Lake Baikal is a unique lake of our planet.  Lake Baikal is a place of superlatives: the deepest, the oldest, the clearest, the cleanest, the highest level of biodiversity, the largest volume of fresh water in the world, and home to flora and fauna that is mostly endemic. For this reason the Baikal is on the World Natural Heritage List of Unesco.

The Baikal and the bordering area were not only territories for opening up but also were of interest for research. There was a start point of all strategically important roads to the East. This was the place where the interests of such powerful empires like Russia and China were crossing. The first path-breakers were those who discovered, opened up and join this Siberian land.

It can be distinguished the main stages of the Baikal’s discovery. The first one is related with the expeditions of the path-breakers and the Cossacks. It embraces a period from the mid of the 17th up to the beginning of the 18th century. The second stage connects with the expeditions of the Empire Academy of Sciences. This period refers to the beginning of the 18th century till the mid of the 19th century. The third one characterizes by the complex research of the region from the mid of the 19 to 1917. Later began a new period of intensive exploration and industrial exploitation of Lake Baikal.

The first mentioning about the Baikal but under the name of “Baihai” (“Sea of North”) appeared in the Chinese writing sources in 110 a.C. There is no unified opinion regarding to the origin of its name. In remote times the folks living on Lake Baikal’s banks – the Buryats, the Evenks, the Mongols, named the lake in their own words. Some authors consider the name originates from the Mongol word “Baigal” that means “rich fire”, the Chinese one “Pehai” – “Sea of the North” or from the Buryats word “Dalay-Nor” – “Saint lake”. However, the most popular version is of origin from the Turkic word “Bai-Kul” that is translated like “rich lake”.

A vast territory of Siberia has attracted Russian people from the remote times. News and rumors concerning the wealth of Siberia in peltry (sables, castors, ermines, otters, foxes), gold, silver, precious stones were making people go forward to the east. The Siberian fine furs had a high value in the 17th century and were an object of the lucrative sale in both home and external markets.

The first Russian discoverers reached the banks of the Baikal were the Cossacks headed by Kurbat Ivanov. However, the opinions of the serious researchers and specialists in local lore diverge. In some popular literature it is frequently written about the detachment of 30 Cossacks headed by Ivan Galkin that moved up-stream the Angara-river and made a winter hut up the course of the Iguirma – river. He first crossed the Baikal and left there within 17 years the Barguzinskiy ostrog. Though, more often there is mentioned the name of Kurbat Ivanov that passed across the Primorskiy Range and along the streambed of the river Sarma found himself on the lake bank opposite the Olkhon Island. For naming a new lake, the discoverers used a Buryat word “Baigaal” having changed letter “g” that is proper for the Buryat language to the more habitual in Russian language letter “k” – Baikal.  At once Kurbat Ivanov saw the economic and strategical value of the Lake. He was the first who made a rough map of the Baikal and named it “Draft of the lake Baikal and the rivers falling into”. Apart from that draft, he gathered also a lot of data about the lake fish and fur-bearing animals that lived in the coastal forests of taiga.

In order to investigate the Lake more thoroughly the detachment of the Cossacks headed by Vasiliy Kolesnikov was organized in 1644. The detachment followed from Eniseysk city with the aim to open up minefields of silver. The information about the Baikal gathered by him along with Kurbat Ivanov’s knowledge, their drafts and maps enriched a lot a geographic science with new interesting facts. In 1647 a detachment of Ivan Pohabov made a passage on the ice through the southern bank of the Baikal to Mongolia. That time Ust-Barguzin’s and Barguzin’s ostrogs were found.

From the middle of the 17th century, according to the manifesto of the empress Catherine the Great, the Old Believers with their families were made to abandon the European part of Russia. One part of them arrived in Siberia by force under escort of the soldiers and the Cossacks, and the other part came of their own accord. Siberia attracted the Old Believers by its untouched free lands, absence of landlords, tax and tribute facilities as well as the governmental assistance in their resettlement. They lived by families and, thus, they had gotten the name of “Semeyskie” (from Russian word “semiya” – family). The leader of the Old Believers, an arch-priest Avvakum, was exiled to Siberia in 1665. He crossed the Baikal on a little boat and described it in details in his book “Life of arch-priest Avvakum”. This very book is of a great value for being the first literary description of the Baikal’s nature.

