Went to the forests around a strange village called “Dorogali 2-ye” near the city of Orekhovo-Zuyevo. The place is spooky, it is about 101 kilometres from Moscow, and that is how far the “unwanted people” were exiled during the Soviet era. That involved not only political dissidents, but various criminals and rogues as well. And this village felt like it was populated by exactly that sort of people. We didn’t linger around and just drove past to the woods.
Chequered Skipper (Carterocephalus palaemon):
A colourful pupa of Black-Veined White butterfly (Aporia crataegi). Their population reached plague proportions in recent years:
Vlad Proklov's wildlife blog 