The map of the Moshenskoe region is blue with lakes. Joined by rivers and brooks, they constitute a long and winding chain that runs between hills, through forests and marshes. The quite Uver river flows from the lake Karabozha. The old village of Moshenskoe contributes to the river's beauty. The history of the village goes back to the 16th century. In spite of its venerable age, the village is quite modern, retaining features of both the old and the new. There are 184 villages in the Moshenskoe administrative region with a total population of 10.5 thousand. The greater part of the adult population is engaged in agriculture, producing and processing milk, meat, cereals, potatoes and flax.

Most of the region's territory is occupied by forests. For those who enjoy hunting or fishing this is a promised land indeed. Herbs, mushrooms, wild berries are there to be gathered. Moshenskoe is considered one of the most ecologically clean areas in the Novgorod province . There is no large-scale industry capable of polluting the environment. The joint-stock company "Raduga" produces cotton clothes and the famous Russian valenki - thick winter felt boots. Since 1931 the local flax processing plant has been making high quality flax fibre which is sold across the country and abroad. Butter and cottage cheese produced by the butter dairy have always been in demand, both locally and outside the region. The dairy is a well equipped and successfully functioning state enterprise. Timber is processed by the regional forestry, the "Moshleskhoz" partnership, private enterprise "Druzhba" and the recently established municipal enterprise "Les" . The latter has signed contracts to supply timber directly to Finnish and Swedish firms. The region's industrial policy is directed to support already existing companies, and to restructure ineffective production. By allowing newly established firms to defer local tax payments, the regional administration creates a favourable investment climate.

Carbonate deposit, eight gravel fields and twelve turf fields have been discovered in the region. Local sand is good for making fire-resistant bricks, building and road construction.

The nearest railway station is fifty kilometres away situated in the town of Borovichi. However, this does not mean, that the region lies far away from main traffic routes. A major motorway linking St.Petersburg and Vologda runs through the region. A network of roads with a total length of about 500 kilometres links the region centre with the most remote villages.

Many of these villages are endowed with a rich history, reflecting the past of the entire nation. In March 1613 a squad of people's volunteers headed by military commanders Veliaminov and Prozorovski defeated Swedish intruders right outside the village of Ustreka. In the same village a vodka distillery was set up by Ivan Pososhkov, the early eighteenth century Russian economist famous for his "Book about Poverty and Prosperity".

Lives of many famous people are linked to Moshenskoe. In the end of 18th century the village was visited by Gavrila Romanivich Derzhavin - a renowned poet. Russian geographer and ethnologist Alexei Maksheev spent a great deal of his life living in the estate of Olekhovo on the banks of the Velikoye lake and even published a book which he called "Fishing on the Velikoye". Megletsy - a small village situated not so far from Moshenskoe - played an important part in the biography of Pavel Zasodimski - a populist writer of the 19th century. Burial mounds of Slavic nobility covered with pine groves are a solemn testimony to the fact that this area has been inhabited since ancient times. In the beginning of the 20th century century two mounds were excavated by a famous archeologist and a painter Nikolai Rerikh. Vitali Bianki - a writer known mainly for his children's books - chose these parts for his summer vocations. Apart from short stories and essays conceived and written in the villages of Yakovischi and Mikheyevo his heritage includes a thorough scientific research "Birds of the Moshenskoe region". Following Bianki's recommendation, another well known Russian writer Ivan Sokolov-Mikitov came with his family to the banks of the Karabozha in the late 1930's. Rural beauty of these parts remains a source of inspiration for contemporary artists. One can see this in the works of local poets Pavel Petrov and Evdokim Rusakov. A well-known painter Ilia Glazunov spent his childhood years not so far from Moshenskoe in the village of Greblo. One of his paintings bears the name of this small lakeside village where he was brought from the besieged Leningrad during the second World War. There is an amateur painters' club organised by local artists. They are neither famous nor honoured with titles or rewards, but all of them are sincere in their enthusiasm.

Original Russian text by Vladimir Krasnov.