Research Station Samoylov Island

IEEC “Istomino” is located in the southwestern part of the delta of the Selenga River in the village Istomino. The nearest towns are Kabansk (30 km) and Ulan-Ude (150 km).

IEEC “Istomino” was founded in 2001 in the village Istomino on the shore of Lake Baikal in the Selenga River Delta, and officially opened on 30 April. The station consists of a comfortable two-store brick building (615 m2, seven double rooms and two rooms each with eight beds, a conference hall for 50 people equipped with modern communication facilities, offices, library, a dining room for 60 people, a hydro-chemical laboratory, an outdoor kitchen for 40 people, sauna and outdoor shower, a warm garage for 6 cars, storage facilities for equipment, an automatic meteorological station, three cars, three motor boats, and a greenhouse.

The centre is situated close to Lake Baikal and a unique freshwater delta, included in the list of the Ramsar Convention of wetland ecosystems. Selenga River Delta is the habitat of the Baikal fish fauna (sturgeon, cisco, whitefish, grayling, and carp) and many migratory bird species from North Eurasia.

The station is located close to several small villages, where the population is engaged in fishing. The ethnic origin of the general population is Russian and Buryats.

IEEC “Istomino” is accessible from Ulan-Ude (150 km) and Irkutsk (350 km) by car/bus. International airports are located in ­Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk.