Tourist trains will run on new routes in the next year and a half
Over the past 11 years, volunteers participating in Russia's "Water of Russia" campaign have collected more than 92,000 truckloads of garbage from rivers and lakes across the country. Among the unusual items found during these clean-up efforts, a unique collection has been assembled and is now on display in a new museum.
The Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia announced that the collection of rare exhibits is housed at the headquarters of the "Water of Russia" campaign. The items on display include a typewriter, a collection of Soviet-era coins, 1980s-era first-aid kits, hourglasses, children's toys, vinyl records, a telephone, and more recently, an antique cast-iron iron.
At each major clean-up event, volunteers participate in a contest to find the most unusual item. For example, in Krasnodar, volunteers discovered vinyl records from the "Melodiya" company and a half-century-old soldering iron. In Staraya Russa, Novgorod Oblast, participants found Soviet-era winter sleds and an hourglass.
This summer in Vladikavkaz, volunteers stumbled upon a jug that archaeologists estimated to be 1,500 years old.
"The find was handed over to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. Previously, volunteers in the republic had found a working antique camera on a tripod dating back to the 19th century," the statement said.
To share these unique finds with a wider audience, the organizers have been conducting traveling exhibitions. For instance, over 2,000 people viewed the museum exhibits at an eco-festival in Kolomna in September. More information about the finds can be found on the "Water of Russia" campaign website.
