Lake Baikal (/baɪˈkɑːl, -ˈkæl/;[4] Russian:о́зеро Байка́л, tr.Ozero Baykal,IPA:[ˈozʲɪrə bɐjˈkaɫ]; Buryat: Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur; Mongolian: Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur, etymologically meaning, in Mongolian, "the Nature Lake")[5] is a rift lake in Russia, located in southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast.
Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing 22–23% of the world's fresh surface water.[3][6][7] With 23,615.39km3 (5,670cumi) of fresh water,[1] it contains more water than the North American Great Lakes combined.[8] With a maximum depth of 1,642m (5,387ft),[1] Baikal is the world's deepest lake.[9] It is considered among the world's clearest[10] lakes and is considered the world's oldest lake[11] – at 25–30 million years.[12][13] It is the seventh-largest lake in the world by surface area.
Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley, having the typical long, crescent shape with a surface area of 31,722km2 (12,248sqmi). Baikal is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which exist nowhere else in the world. The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.[14] It is also home to Buryat tribes who reside on the eastern side of Lake Baikal,[15][16] raising goats, camels, cattle, sheep, and horses,[16] where the mean temperature varies from a winter minimum of −19°C (−2°F) to a summer maximum of 14°C (57°F).[17]
The region to the east of Lake Baikal is referred to as Transbaikalia, and the loosely defined region around the lake is sometimes known as simply Baikalia.
Geography and hydrography

Lake Baikal is in a rift valley, created by the Baikal Rift Zone, where the Earth's crust is slowly pulling apart.[18] At 636km (395mi) long and 79km (49mi) wide, Lake Baikal has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in Asia, at 31,722km2 (12,248sqmi), and is the deepest lake in the world at 1,642m (5,387ft). The bottom of the lake is 1,186.5m (3,893ft) below sea level, but below this lies some 7km (4.3mi) of sediment, placing the rift floor some 8–11km (5.0–6.8mi) below the surface, the deepest continental rift on Earth.[18] In geological terms, the rift is young and active – it widens about 2cm (0.8in) per year. The fault zone is also seismically active; hot springs occur in the area and notable earthquakes happen every few years. The lake is divided into three basins: North, Central, and South, with depths about 900m (3,000ft), 1,600m (5,200ft), and 1,400m (4,600ft), respectively. Fault-controlled accommodation zones rising to depths about 300m (980ft) separate the basins. The North and Central basins are separated by Academician Ridge, while the area around the Selenga Delta and the Buguldeika Saddle separates the Central and South basins. The lake drains into the Angara tributary of the Yenisei. Notable landforms include Cape Ryty on Baikal's northwest coast.
Baikal's age is estimated at 25–30 million years, making it the most ancient lake in geological history.[12][13] It is unique among large, high-latitude lakes, as its sediments have not been scoured by overriding continental ice sheets. Russian, U.S., and Japanese cooperative studies of deep-drilling core sediments in the 1990s provide a detailed record of climatic variation over the past 6.7 million years.[19][20] Longer and deeper sediment cores are expected in the near future. Lake Baikal is the only confined freshwater lake in which direct and indirect evidence of gas hydrates exists.[21][22][23]
The lake is completely surrounded by mountains. The Baikal Mountains on the north shore, the Barguzin Range on the northeastern shore, and the taiga are technically protected as a national park. It contains 27 islands; the largest, Olkhon, is 72km (45mi) long and is the third-largest lake-bound island in the world. The lake is fed by as many as 330 inflowing rivers.[24] The main ones draining directly into Baikal are the Selenga River, the Barguzin River, the Upper Angara River, the Turka River, the Sarma River, and the Snezhnaya River. It is drained through a single outlet, the Angara River.

