The Russian forest was bleak, dark and unforgiving. It was an hour past midnight in this timeless land where the fox, the rabbit and the bear all hid, shivering in the cold wind, waiting for the warmth of the summer sun to return. Even for what was expected of a typical Russian winter, this particular night proved to be brutally cold. An outsider passing through the dense stands of trees would never cease to wonder with amazement how the little...