
Look, just here.
Bloody hell!
Those? Those?
Those are tiger prints there?
Big, big tiger.
Siberian tigers
are the world's biggest wildcats,
weighing up to a third of a ton.
And with their tail, they can be
half the length of a London bus.
Fear and exhilaration,
all at the same time.
This is a massive tiger poo.
It's tiger poo!
Wow, that's just extraordinary.
What a place this is!
I'm in utter awe, frankly.
Alexander said the tiger
could still be close by.
Stop, stop, stop.
Bloody hell!
You mean it's still there, eating?
CROWS CAW
So, I can hear crows.
There're just saying to the tiger,
"Leave some for us."
It sounds to me like you,
you don't really fear these creatures
as much as you understand them.
Simon
- Let's go.
- Let's go. All right, boss.
Yes.
It's getting to twilight.
This is when the tigers go a-hunting.
Alexander's reserve is roughly
80 square miles in size.
He's a true hero of this forest,
creating a sanctuary
for this endangered animal.
To help him keep tabs
on the local population
he's installed a network
of motion-activated cameras.
Why are you putting it here?
Oh, wow!
Here we are.
- Simon
- Yes?
Happy to be here!
Alexander and his team run
their conservation work
from a base right
in the heart of the forest.
I'm sensing, Alexander,
a little bit of an obsession!
It's all tiger in this household.
Fantastic.
THEY LAUGH
What a place.
Look at this.
Super.
Super it definitely is.
Bit of a spray from the back there.
The Siberian tiger is a Russian icon.
Numbers have increased in recent years,
but there are still thought to be
only around 500 living in the wild.
There was a leg biting going on there!
Oh, my goodness.
The cat climbs the tree.
Goodness me!
This place is quite extraordinary, eh?
So he just showed me
I'm staying over there.
And, er
And the toilet is just
over here, I believe.
Apparently, you can get tigers
within 50 metres of here.
So a proper run for a wee
I think I'll use a bottle,
avoid the risk.
Alexander's passionate conservation work
has helped Siberian tiger numbers
in this area to stabilise.
But the forest here is under threat
from Russia's growing timber industry.
Is there a connection
between logging and tiger numbers?
Protect the habitat,
that's the absolute key.
So protect the forest.
The amount of forest that's being
lost in Russia is colossal.
Estimated at nearly 8,000
square miles a year.
The size of Wales!
And comparable to the rate
of logging in the Brazilian Amazon.
Wow!
Look over this side.
It's been completely felled and logged.
Goodness me.
Russia exports more timber
than any other country.
Much of it goes to neighbouring China,
then most of the finished
products are sold in America.
It's thought more than a third
of logging in Russia is illegal.
Something conservationists
say is only possible
because of corrupt officials.
But talking about
this in Russia is difficult.
And dangerous.
Because powerful people here
are making fortunes from
destroying the forest.
Which is why this is said to be
the largest hidden deforestation
happening anywhere in the world.
My journey across Russia took
me through Dalnerechensk,
a town at the centre of the timber
trade in this region.
OK, so that car is coming
right behind us.
With a bloke on the phone in the
We've picked up yet another tail.
Are you wearing seat belts?
Police checkpoint,
we are being pulled over.
Hide the camera. Hide the camera.
Do what she says.
We've now been stopped
at yet another police checkpoint
by a bevy of cops.
It's just It's just unbelievable.
The police are coming. Camera down.
So we've been told we had to follow
the police back to their police
station, where we were told that
some experts were going
to check our passports.
We've been here for a couple
of hours so far.
Our passports are in the room
on the right.
And we are just waiting, basically.
They are sort of grinding us down
with the monotony of this.
Perhaps it's just some nutty FSB
guys in this part of Russia,
who have taken a dislike to the media,
and are just preventing us
from filming anything at all.
This was now the fifth
time we'd been stopped
and harassed by the authorities,
on and off camera.
We had all our permits and permissions.
We were detained at the police
station for the whole day,
while our passports were
supposedly checked.
The next morning, we set out early
to try and film in the forest.
So, we've just tried to leave
our hotel this morning
and the police were waiting
for us outside the hotel.
There's nothing on the street.
They have stopped us immediately.
So now, they're giving us a blue
light escort to the train station
to get us out of here. They
just want us out of here.
If this is how they harass
a foreign TV crew,
you can imagine how the authorities
here can treat
conservationists and human
rights workers.
Russia, under Vladimir Putin, often
behaves like a police state.
Most serious opposition has
been crushed or eliminated.
The FSB helps enforce Putin's power.
Under his rule, it's grown enormously,
and is now believed to have at least
a quarter of a million employees.
The FSB has tentacles into almost
every aspect of Russian life.
They are a terrifyingly powerful
entity in this country.
And we are just, like, little
lint, or something, to them.
I went north, deeper
into the vastness of Siberia.
To Yakutia, or the Sakha Republic,
the largest of Russia's federal regions.
On its own, nearly the size of India.
This plane looks like it was flying
during the Second World War.
It's one of the oldest
planes I think I've flown on
anywhere in the world.
It just adds to the slightly
surreal feel
that we are heading
to the edge of the world.
It looks bleak and barren down below,
but it's actually stuffed
with natural resources and treasure.
Russia is heavily dependent
on digging up its natural resources.
And huge mines here help to prop
up the faltering Russian economy.
Workers endure extreme conditions.
