Russia with love

BBC2, 9pm SIMON Reeve is standing on top of a snow-capped mountain next to an erupting volcano. This is how all the best travel documentaries start.

“This is a land of utter extremes, where heaven and hell are said to collide, where ice meets fire,” the adventurer grins. “The scale of this place is just mind-blowing.”

He’s excited, and this feels epic, like the beginning of Lord of the Rings as Frodo Baggins sets out on his journey (I’m not comparing Simon to a hobbit though).

And fortunately he has a helicopter at his disposal, along with various other hardy vehicles, which makes the mammoth trek from east to west of the world’s biggest country a lot speedier.

It’s 100 years since the Russian Revolution that overthrew the rule of the tsars, so it seems like an appropriate time to investigate this largely mysterious country.

“It’s a country that is more diverse, more challenging and more surprising than I ever imagined,” Simon says.

But we’re already hooked – this is unfamiliar territory and Simon is an engaging guide.

And the locals, from reindeer herders to Cossack law enforcers, make for fascinating viewing, all alongside extra tension as the film crew are repeatedly followed by the Russian authorities.

Almost immediately, as they begin in the eastern region of Kamchatka, there’s a run-in with the local police outside the port of Vladivostok. They are suspicious and unwelcoming.

But aside from nearly being banged up for the night in a Russian jail, Simon also meets the herders making a living in temperatures as low as -30C, and samples their fish tea.

Then, passing through the Boreal Forest, Simon meets a conservationist who runs a sanctuary to protect an endangered and iconic Russian predator – the Amur tiger.