Cliffs on Olkhon Island
A sandy beach in the Kabansky District
Mountains on the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula, Zabaykalsky National Park
Turka River at its mouth before joining Lake Baikal

Water characteristics

Baikal is one of the clearest lakes in the world.[10] During the winter in open sections the water transparency can be as much as 30–40m (100–130ft), but during the summer it is typically 5–8m (15–25ft).[25] Baikal is rich in oxygen, even in deep sections,[25] which separates it from distinctly stratified bodies of water such as Lake Tanganyika and the Black Sea.[26][27]
In Lake Baikal, the water temperature varies significantly depending on location, depth, and time of the year. During the winter and spring, the surface freezes for 4–5 months; from early January to May–June (latest in the north), the entire lake surface is covered in ice.[28] On average, the ice reaches a thickness of 0.5to 1.4m (1.6–4.6ft),[29] but in some places with hummocks, it can be more than two metres (6.6ft).[28] During this period, the temperature slowly increases with depth in the lake, being coldest near the ice-covered surface at around freezing, and reaching about 3.5–3.8°C (38.3–38.8°F) at a depth of 200–250m (660–820ft).[30] After the surface ice breaks up, the surface water is slowly warmed up by the sun, and in May–June, the upper 300m (980ft) or so becomes homothermic (same temperature throughout) at around 4°C (39°F) because of water mixing.[25][30] The sun continues to heat up the surface layer, and at the peak in August can reach up to about 16°C (61°F) in the main sections[30] and 20–24°C (68–75°F) in shallow bays in the southern half of the lake.[25][31] During this time, the pattern is inverted compared to the winter and spring, as the water temperature falls with increasing depth. As the autumn begins, the surface temperature falls again and a second homothermic period at around 4°C (39°F) of the upper circa 300m (980ft) occurs in October–November.[25][30] In the deepest parts of the lake, from about 300m (980ft), the temperature is very stable at 3.1–3.4°C (37.6–38.1°F) with only minor annual variations.[30]
The average surface temperature has risen by almost 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) in the last 50 years, resulting in a shorter period where the lake is covered by ice.[13] At some locations, hydrothermal vents with water that is about 50°C (122°F) have been found. These are mostly in deep water, but locally have also been found in relatively shallow water. They have very little effect on the lake's temperature because of its huge volume.[30]
Stormy weather on the lake is common, especially during the summer and fall, and can result in waves as high as 4.5m (15ft).[25]

Lake Baikal as seen from the OrbView-2 satellite
Spring ice melt underway on Lake Baikal, on 4 May: Notice the ice-covered north, while much of the south already is ice-free.
Circle of thin ice, diameter of 4.4km (2.7mi) at the lake's southern tip, probably caused by convection
Delta of the Selenga River, Baikal's main tributary

Fauna and flora

Lake Baikal is rich in biodiversity. It hosts more than 1,000 species of plants and 2,500 species of animals based on current knowledge, but the actual figures for both groups are believed to be significantly higher.[25][32] More than 80% of the animals are endemic.[32]
Flora
The watershed of Lake Baikal has numerous floral species represented. The marsh thistle (Cirsium palustre) is found here at the eastern limit of its geographic range.[33]
Submerged macrophytic vascular plants are mostly absent, except in some shallow bays along the shores of Lake Baikal.[34] More than 85 species of submerged macrophytes have been recorded, including genera such as Ceratophyllum, Myriophyllum, Potamogeton, and Sparganium.[31] The invasive species Elodea canadensis was introduced to the lake in the 1950s.[34] Instead of vascular plants, aquatic flora is often dominated by several green algae species, notably Draparnaldioides, Tetraspora, and Ulothrix in water shallower than 20m (65ft); although Aegagrophila, Cladophora, and Draparnaldioides may occur deeper than 30m (100ft).[34] Except for Ulothrix, there are endemic Baikal species in all these green algae genera.[34] More than 400 diatom species, both benthic and planktonic, are found in the lake, and about half of these are endemic to Baikal; however, significant taxonomic uncertainties remain for this group.[34]
Mammals
The Baikal seal or nerpa (Pusa sibirica) is found throughout Lake Baikal.[35] It is one of only three entirely freshwater seal populations in the world, the other two being subspecies of ringed seals.
A wide range of land mammals can be found in the habitats around the lake, such as Eurasian brown bear, Eurasian wolf, red fox, sable, stoat, elk, Siberian red deer, reindeer, Siberian roe deer, Siberian musk deer, wild boar, red squirrel, Siberian chipmunk, marmot, lemming, and Alpine hare.[36] Until the Early Middle Ages, the wisent (European bison) was present near the lake, which was the easternmost part of its range.[37]
Birds