Within the period from the end of the 17 century up to the beginning of the 18 century a multitude of the Baikal’s pictures were created. The most detailed and accurate one was made by the Tobolsk’s Cossack S.Remezov that published his own book of drawings “Drawing Book of Siberia”. A number of detailed and authentic information about the Baikal were made by the Russian embassies following to China. For example, the ambassador of the Russian Tsar – Spafariy visited Lake Baikal that time. He was surprised that such an enormous and beautiful lake had been poorly investigated. He was one of the first who made an attempt to tell about the Baikal giving scientifically proved ideas regarding its origin. In his notes Spafariy called the Baikal as a sea for its great dimensions. There is a lot of curious information concerning the animal and plant life, tribes living on the banks of Lake Baikal as well as many other interesting facts in Spafariy’s book “Travel of a Russian missionary Nokolay Spafariy through Siberia from Tobolsk to Nerchinsk and borders of China in 1675”.  Knowledge gathered by all the discoverers, missionaries, ambassadors and travelers became fundamental for all the future Siberia lore.

The entirely scientific investigations of the lake started only after the foundation of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In order to get authentic data of its nature and local population the Academy sent a number of expeditions to Siberia. The first one and the most important one was organized in 1724 personally by Peter’s ı order, and was headed by an outstanding scientist D. Messershmidt. The aim of that expedition consisted in gathering a huge amount of the detailed information about nature of the Baikal area or Transbaikalia, Siberian animals, birds and fish. Later the researching works went on intensively. D. Messershmidt traveled about Siberia during 10 years and wrote a voluminous account of his travel named “Observation of Siberia”.

The Great Northern Expedition was formed in 1735. Her members, among them the academicians G. Miller and I.Gmelin, spent 6 months in the Transbaikalia, visited the valleys of the rivers Ingoda, Shilka, Argun’, and made a map of that territory. I. Gmelin gathered a big collection of local flora that is of enormous scientific value even in our days. G. Miller was the first who based the scientific historiography and ethnography. The results of all the researching works carried out by G.Miller, I.Gmelin and D.Messershmidt allowed making a map “The Irkutsk province and the sea Baikal with a top of the river Lena”. This very map had been attached to the “Russian Atlas” published by the Academy of Sciences in 1745.

Within the period from 1730 up to 1740 were carried out numerous zoological and botanical investigations. A substantial contribution to the fauna researching was made namely by the Great Northern Expedition. There were distinguished and described 1.152 species of plants. The academician P.Pallas gave a first scientific description of the Baikal sponge, golomyanka fish (endemic specie of Lake Baikal), and 13 species of fish and 3 types of small crustacean. Another academician I.Georgi described thoroughly the Baikal seal (Nerpa), researched the Omul fish, and was the first who outspoke a hypothesis of the tectonic origin of Lake Baikal. Moreover, I.Georgi went boating along the lake shores and made an exact description of its coastal area.

A substantial contribution to the investigation of the Lake and foundation of some type of industry in the Baikal’s area made E.Laksman. He managed to find deposits of hydrous sulphate of sodium that allowed elaboration of the most efficient way of glass production. Then, he opened the first in Eastern Siberia glass factory in the village Taltsy that is near Irkutsk. Besides, E.Laksman discovered thermal sources of the resort-city Goryachinsk (on the eastern bank of Lake Baikal in the Buryatia Republic). He was the first who carried out the chemical test of the water there and disclosed the purpose of these sources. He created the detailed list of the granite tract stones near Kultuk, so that all the following geologists already had at their disposal the enumeration of the minerals described.

The Decembrists exiled to Siberia didn’t stay aside of the Baikal’s investigation. A former lieutenant of Navy, the Decembrist M. Kukhelbeker was engaged in measuring of the lake’s depth in the Barguzin’s bay.

A series of researches realized at the end of the 1850s were not accidental. Namely that time there was being actively elaborated a project of the telephone cable laying on the bottom of Lake Baikal. It was impracticable without a requisite knowledge of the Baikal’s relief and its properties. The lieutenant K. Kononov had been charged with the task to carry out the necessary survey.  In 1844 the first steamers were launched to the Baikal “Emperor Nikolay I” and “Heir Cesarevitch” (“cesarevitch” – heir to throne in tsarist Russia).

In the middle of the 19th century Eastern Siberia Department of the Russian Geographic Society opened in Irkutsk. The idea belonged to the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N. Murav’ov who played the most important and, it may be said, the key role in the organization of all the scientific research works both in Siberia and the Baikal. Within the period between 1869 and 1871 a scientist A. Chekanovskiy carried out the important geological and geographical researches of the Baikal on the basis of which he gave a theory of its origin that was in close accordance with the truth. In his opinion, Lake Baikal is a result of the earth’s crust gradual moving.

The accurate dimensions of the Baikal had been defined only by the end of the 19th century. There were adduced such data in the book “Physical geography of Asia” by Carl Ritter: 86 geographical miles (600 verst) length, about 80 verst maximal wide, length of the shore line 1865 verst, area of 700 square geographical miles”.  That data were far away from the real ones.

The first research stations built between 1896 and 1902 started the constant observations of the Baikal’s water level, its surface temperature and diverse meteorological surveys as well. At the same time a net of meteorological service was formed on Lake Baikal. The all-time observations of the lake’s water level continue to be carried out in our days.

