Posted:
14.02.2025 13:35:48
Master of the forest
The director of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve — about how he built his house with his own hands and foraged for berries with a bear
The Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve has recently celebrated its centenary. This unique conservation complex, with a team of around five hundred employees, has been led by Andrei Prokoshin for the past fourteen years. For him, it is not just a workplace but a home where he is a happy husband and a caring father of many children.
Andrei Prokoshin, director at Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve 
— Our family lived in Novogrudok District of Grodno Region, right next to the forest. I spent all my free time there gathering mushrooms and berries with my brother, sister, and friends. Once, we found a flycatcher nestling that had fallen from its nest. We brought it home and raised it over the summer. So, the desire to care for all living things and protect them comes from my childhood. My love for nature also influenced my choice of profession. In 1993, I graduated from the forestry faculty of the Belarusian Technological Institute named after S. M. Kirov and have never strayed from forestry since.
— Do you live right in the reserve?
— When I arrived here in 2011, I lived in staff accommodation. Later, I was allocated a plot in the centre of the reserve, in Domzheritsy. In three and a half years, I built a house of 90 square metres. I would get up at five in the morning and spend a couple of hours on construction before the morning meeting. After work, I would return and work on the site until one in the morning. I did everything myself. The children have grown up now; they find the children’s room too small, so I am currently adding a second floor. It takes just five minutes to walk from home to work at a fast pace.
Centre of reserve — Domzheritsy village in Lepel District— How does your wife Diana feel about your busy schedule?
— She understands, as we are quite similar. She promotes tourism in the nature reserve. We both love this place and work with full dedication. Over our 12 years of marriage, we have learnt to find compromises. My wife is a gentle force, but in critical situations, the final word is mine.
— What do you consider most important in raising children?
— Instilling a love for hard work. We have a hectare of land and a large farm. We keep rabbits, pigs, bees, and chickens, and we take care of them together with the children. As a family, we plant potatoes, sow grains and green manures for the bees — phacelia and buckwheat. We work on the tractor, mow, and dry hay. We do everything together. Children who are accustomed to work will not go astray.
— You probably relax in nature?
— Yes, I’m into fishing. Interestingly, the children enjoy the process, while my wife just likes the get-together. We can organise a picnic by the river, cook fish soup, and roast salo [salt-cured slabs of pork fat with thin layers of meat] and bread over the fire. If we go far out on the boat for an overnight fishing trip, Diana stays home with the younger children. For me, relaxation is the nature reserve.
Large Prokoshin family works and relaxes together— What are your current work concerns?
— We are modernising the hotel business, planning to expand the woodworking production, reconstruct the ecological education centre, renovate the administrative building, create a museum of nature conservation, and set up an outdoor cinema. As you can see, the plans are grandiose.
— We have chosen a larger venue. We have invited the Russian rock band KnyaZz from Saint Petersburg. In February, we launch an advertising campaign and start ticket sales. We have come up with a new idea: the earlier you buy a ticket, the cheaper it will be. We will provide transfers from regional centres in Belarus and Minsk. As usual, we are preparing interesting shows and other attractions.
— This season, the nature reserve will offer tourists an intriguing option: to stay in a house with a stove, a well, and a small farm. Do you think people will find this appealing?
— Absolutely! Especially city dwellers — it’s something unusual for them. Those who love authenticity and seek a calm, measured rest in nature will definitely come. By the way, we have much to boast about in tourism. In 2011, when I arrived here, the reserve welcomed 30,000 visitors in a year, and in 2024, we expect over 100,000.
— Why is it essential to visit the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve?
— At the very least, because only here in the wild can you see a bear. Once, Diana and I were picking berries. I noticed a bear approaching her, but she was so engrossed in the activity that she did not pay attention. To scare the animal away, I clapped my hands and the bear immediately ran off. My wife did not notice a thing.
There have been various incidents, but throughout the history of the reserve, not a single case of conflict between bears and humans has been recorded. This is despite the fact that our territory almost always has the highest density of these creatures. Some time ago, it was believed that more than a third of the bear population in all of Belarus resided here. Today, 77 bears live here permanently, all of which have been identified.
— How has the reserve changed over the past 100 years?
— The boundaries and competencies have expanded. Just think of how many new specialised devices, tools, and technologies scientific and technical progress has brought! In the past, a forester would patrol the grounds on horseback, inspecting everything through binoculars and measuring trees with a tree calliper. Today, we work with data from space satellites. Conservationists travel by car, motorcycle, quad bike, motorboat, and snowmobile. We use night vision goggles, drones with thermal imaging, bulletproof vests, and stun guns...
— Stun guns?
— Just in case an attack occurs.
— Have you ever had to use them?
— Never, whereas our service weapons have been helpful in dealing with poachers — for warning shots.
Back to your question, much has changed. However, the spirit of the team has remained the same. People, who have always worked here, love the reserve and what they do, understanding what they are doing and why. The aura of this love for preserving nature is passed down from generation to generation. This is unshakeable.
And everything else is changing, of course. The team is growing too. Today, we have nearly five hundred professionals, unique specialists in various fields — tourism, science, forestry, even accounting indeed. Our accounting department was the first in Belarus to implement electronic invoices for the movement of timber. As for science, we have, for example, a super-professional entomologist, Aleksandr Lukashuk. An insect has been named in his honour — the Lukashuk beetle, because he discovered it.
Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, Lepel District, Vitebsk Region
Seedlings in the nursery of Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve— This place boasts beautiful nature and fresh air, but it is far from the cities where young people traditionally aspire to go. How do you retain staff?
— We try to adhere to three principles: interesting work, a decent salary, and housing. We have built a 12-flat residential building and two 8-flat buildings. Every year, we construct one, two, or even three cottages. This year, construction of a 24-flat house will begin in Domzheritsy, of which 12 flats will be ours. There is a school, a kindergarten, a post office, a bank, and a shop here, so many university graduates choose to stay.
We have dynasties spanning several generations. In 2024, the village of Domzheritsy was included in the Village of the Future republican project. With this new status, there will be a lot of transformations, promising a prosperous future for the nature reserve.
By Yelena Alimova
Photos by Anton Stepanishchev, Aleksei Matyush, and from personal archive of publication hero
