To date, we do not yet know how many forests the Russian state possessed during its formation, at least within one European part of the country. History has left us with no convincing evidence of the past in either forested or treeless areas. It was, in particular, not clear whether continuous forests existed earlier in the steppe strip in large spaces or whether it was forever treeless. This issue has received some solution only recently, thanks mainly to the development and application of new scientific disciplines: paleogeography and paleobotany. Pollen analysis played the most prominent role in this. Applying it, our researchers gave abundant material for conclusions about the relationship between the forest and the steppe in historical lighting.