The present paper suggests some possible lines of historical analysis of oral testimony. A large collection of oral history interviews, which started in the north-east of the Moscow region in 1977 and continued up to this moment, is considered as a valuable source which permits reflections on the totality of methods used. The article explores the ways in which the long-living residents of the area recall their past and particular sites in their natural environment. The amount of information evoked alongside with the manner of verbal organization of past experience are proposed for investigation. While paying attention to patterns both in individual and generational lifespan, the author highlights the importance of looking at oral accounts in the light of individual vs collective memory properties. The essay aims at opening discussion of validity and chronological limits of memory of modern rural communities in central Russia.