understanding in the forest then—an order. Judging from the following
events, this order still exists in some places and it is not forgiving.
- The mixed (broad leaf and conifer) forests of Siberia are generally
referred to as taiga. While the forests of Primorye differ in some very
significant ways, they go by this name as well. - Arseniev’s account of his adventures with Dersu Uzala reflects a
tendency among many Russian writers to use facts not as inflexible units
of information, but as malleable elements that may be arranged,
elaborated on, or added to as the author sees fit. Evidence of this can be
found throughout the country’s nonfiction and journalism. On a practical
level, fact checking and the documentation of sources is pursued much
less rigorously in Russia than in many Western countries. But there is a
more serious problem and that is that the notions of “truth” and “fact”
have been so aggressively stifled in Russia since czarist times that its
effects have impacted the collective psyche of the country, including
writers, who, if they told the truth, did so at considerable risk. As a result,
many “factual” Russian narratives should probably be approached as
memoirs: subjective interpretations of events that may not have occurred
exactly as described. It is by no means unique to Russia, but the most
egregious examples of this freewheeling approach to reportage are to be
found in the State’s representation of itself, a tendency that transcends
regime and political philosophy.