There are 236 species of birds that inhabit Lake Baikal, 29 of which are waterfowl.[38]
Fish

Fewer than 65 native fish species occur in the lake basin, but more than half of these are endemic.[25][41] The families Abyssocottidae (deep-water sculpins), Comephoridae (golomyankas or Baikal oilfish), and Cottocomephoridae (Baikal sculpins) are entirely restricted to the lake basin.[25][42] All these are part of the Cottoidea and are typically less than 20cm (8in) long.[34] Of particular note are the two species of golomyanka (Comephorus baicalensis and C. dybowskii). These long-finned, translucent fish typically live in open water at depths of 100–500m (330–1,640ft), but occur both shallower and much deeper. Together with certain abyssocottid sculpins, they are the deepest living freshwater fish in the world, occurring to near the bottom of Lake Baikal.[43] The golomyankas are the primary prey of the Baikal seal and represent the largest fish biomass in the lake.[44] Beyond members of Cottoidea, there are few endemic fish species in the lake basin.[25][41]

The most important local species for fisheries is the omul (Coregonus migratorius), an endemic whitefish.[25] It is caught, smoked, and then sold widely in markets around the lake. Also, a second endemic whitefish inhabits the lake, C. baicalensis.[45] The Baikal black grayling (Thymallus baicalensis), Baikal white grayling (T. brevipinnis), and Baikal sturgeon (Acipenser baerii baicalensis) are other important species with commercial value. They are also endemic to the Lake Baikal basin.[39][40][46][47]
Invertebrates
The lake hosts a rich endemic fauna of invertebrates. The copepod Epischura baikalensis is endemic to Lake Baikal and the dominating zooplankton species there, making up 80 to 90% of total biomass.[48] It is estimated that the epischurans filter as much as a thousand cubic kilometers of water a year, or the lake’s entire volume every twenty-three years.[49]
Among the most diverse invertebrate groups are the amphipod and ostracod crustaceans, freshwater snails, annelid worms and turbellarian worms:
Amphipod and ostracod crustaceans

More than 350 species and subspecies of amphipods are endemic to the lake.[32] They are exceptionally diverse in ecology and appearance, ranging from the pelagic Macrohectopus to the relatively large deep-water Abyssogammarus and Garjajewia, the tiny herbivorous Micruropus, and the parasitic Pachyschesis (parasitic on other amphipods).[50] The "gigantism" of some Baikal amphipods, which has been compared to that seen in Antarctic amphipods, has been linked to the high level of dissolved oxygen in the lake.[51] Among the "giants" are several species of spiny Acanthogammarus and Brachyuropus (Acanthogammaridae) found at both shallow and deep depths.[52] These conspicuous and common amphipods are essentially carnivores (will also take detritus), and can reach a body length up to 7cm (2.8in).[50][52]
Similar to another ancient lake, Tanganyika, Baikal is a center for ostracod diversity. About 90% of the Lake Baikal ostracods are endemic,[53] meaning that there are c. 200 endemic species.[54] This makes it the second-most diverse group of crustacean in the lake, after the amphipods.[53] The vast majority of the Baikal ostracods belong in the families Candonidae (more than 100 described species) and Cytherideidae (about 50 described species),[53][55] but genetic studies indicate that the true diversity in at least the latter family has been heavily underestimated.[56] The morphology of the Baikal ostracods is highly diverse.[53]
Snails and bivalves
As of 2006, almost 150 freshwater snails are known from Lake Baikal, including 117 endemic species from the subfamilies Baicaliinae (part of the Amnicolidae) and Benedictiinae (part of the Lithoglyphidae), and the families Planorbidae and Valvatidae.[57] All endemics have been recorded between 20 and 30m (66 and 98ft), but the majority mainly live at shallower depths.[57] About 30 freshwater snail species can be seen deeper than 100m (330ft), which represents the approximate limit of the sunlight zone, but only 10 are truly deepwater species.[57] In general, Baikal snails are thin-shelled and small. Two of the most common species are Benedictia baicalensis and Megalovalvata baicalensis.[58] Bivalve diversity is lower with more than 30 species; about half of these, all in the families Euglesidae, Pisidiidae, and Sphaeriidae, are endemic (the only other family in the lake is the Unionidae with a single nonendemic species).[58][59] The endemic bivalves are mainly found in shallows, with few species from deep water.[60]
Aquatic worms
With almost 200 described species, including more than 160 endemics, the center of diversity for aquatic freshwater oligochaetes is Lake Baikal.[61] A smaller number of other freshwater annelids is known: 30 species of leeches (Hirudinea),[62] and 4 polychaetes.[61] Several hundred species of nematodes are known from the lake, but a large percentage of these are undescribed.[61]
More than 140 endemic flatworm (Plathelminthes) species are in Lake Baikal, where they occur on a wide range of bottom types.[63] Most of the flatworms are predatory, and some are relatively brightly marked. They are often very abundant in shallow waters, where they are typically less than 2cm (1in) long, but in deeper parts of the lake, the largest, Baikaloplana valida, can reach up to 30cm (1ft) when outstretched.[34][63]
Sponges

