While on a visit to Yakutia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a quick stop in the village of Tiksi. From there he went to Samoilovsky Island to meet with the members of the Russian and German research expedition Lena 2010. Mr Putin was accompanied by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Yury Trutnev, and director of the Ust-Lensky nature reserve Alexander Gukov.
After looking over the team's research results, Mr Putin held a meeting with them. He stressed that the government will increase the funding of geological survey projects in Siberia, thus bolstering the region's economy as a whole.
The prime minister noted that the results of this research would help determine the optimal measures to develop the region's economy and assured the researchers that he will support their projects. "This is a dynamic project, and in a critical area," Mr Putin said.
read more

This Research Station is located at the southern coast of Samoylov Island (N 72°22, E 126°28) within the Lena Delta close to the Laptev Sea. The Island covers an area about 5 km2 and can be reached from Tiksi (connected by an airport with Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yakutsk) by Helicopter in about 45 minutes flight time or by ship in about 12 hour travelling time. In the past the Station served as logistic base of the Lena Delta Reserve.
The Samoylov Station consists of a large wooden main building and an extension which was added in 2005. A washing and sauna house, three small wooden storage buildings and one big ice cellar in the frozen ground complete the ensemble.
(more about Russian-German Research Station).

Alexander Frolov, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet) told the prime minister during his visit about the comprehensive research strategy being developed for all fields of weather service and related sectors.
When Mr Putin asked about the cost of implementing the strategy, Dr Frolov said that the service needs seven million roubles a year for maintenance and another six billion to restore and develop the national network of weather stations.
The prime minister requested more details on the sum Roshydromet needs through 2030. "We will come back to this later, but we need to know now what seven billion roubles a year will be spent on. Finish up your estimates and then we'll see," he said.
Dr Frolov told Mr Putin about the history of the Tiksi Observatory since it was established in 2006, and its key research areas.
He said all observatory instruments are interconnected, with all data flowing to a single computer, from which they are transmitted to St Petersburg.
read more

Main goals of the project:
- to establish a upgraded hydro-meteorological research station in Tiksi Russia with modern communications, power, laboratory and office space that will support collection long-term weather and climate grade records of the atmosphere and associated land/ocean parameters;
- to integrate the Tiksi Station measurements into international observing networks for example, the Global Atmosphere Watch, the Baseline Surface Radiation Network, the Climate Reference Network, the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost and the Micropulse Lidar Network;
- to develop a joint international science program between Russia, the U.S., Finland, Norway and other interested international partners that will contribute to the International Polar Year and beyond.

During the meeting, President Yegor Borisov of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) told Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the republic’s economy is gaining momentum and is expected to reach pre-crisis levels in early 2011. In the social sphere, the situation is steadily improving as well, he said.
read more