Evanara, Yup. Russia comes from "Rus" a tribe of Swedish Vikings who opened trade routes from lake Malaren to the Black and Caspian Seas via the river systems. Russia was known to them as Gardariki (land of walled towns): because of the hostile tribes, they had to fortify their trading posts. Novgorod and Kiev were two of the towns they founded. Once you have a fortified site, people tend to accumulate near it. There are fences and outbuildings in northern Russia which look exactly like the ones in northern Scandinavia. In Russia, they had more types of wood to choose from, and sometimes used as many as 5 types in a single dwelling. Larch is nearly waterproof, so it was used near the ground and in places under the roof where water could collect. Pine is easily carved, and was used for shutters and decorative elements. Aspen turns silvery and was used on onion domes for the shimmery effect. I have 2 books which are good references. "The Wooden Architecture of Russia" by Opolovnikov (father and daughter team) has photos of houses, fortifications, bridges, churches, and some sketches and floorplans and interior shots. "Russian Houses" by Gaynor/Goldstein/Haavisto is much more modern, but there are photos of some of the "Slavic Revival" dwellings. I photographed one here in California which was gorgeously detailed: unpainted wood, but carved everywhere. You might see if your local library has them. I've got a Wednesday project deadline and a computer which is acting up, but if you want to go this route, I'll come up with some scans for you. Carolly