At least 18 species of sponges occur in the lake,[64] including 14 species from the endemic family Lubomirskiidae (the remaining are from the nonendemic family Spongillidae).[65] In the nearshore regions of Baikal, the largest benthic biomass is sponges.[64] Lubomirskia baicalensis, Baikalospongia bacillifera, and B. intermedia are unusually large for freshwater sponges and can reach 1m (3.3ft) or more.[64][66] These three are also the most common sponges in the lake.[64] While the Baikalospongia species typically have encrusting or carpet-like structures, L. baikalensis often has branching structures and in areas where common may form underwater "forests".[67] Most sponges in the lake are typically green when alive because of symbiotic chlorophytes (zoochlorella), but can also be brownish or yellowish.[68]
History
The Baikal area, sometimes known as Baikalia, has a long history of human habitation. An early known tribe in the area was the Kurykans.
Located in the former northern territory of the Xiongnu confederation, Lake Baikal is one site of the Han–Xiongnu War, where the armies of the Han dynasty pursued and defeated the Xiongnu forces from the second century BC to the first century AD. They recorded that the lake was a "huge sea" (hanhai) and designated it the North Sea (Běihǎi) of the semimythical Four Seas.[69] The Kurykans, a Siberian tribe who inhabited the area in the sixth century, gave it a name that translates to "much water". Later on, it was called "natural lake" (Baygal nuur) by the Buryats and "rich lake" (Bay göl) by the Yakuts.[70] Little was known to Europeans about the lake until Russia expanded into the area in the 17th century. The first Russian explorer to reach Lake Baikal was Kurbat Ivanov in 1643.[71]
Russian expansion into the Buryat area around Lake Baikal[72] in 1628–58 was part of the Russian conquest of Siberia. It was done first by following the Angara River upstream from Yeniseysk (founded 1619) and later by moving south from the Lena River. Russians first heard of the Buryats in 1609 at Tomsk. According to folktales related a century after the fact, in 1623, Demid Pyanda, who may have been the first Russian to reach the Lena, crossed from the upper Lena to the Angara and arrived at Yeniseysk.[73]
Vikhor Savin (1624) and Maksim Perfilyev (1626 and 1627–28) explored Tungus country on the lower Angara. To the west, Krasnoyarsk on the upper Yenisei was founded in 1627. A number of ill-documented expeditions explored eastward from Krasnoyarsk. In 1628, Pyotr Beketov first encountered a group of Buryats and collected yasak (tribute) from them at the future site of Bratsk. In 1629, Yakov Khripunov set off from Tomsk to find a rumored silver mine. His men soon began plundering both Russians and natives. They were joined by another band of rioters from Krasnoyarsk, but left the Buryat country when they ran short of food. This made it difficult for other Russians to enter the area. In 1631, Maksim Perfilyev built an ostrog at Bratsk. The pacification was moderately successful, but in 1634, Bratsk was destroyed and its garrison killed. In 1635, Bratsk was restored by a punitive expedition under Radukovskii. In 1638, it was besieged unsuccessfully.
In 1638, Perfilyev crossed from the Angara over the Ilim portage to the Lena River and went downstream as far as Olyokminsk. Returning, he sailed up the Vitim River into the area east of Lake Baikal (1640) where he heard reports of the Amur country. In 1641, Verkholensk was founded on the upper Lena. In 1643, Kurbat Ivanov went further up the Lena and became the first Russian to see Lake Baikal and Olkhon Island. Half his party under Skorokhodov remained on the lake, reached the Upper Angara at its northern tip, and wintered on the Barguzin River on the northeast side.
In 1644, Ivan Pokhabov went up the Angara to Baikal, becoming perhaps the first Russian to use this route, which is difficult because of the rapids. He crossed the lake and explored the lower Selenge River. About 1647, he repeated the trip, obtained guides, and visited a 'Tsetsen Khan' near Ulan Bator. In 1648, Ivan Galkin built an ostrog on the Barguzin River which became a center for eastward expansion. In 1652, Vasily Kolesnikov reported from Barguzin that one could reach the Amur country by following the Selenga, Uda, and Khilok Rivers to the future sites of Chita and Nerchinsk. In 1653, Pyotr Beketov took Kolesnikov's route to Lake Irgen west of Chita, and that winter his man Urasov founded Nerchinsk. Next spring, he tried to occupy Nerchensk, but was forced by his men to join Stephanov on the Amur. Nerchinsk was destroyed by the local Tungus, but restored in 1658.
The Trans-Siberian Railway was built between 1896 and 1902. Construction of the scenic railway around the southwestern end of Lake Baikal required 200 bridges and 33 tunnels. Until its completion, a train ferry transported railcars across the lake from Port Baikal to Mysovaya for a number of years. The lake became the site of the minor engagement between the Czechoslovak legion and the Red Army in 1918. At times during winter freezes, the lake could be crossed on foot, though at risk of frostbite and deadly hypothermia from the cold wind moving unobstructed across flat expanses of ice. In the winter of 1920, the Great Siberian Ice March occurred, when the retreating White Russian Army crossed frozen Lake Baikal. The wind on the exposed lake was so cold, many people died, freezing in place until spring thaw. Beginning in 1956, the impounding of the Irkutsk Dam on the Angara River raised the level of the lake by 1.4m (4.6ft).[74]
As the railway was built, a large hydrogeographical expedition headed by F.K. Drizhenko produced the first detailed contour map of the lake bed.[11]

