Today, we finally put to use the 700 lbs. of equipment that we’ve hauled halfway around the world. Our first interview of Losing Sacred Ground was with Mikhail Shishin, a pensive professor of cultural anthropology and philosophy in Barnaul. He also is the committed leader of a determined group of Russians and Altaians that have formed The Fund for the 21st Century Altai, an NGO that works to educate Russians and the international community about the unique culture and environment of the Altai.

Speaking of the rapid development going on in Altai — including the proposed natural gas pipeline that Russia plans to build across the Ukok Plateau to China — Mikhail struck a somber but rational note: “It seems to me that we’ve reached a point in Altai when we need to balance everything very carefully. We can either have a world where everything is homogenously globalized, where pipelines are everywhere, roads are everywhere, and people move freely, or we can set aside certain places, places that preserve culture and spirituality, places where water remains and where enormous glaciers are reservoirs for all humanity. The taiga is here, where the air is regenerated and we receive oxygen – perhaps this is more important?”