(Source: http://www.kaliningradgid.ru/nature)

 Russia's first Swamp reserve Polistovsky was founded in 1994 to protect the unique Polistov-Lovatskaya swamp system, one of the largest and best preserved in Europe. Its age is 10 thousand years.

There are many small rivers, streams and lakes. Rare birds, listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation, build their nests here: white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, osprey, black stork, south golden plover, black-throated loon, crane and gray shrike. It is home to Europe's largest population of Curlew (about 600 pairs).

There are representatives of 36 species of animals, including rare species - common noctule, flying squirrel and the European mink among the mammals in the area of nature reserve and its protective zone. Among big animals it is home for elk, roe deer, wild boar, wolf, trot and bear. The largest basin in the nature reserve is Polisto Lake. Its length is about 10 km, maximum width is 7 km and the average depth is 1,5 m. The lake is flowing.

Ilmen Lake flows out of the Polisto Lake.  The water in the lake Polisto is clean and slightly mineralized. The banks are overgrown with reeds and rushes. The lake is home to bass, pike, perch, bream, bleak, silver bream, sabre fish, blue bream, roach, redeye, ide, burbot and catfish. Polisto is the only reservoir of the Pskov region, which is home to sabrefish (freshwater herring) and one of few reservoirs where the blue bream inhabits. There are crayfishes in the head reach of the Polist that today is a rarity in the Pskov region.