Falconry was the exclusive preserve of the Imperial family. Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich was a particularly avid falcon hunter and had an enormous hunting team. Approximately twenty square miles of land around Moscow, off-limits for all unauthorized persons, were kept for the Tsars to hunt in. Play and Passion in Russian Fine Art. St-Petersburg. 1999. P. 307.

I liked more than just watching the hawk catch its prey; I loved everything about hunting. The dog picking up the scent of the quail, growing excited, shaking its tail and snuffling with its nose pressed to the ground. The dog slowly stealing up to the bird, becoming tenser with each passing minute. The hunter holding the hawk up on his right arm and his excited dog on a lead with his left, whistling to it, himself becoming just as excited and almost breaking into a run. The dog suddenly coming to a halt, as if frozen to the spot. The hunter calling urgently to the dog “ take, take", propelling it forwards with his foot. The quail suddenly flying up from out of nowhere , from under one's very nose, and the avaricious hawk flying after it in hot pursuit, seizing it in its talons and carrying it up into the air, before descending and landing with its prey in the field. It is impossible to observe all this and not experience pleasure. [S. Aksakov, The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson]  Play and Passion in Russian Fine Art. St-Petersburg. 1999. P. 307.