Rasputitsa Totally Explained

Everything about The Rasputitsa totally explained

The rasputitsa is the biannual season when roads become impassable in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The word may be translated as "quagmire season" because during this period the large flatlands become extremely muddy and marshy, and all non-paved roads are affected too. The term applies both to the season ("spring rasputitsa" and "autumn rasputitsa") and to the state of the roads.
   The rasputitsa occurs most strongly in the spring due to the melting snow but it recurs in the fall due to the heavy rains.
   Rasputitsa is well known as a great defensive advantage in wartime. Napoleon counted Russia's mud as a very important hindrance.
   During the Second World War the month-long muddy period slowed down the German advance during the Battle of Moscow, and may have helped save the Soviet capital.
   The corresponding term in Finnish is rospuutto, denoting "roadlessness". All non-paved roads become mud. In the Archipelago the period is known as kelirikko (literally "weather break"), implying the ice is too thin to bear people or vehicles, but too hard to be passed through by seagoing vessels not equipped with icebreaker bows. The only practicable vehicles during the kelirikko are hovercraft. Unlike in Russia, in Finland both rospuutto and kelirikko occur only in Spring when the snow melts and the vernal rains turn from snow into water.

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