01
August
2009
Prime Minister of Russia V. V. Putin made a submersion to the bottom Lake Baikal as part of “Mir” on Baikal" expedition
The manned submersibles “Mir” staged another series of
submersion in Southern Baikal on August 1. The Mir-1 manned
submersible’s crew included Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,
Chairman of the Technical Board of the Fund for Protection of Lake
Baikal Anatoly Sagalevich, and the pilot Viktor Nishcheta.
Completing the submersion on board of the manned submersible Mir-2
were: Chairman of the Guardianship Board of the Fund for Protection
of Lake Baikal Mikhail Slipenchuk, the pilot Yevgeny Chernyayev,
and All-Russia State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK) staff
member Ilya Bernadsky.
The submersions lasted for about four hours, allowing the Mir-1
craft to reach a depth of 1,395 meters.
Speaking from on board the Metropoliya special-purpose ship, V. V.
Putin shared his impressions about the submersion. “These are
special feelings, special sensations. What I saw impresses,
because you can finally see what Baikal is in all its splendor, in
all its grandeur with your own eyes,” he noted.
According to V. V. Putin, he observed no changes in Lake Baikal’s
environmental conditions. “But we will continue to listen to
the environmentalists’ warnings. We will be basing our
practical activities on expedience and environmental preservation
concerns, while also thinking about the people that live and work
here,” the prime minister underscored.
