1. My knowledge of other cultures (example; Knowledge of Japanese techniques) are allowed even though I'm in the Moscow region of Russia?

2. Are you deciding on what season we arrive in or do we?  It would really suck being naked during the coldest winter months in Russia. If it is a random check than that is cool, I like random.

3. Should we start our own thread and link it here?

I think those are my last questions

Since I'm a historian with an interest in Russia, that is my culture. Narrowing that down, the region surrounding Moscow.  This is a very strong starting point for several reasons.

1. Resources; Thick forests, open plains, fresh water in the various  rivers.  Strong hunting, berries, nuts, and vegetation.

2. Overlapping cultures which complemented each other.  There were hunter-gatherers, animal handlers, a psuedo-agricultural farming, and in the eastern boundry mining for copper, tin, diamond, gold, and silver. These groups openly traded with each other.

At the same time things weren't peaches and cream.  There were predators like Brown Bear, Polar Bears, Grey Wolves, Amur Tigers, and Lynx.  Winters are cold and only provide 2 hours of light each day.  Also, to the west were rival tribes.