At the end of the 19th century construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad began. Owing to that, the number of the varied geological as well as geographical researches increased. The academician V.Obruchev, having based on his geological observations, offered the first serious explanation of the Baikal’s flora and fauna origin. According to his opinion, the Baikal’s cavity had been formed due to the earth’s crust movements. Besides, it happened relatively not so long time ago, because if otherwise, its steep slopes would be smoothed with the wash-out processes.

The most successful year in the research works of Lake Baikal was 1900. During all the summer the Russian Geographical Society organized an expedition on fauna for the student of the Kazan University V.Garyaev. He happened to be in many places on the Baikal like Sysa Bay on Olkhon, Khyrgalte, Kher-Khushun, Ushkany Islands, Povorotnaya Bay and Kurbulikskiy Creek. V.Garyaev was especially interested in the inferior organisms inhabited in the Baikal. With special pots he was catching plankton, among that the researcher found out a great number of maritime forms. That fact verified the hypothesis on the relict type of the Baikal’s fauna.  The collections made by V. Garyaev included many new species that had not been known in science before that time. Within two years he added 117 specified earlier types of amphiposes with 50  more. The found tubular worm was of the most value as that specie exceptionally inhabited in sea.

Apart from all that hydrographical researches, the survey of the weather conditions, direction and strength of winds were held as well as a grade of humidity, cloudiness and precipitation was determined.

Realization of these works was assigned to the Department for Naval Affairs that had for an object to determine the most convenient places for the future landing-stages. The main purpose of the governmental officials consisted in composing of maps and making instructions for navigation. Already the first results of the meteorological observations revealed a number of peculiarities of Lake Baikal that had not only a scientific significance, but also a practical one. For instance, it was indicated the rapid changes in the temperature and humidity that are characteristic of the Baikal only. Moreover, there was collected information on the lake’s navigational situation, and the deep-water investigations of the lake, the measuring of the water temperature in different depths along with the soil type testing were realized that period.

In pre-revolutionary decade several expeditions more arrived to the Baikal. They discovered numerous monuments of the primitive culture. For instance, a multi-layer settlement Ulan-Khada and petroglyphic pictures on the rocks Sakhyurte (5km north of Elantsy village) and Orso had been found.

In 1928 the Baikal Limnological Station administered by G. Vereschagin had been opened on the bank of the Baikal. Afterwards, the station had been reorganized into the Limnological Institute. In order to carry on the comparative survey as well as to distinguish the Baikal’s singularities there were being investigated the other lakes and seas like the Caspian, the Aral as well as various water bodies of India and the Balkan Peninsula.

From the second middle of the 20 century the exploration of the natural resources of Lake Baikal and its industrial exploitation began intensively. It influenced negatively on the ecosystem of the lake. In 1956 started its function the Irkutsk hydro-electrical station that caused a rising of the normal water level of the Baikal by 1.2 m. It affected the lake inhabitants in a great measure: population of goby that is eaten by the Omul fish reduced considerably. Later on the southern coast of the lake had been built the Baikal’sk Pulp and Paper Plant (BPPP) that has made and continues making an irreparable harm to Lake Baikal. The plant bleaches its paper with chlorine and is discharging since 1966 in a lake of 25 million years old. The highly toxic substances in a huge amount have already been found in the plants, zooplankton and Nerpa’s fat as well. A good few of rare species of animals and plants has disappeared already. The opening of the Selenginsk Pulp and Carton Mill in 1973 at the Selenga River further increased the environmental impact. Particularly, the situation has aggravated on Olkhon. Last year the electricity has been installed there. Now, the sacred island has turned into the place of the collective pilgrimage of “savage” tourists.  For the reason of constant construction of the touristic camps at the Baikal’s shores, the ecological situation of the island and the lake as well is getting worse. It is supposed that a prompt impoverishment of the territory will cause gradual disappearance of the rare species of plants, animals and birds.

Owing to such an intensive exploitation of the natural resources of the Baikal’s basin, emerged a necessity to protect it from polluting and depletion. In order to reduce the negative consequences, the scientists have elaborated a programme named “Siberia”. It is envisaged by this programme to reorganize the plant’s function at the best environmental standards or replace it by environmental friendly alternatives. Moreover, it is planned under the “Siberia” to elaborate several measures against the air pollution, to introduce a gas fuel into the thermo-electric power stations and heating boiler-houses as well as to make the process of industrial discharges purification more centralized, particularly, in the plants of Ulan-Ude.

Unfortunately, all these plans are being putting into effect not so actively as it is wanted. The only way left is to hope for the people’s awareness of the Baikal’s uniqueness, and that it can help to protect and preserve this world’s pearl for the future generations. What is more, the diversity and unicity of the animal and plant life have converted Lake Baikal in the worldly-known monument of nature.