--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Russian forests crash down under the axe…" description: "\"Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are laid waste, rivers grow shallow and dry..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/anton-chekhov-298_animal_russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe_426435.jpg" --- # Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of… ![“Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are laid waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever… Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not…” quote by Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/anton-chekhov-298_animal_russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe_426435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/anton-chekhov-298_animal_russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe_426435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/anton-chekhov-298_animal_russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe_426435.jpg) > “Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are laid waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever… Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier.” [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage laments humanity's destructive impact on forests, wildlife, and climate, urging a reevaluation of creative responsibility. **In simple terms:** We destroy nature instead of nurturing it. Key Takeaway Adopt sustainable practices to protect ecosystems. Themes environment destruction responsibility creativity climate change Mood urgent somber hopeful Type activist educational When to use this quote - environmental activism - policy making - educational programs - community gardening - wildlife restoration projects Key Concepts sustainability ethics anthropocene conservation human impact Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take to reduce environmental harm? - How can societies balance development with conservation? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex economic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Billions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/billions/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-ruined-3769212/) [Crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crash/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyed/) [Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear/) [Dry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry/) [Dry up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry-up/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Fewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fewer/) [Fewer Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fewer-forests-3769210/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Landscapes Disappearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscapes-disappearing-3769211/) [Marvelous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marvelous/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Ruined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruined/) [Shallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shallow/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Trees Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees-dying-3769213/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Wildlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildlife/) [Wildlife Extinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wildlife-extinct-3769214/) ## Related quotes > [“Many of you remember when Dutch Elm disease swept the East Coast. People in big cities saw the trees die but it didn’t register,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/many-of-you-remember-when-dutch-elm-disease-swept-the-east-coast/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/man-has-been-endowed-with-reason-with-the-power-to-create-so-that-he/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Since it is to the advantage of the wage-payer to pay as little as possible, even well-paid labor will have no more than what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/since-it-is-to-the-advantage-of-the-wage-payer-to-pay-as-little-as/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it, by vigorously willing to have it ... Peace is a consciousness of springs too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/no-one-can-get-inner-peace-by-pouncing-on-it-by-vigorously-willing-to/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [Emotional sympathies just dry up and die as we change, and they are as mysterious in friendship as in love. It's a relationship like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/emotional-sympathies-just-dry-up-and-die-as-we-change-and-they-are-as/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [I love you so much that it feels like the universe will explode, for as long as it takes for the oceans to dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/youngjae/i-love-you-so-much-that-it-feels-like-the-universe-will-explode-for/) [Youngjae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/youngjae/) > [If you are weak, dependent upon others, inclined to allow yourself to be dominated by opinion, to take root wherever you see a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/if-you-are-weak-dependent-upon-others-inclined-to-allow-yourself-to/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [Many books serve merely to show how many ways there are of being wrong, and how far astray you yourself would go if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/many-books-serve-merely-to-show-how-many-ways-there-are-of-being/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [From the moment it is touched, the heart cannot dry up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-bourdaloue/from-the-moment-it-is-touched-the-heart-cannot-dry-up/) [Louis Bourdaloue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-bourdaloue/) > [There is merely bad luck in not being loved; there is misfortune in not loving. All of us, today, are dying of this misfortune.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-merely-bad-luck-in-not-being-loved-there-is-misfortune-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Children have an anxious concern for living beings, and the satisfaction of this instinct fills them with delight. It is therefore easy to interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/children-have-an-anxious-concern-for-living-beings-and-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [The Guide sang: The new age, the new art, the new ethic and thought, And fools crying, Because it has begun It will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-guide-sang-the-new-age-the-new-art-the-new-ethic-and-thought-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Wine give strenght to weary men. and And wine can of their wits the wise beguile. Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/wine-give-strenght-to-weary-men-and-and-wine-can-of-their-wits-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The fun, joy, and humor dry up in a relationship when one of the partners is swimming in gin. To my way of thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-rogers/the-fun-joy-and-humor-dry-up-in-a-relationship-when-one-of-the/) [Ginger Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-rogers/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) ## More by Anton Chekhov > [“Using vile means to attain worthy ends makes the ends themselves vile. Let them ride on the backs of doctors and medical assistants, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/using-vile-means-to-attain-worthy-ends-makes-the-ends-themselves-vile/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-ever-my-life-can-be-of-any-use-to-you-come-and-claim-it/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [There are still many more days of failure ahead, whole seasons of failure, things will go terribly wrong, you will have huge disappointments ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/there-are-still-many-more-days-of-failure-ahead-whole-seasons-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“But here was all the timorousness and angularity of inexperienced youth, a feeling of awkwardness, and an impression of bewilderment, as if someone had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/but-here-was-all-the-timorousness-and-angularity-of-inexperienced/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“At the water's edge, barrels of pitch blazed like huge bonfires. Their reflection, crimson as the rising moon, crept to meet us in long,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/at-the-water-s-edge-barrels-of-pitch-blazed-like-huge-bonfires-their/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Anna Petrovna: Never talk to women about your own good qualities. Let them find out for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/anna-petrovna-never-talk-to-women-about-your-own-good-qualities-let/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [While you're playing cards with a regular guy or having a bite to eat with him, he seems a peaceable, good-humoured and not entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/while-you-re-playing-cards-with-a-regular-guy-or-having-a-bite-to-eat/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Lebedev: France has a clear and defined policy... The French know what they want. They just want to wipe out the Krauts, finish, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/lebedev-france-has-a-clear-and-defined-policy-the-french-know-what/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“My holy of holies are the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love, and the most absolute freedom - freedom from force and falsity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/my-holy-of-holies-are-the-human-body-health-intelligence-talent/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“What we have, we do not treasure,” and what’s more we do not even love it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/what-we-have-we-do-not-treasure-and-what-s-more-we-do-not-even-love-it/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [No matter how corrupt and unjust a convict may be, he loves fairness more than anything else. If the people placed over him are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/no-matter-how-corrupt-and-unjust-a-convict-may-be-he-loves-fairness/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“It is my opinion that every woman can be a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/it-is-my-opinion-that-every-woman-can-be-a-writer/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/his-reading-suggested-a-man-swimming-in-the-sea-among-the-wreckage-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Experience often repeated, truly bitter experience, had taught him long ago that with decent people, especially Moscow people -- always slow to move and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/experience-often-repeated-truly-bitter-experience-had-taught-him-long/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“Why do you always wear black?” "I am mourning for my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/why-do-you-always-wear-black-i-am-mourning-for-my-life/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) [Explore all 679 Anton Chekhov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are laid waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever… Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anton Chekhov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe-billions-of-trees-are-dying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe-billions-of-trees-are-dying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/anton-chekhov-298_animal_russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe_426435.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/anton-chekhov-298_animal_russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe_426435.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/anton-chekhov-298_animal_russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe_426435.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds…” — Anton Chekhov", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anton Chekhov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Russian forests crash down under the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe-billions-of-trees-are-dying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/russian-forests-crash-down-under-the-axe-billions-of-trees-are-dying/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```