490 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959 
Recently the government of the Russian Republic made an im- 
portant step in the protection of Arctic fauna (the polar bear, the 
reindeer, and the colonies of sea birds). 
Hunting methods that might exterminate animals en masse are 
forbidden everywhere. These include hunting from an automobile 
or from an airplane, the use of devices for the capture of large num- 
bers of birds at a time, and the capture of animals that are incapable 
of defense—molting geese, etc. Hunting birds in the spring is for- 
bidden in many areas, including the Russian Federated Republic and 
the Ukraine. Some other republics protect wintering birds along 
the shores of the Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan). 
Fish protection is carried out primarily by careful control of fishing 
(dates, gear, safeguards for fish not of legal size, etc.), by local pro- 
tection—controlling water systems and certain species; and, finally, 
by a series of measures designed to bring about the best possible re- 
production of fish. The battle against water pollution also enters the 
picture here. 
As I have already mentioned, the system of fauna protection is 
essentially made up of the conservation and improvement of condi- 
tions in the natural surroundings. For example, the forests, with 
their multiple value taken into consideration (the conservation of 
water sources, the protection afforded cultivated land, commercial use, 
etc.), are divided into three categories: (1) Forest sanctuaries, na- 
tional parks, forests protecting river sources, and cultivated areas, and 
forests around cities and industrial centers as well as the woods of the 
Siberian steppes; all these are strictly protected and carefully culti- 
vated. (2) Forests that undergo very limited exploitation, with 
scientific reforestation. (8) Forests far from centers of population 
and from industrial centers, situated to the north and northeast of the 
country in European Russia and in Siberia; they are more fully ex- 
ploited following previously established plans. The division of 
forests into categories is based upon scientific knowledge with the aim 
of conserving the timber resources of the U.S.S.R. The importance 
of this system in problems of fauna conservation is evident. 
Finally, some words on the introduction and the reintroduction of 
animals, seen from the point of view of conservation and the protec- 
tion of nature. The history of such projects before 1917 is not long. 
Toward the middle of the 17th century, there were attempts to in- 
troduce the Siberian silver fox into the woods of the Moscow region. 
G. Steller in 1751 suggested the introduction of the sea otter outside 
of its natural range. In 1886 five beavers from White Russia were 
taken to Ramon, in the governmental district of Voronezh; already 
by 1901 and 1907 surplus beavers from Ramon were introduced to new 
areas. In 1892 seven wild rabbits were introduced near Kherson, on 
