The upper deck of the Metropoliya special-purpose ship holds a
round table within the frameworks of The Baikal Region’s Priority
in Russia’s Asian Geopolitics workshop conference. The event
is entitled: Using the Republic of Buryatia’s Example to Attract
Investments through Special Economic Zones.
Simultaneously with this event, the Mir-1 craft submerges with a
crew that includes the correspondents and operators of All-Russia
State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK).
Russia 24 Television staff members Maria Kitayeva and Andrey
Pchelovodov became the world’s first television reporters –
hydronauts. Their impression of their three-hour submersion
into Central Baikal (some 10 kilometers off Turka) become the focal
point of a special report that features footage of the mission’s
preparation and from inside the craft itself. Reaching a
depth of 907 meters, pilot Viktor Nishcheta’s crew begins sampling
water at various levels and collecting samples of local bed
deposits.