Buryat shaman on Olkhon Island
Russian map circa 1700, Baikal (not to scale) is at top
Steam locomotive on the Circum-Baikal Railroad
Angara was launched in 1900 and is one of the oldest surviving icebreakers

Research

Several organizations are carrying out natural research projects on Lake Baikal. Most of them are governmental or associated with governmental organizations. The Baikalian Research Centre is an independent research organization carrying out environmental educational and research projects at Lake Baikal.[75]
In July 2008, Russia sent two small submersibles, Mir-1 and Mir-2, to descend 1,592m (5,223ft) to the bottom of Lake Baikal to conduct geological and biological tests on its unique ecosystem. Although originally reported as being successful, they did not set a world record for the deepest freshwater dive, reaching a depth of only 1,580m (5,180ft).[76] That record is currently held by Anatoly Sagalevich, at 1,637m (5,371ft) (also in Lake Baikal aboard a Pisces submersible in 1990).[76][77] Russian scientist and federal politician Artur Chilingarov, the leader of the mission, took part in the Mir dives[78] as did Russian leader Vladimir Putin.[79]
Since 1993, neutrino research has been conducted at the Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope (BDUNT). The Baikal Neutrino Telescope NT-200 is being deployed in Lake Baikal, 3.6km (2.2mi) from shore at a depth of 1.1km (0.68mi). It consists of 192 optical modules.[80]
Economy