This is actually the coldest
inhabited region on Earth.
Getting at the resources
of Siberia is quite a challenge,
particularly when there aren't many
tarmacked roads across this vast area.
And when it's crossed
by any number of enormous rivers.
Most of them haven't got bridges.
Instead, they've got frozen roads.
Oh
We're on the ice road.
This ice road takes traffic
across the mighty Lena River.
At points, miles wide, and more
than 2,500 miles long.
So, this is proper ice
beneath my feet here.
60, 70 centimetres
of ice, which actually
doesn't sound like enough to me, but
Clearly, it's holding
the weight of all the vehicles.
Tens of thousands of heavy trucks
shuttle backwards and forwards
on ice roads
like this in Siberia every year,
carrying essential stuff
to ludicrously remote communities.
And they are also taking
equipment as well,
kit for mines, for gold mines,
diamond mines,
gas drilling sites, oil wells,
so that Russia can get
at the riches underground.
Truck driver Nikolai is preparing
for his own epic journey across Siberia
to deliver equipment
to a distant gold mine.
The temperatures are just mind-blowing
to people outside Russia.
What is the coldest weather
you have driven in?
You have driven a truck in minus 55?
In what way is it extreme?
Oh, yes, yes.
That would scare the bejesus out of me.
But truckers can't always
deliver their supplies,
so Moscow is building a railway
to connect this region.
It's astonishingly expensive.
Russia pays a huge price
for maintaining communities
in a vast territory that's perhaps
too extreme for human habitation.
Some say that Russia's size
is not a strength,
but is actually a weakness.
That Russia is so big
it costs too much money
to populate remote areas
and maintain those communities.
Some economists have
even coined a phrase for it.
They call it the Siberian curse.
I'd arrived in Yakutsk, which sits
on the banks of the Lena River,
and is home to 300,000 hardy souls.
Temperatures here can drop to minus 60
degrees centigrade in the winter.
It's the largest city in the world
built on a thick band of frozen
ground called permafrost.
OK.
Research scientist Sergei Fedorov
has brought me to some tunnels where
you can see the permafrost close up.
Into the freezer.
Oh, wow.
Look at this.
It's so cold in here, any moisture
is quickly crystallised.
The more we breathe, the more
crystals are created.
It's absolutely stunning.
OK, so is this the actual permafrost?
This is the permafrost.
This is the frozen band, almost,
of earth between surface and the depths,
on which so much of Russia exists.
These tunnels were
used for cold storage.
Now, they've become Yakutsk's number
one tourist attraction.
This place is bizarre.
What's this?
Oh, my goodness.
After you.
Into the bridal chamber.
It's a proper block of ice.
I don't imagine it's very comfortable.
Well, if you can
I'll cosy up with you, Sergei.
People from other countries
live up in the very far north,
but only Russia has built big cities
and really occupied the north,
even occupied the Arctic.
I think there is something
especially tough about you.
How did you survive a winter like that?
We'd declare a national emergency
if anything got even remotely like
that in Blighty!
The country would come to a halt.
We're just not prepared for that.
You get a bit of snow, or some
leaves on the line, and we close down!
Here, minus 45, Sergei
is out playing ice hockey.
Unbelievable.
Over half of Russia's territory
is permafrost.
More frozen land
than in any other country.
Sergei took me even further north
to the small town of Batagay.
When I arrived it was positively
Hawaiian there, just minus 25.
The far north of the planet
is warming faster than anywhere else.
And on the streets here,
the powerful consequences
of climate change can be seen.
Look at that.
So this, I think, was the old hospital.
And they had to prop it up,
to stop it collapsing.
Then that hasn't worked,
and it's been abandoned.
A warming atmosphere
is thawing the permafrost,
causing the ground beneath some of
Russia's Arctic towns
and cities to give way.
But the biggest consequence
of permafrost melting
is found outside this town.
These, I think, are going to take us
to what locals call the gateway
to the underworld.
We headed into the wilderness,
to a site that is crucial
to Sergei's research.
Flipping heck!
So this is the Batagay crater.
And it is enormous.
Permafrost is now melting so
quickly, so aggressively,
that vast craters called mega slumps
are appearing right across the Arctic.
Russia's not going
to collapse into a hole,
but these craters are a dramatic sign
of what we're doing to our world.
The Arctic is warming twice as fast
as the rest of the planet.
Longer, hotter summers
are speeding the melting process.
It's a frightening size.
Thawing permafrost is dangerous,
because it can release vast
amounts of methane gas -
that makes it a ticking time bomb.
Methane is, of course, a very
powerful greenhouse gas.
Much more powerful than carbon
dioxide, for example.
And if, as scientists fear,
the permafrost melts,
it releases incredible quantities
of methane into the atmosphere.
It threatens to cook our world.
Methane could accelerate
unstoppable global warming.
So with around half
of the world's permafrost in Russia,
the future of the planet, and us,
could well be decided out here
in the wilds of Siberia.
This is the frontline
of our changing climate.
This crater is an absolutely
critical site
for studying what is going to happen
to our world as we heat it up.
This is the end of the first
leg of my journey.
On the next part, I'll be travelling
through the heart of Russia.
I'll encounter
some of Russia's most diverse
and exotic cultures.
Why has he got knives
attached to his feet?
And I'll meet the former traffic cop
whose followers make a strong claim
You believe
he is the reincarnation of Jesus.
- Is that right?
- Yes.