The lake, nicknamed "the Pearl of Siberia", drew investors from the tourist industry as energy revenues sparked an economic boom.[82] Viktor Grigorov's Grand Baikal in Irkutsk is one of the investors, who planned to build three hotels, creating 570 jobs. In 2007, the Russian government declared the Baikal region a special economic zone. A popular resort in Listvyanka is home to the seven-story Hotel Mayak. At the northern part of the lake, Baikalplan (a German NGO) built together with Russians in 2009 the Frolikha Adventure Coastline Track, a 100km (62mi)-long long-distance trail as example for a sustainable development of the region. Baikal was also declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996. Rosatom plans to build a laboratory near Baikal, in conjunction with an international uranium plant and to invest $2.5 billion in the region and create 2,000 jobs in the city of Angarsk.[82]
Lake Baikal is a popular destination among tourists from all over the world. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, in 2013, 79,179 foreign tourists visited Irkutsk and Lake Baikal; in 2014, 146,937 visitors. The most popular places to stay by the lake are Listvyanka village, Olkhon Island, Kotelnikovsky cape, Baykalskiy Priboi, resort Khakusy and Turka village. The popularity of Lake Baikal is growing from year to year, but there is no developed infrastructure in the area. For the quality of service and comfort from the visitor's point of view, Lake Baikal still has a long way to go.
The ice road to Olkhon Island is the only legal ice road on Lake Baikal. The route is prepared by specialists every year and it opens when the ice conditions allow it. In 2015, the ice road to Olkhon was open from February 17 to March 23. The thickness of the ice on the road is about 60cm (24in), maximum capacity allowed – 10t (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons); it is open to the public from 9 am to 6 pm. The road through the lake is 12km (7.5mi) long and it goes from the village Kurkut on the mainland, to Irkutskaya Guba on Olkhon Island.[83]
Environmental concerns
Baykalsk Pulp and Paper Mill

The Baykalsk Pulp and Paper Mill was constructed in 1966, directly on the shoreline of Lake Baikal. The plant bleached paper using chlorine and discharged waste directly into Lake Baikal. The decision to construct the plant on the Lake Baikal resulted in strong protests from Soviet scientists; according to them, the ultra-pure water of the lake was a significant resource and should have been used for innovative chemical production (for instance, the production of high-quality viscose for the aeronautics and space industries). The Soviet scientists felt that it was irrational to change Lake Baikal's water quality by beginning paper production on the shore. It was their position that it was also necessary to preserve endemic species of local biota, and to maintain the area around Lake Baikal as a recreation zone [84]. However, the objections of the Soviet scientists faced opposition from the industrial lobby and only after decades of protest, the plant was closed in November 2008 due to unprofitability.[85][86] In March 2009, the plant owner announced the paper mill would never reopen.[87] However, on January 4, 2010, production was resumed. Later that year on January 13, 2010, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin introduced changes in the legislation legalising the operation of the plant; this action brought about a wave of protests from ecologists and local residents.[88] These changes were based on the determination President Putin made through a visual verification of Lake Baikal's condition from a miniature submarine, "I could see with my own eyes – and scientists can confirm – Baikal is in good condition and there is practically no pollution".[89] Despite this, in September 2013, the mill underwent a final bankruptcy, with the last 800 workers slated to lose their jobs by December 28, 2013.[90] On the day the plant was to close, December 28, 2013, the Russian government announced plans to build the Russian Nature Reserve's Expo Center in place of the closed paper mill.[91]
Planned East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline

Russian oil pipelines state company Transneft[92] was planning to build a trunk pipeline that would have come within 800m (2,600ft) of the lake shore in a zone of substantial seismic activity. Environmental activists in Russia,[93] Greenpeace, Baikal pipeline opposition[94] and local citizens[95] were strongly opposed to these plans, due to the possibility of an accidental oil spill that might cause significant damage to the environment. According to the Transneft's president, numerous meetings with citizens near the lake were held in towns along the route, especially in Irkutsk.[96] Transneft agreed to alter its plans when Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the company to consider an alternative route 40 kilometers (25mi) to the north to avoid such ecological risks.[97] Transneft has since decided to move the pipeline away from Lake Baikal, so that it will not pass through any federal or republic natural reserves.[98][99] Work began on the pipeline two days after President Putin agreed to changing the route away from Lake Baikal.[100]
Proposed uranium enrichment centre
In 2006, the Russian government announced plans to build the world's first international uranium enrichment centre at an existing nuclear facility in Angarsk, a city on the river Angara some 95km (59mi) downstream from the lake's shores. Critics and environmentalists argued it would be a disaster for the region and are urging the government to reconsider.[101]
After enrichment, only 10% of the uranium-derived radioactive material would be exported to international customers,[101] leaving 90% near the Lake Baikal region for storage. Uranium tailings contain radioactive and toxic materials, which if improperly stored, are potentially dangerous to humans and can contaminate rivers and lakes.[101]
Nonetheless, the enrichment centre was built in the end.[102]
Other pollution sources
According to The Moscow Times and Vice, an increasing number of an invasive species of algae thrives in the lake from hundreds of tons of liquid waste, including fuel and excrement, regularly disposed into the lake by tourist sites, and up to 25,000 tons of liquid waste are disposed of every year by local ships.[103][104]
Historical traditions

The first European to reach the lake is said to have been Kurbat Ivanov in 1643.[105]
In the past, the Baikal was referred to by many Russians as the "Baikal Sea" (Russian: Море Байкал, More Baikal), rather than merely "Lake Baikal" (Russian: Озеро Байкал, Ozero Baikal).[106]
This usage is attested already in the Life of Protopope Avvakum (1621–1682),[107] and on the late-17th-century maps by Semyon Remezov.[108] It is also attested in the famous song, now passed into the tradition, that opens with the words Славное море, священный Байкал (Glorious sea, [the] sacred Bajkal).
To this day, the strait between the western shore of the Lake and the Olkhon Island is called Maloye More (Малое Море), i.e. "the Little Sea".
Lake Baikal is nicknamed "Older sister of Sister Lakes (Lake Khövsgöl and Lake Baikal)".[109]

According to 19th-century traveler T. W. Atkinson, locals in the Lake Baikal Region had the tradition that Christ visited the area:
The people have a tradition in connection with this region which they implicitly believe. They say "that Christ visited this part of Asia and ascended this summit, whence he looked down on all the region around. After blessing the country to the northward, he turned towards the south, and looking across the Baikal, he waved his hand, exclaiming 'Beyond this there is nothing.'" Thus they account for the sterility of Daouria, where it is said "no corn will grow."[110]

Lake Baikal has been celebrated in several Russian folk songs. Two of these songs are well known in Russia and its neighboring countries, such as Japan.
"Glorious Sea, Sacred Baikal" (in Russian: Славное Mope, Священный Байкал) is about a katorga fugitive. The lyrics as documented and edited in the 19th century by Dmitriy P. Davydov (1811–1888).[111] See "Barguzin River" for sample lyrics.
"The Wanderer" (in Russian: Бродяга) is about a convict who had escaped from jail and was attempting to return home from Transbaikal.[112] The lyrics were collected and edited in the 20th century by Ivan Kondratyev.
The latter song was a secondary theme song for the Soviet Union's second color film, Ballad of Siberia (1947; in Russian: Сказание о земле Сибирской).

See also
Russian Far East
Sarma (wind)

Literature
Detlev Henschel: Kayak Adventure in Siberia: The first solo circumnavigation of Lake Baikal. Amazon ISBN978-3-7375-6102-0.
Colin Thubron In Siberia,
Leonid Borodin: Year Of Miracle And Grief, Quartet Books, 1988.

 at the Encyclopædia Britannica


Gheorghe Asachi (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈɡe̯orɡe aˈsaki], surname also spelled Asaki; 1 March 1788 – 12 November 1869) was a Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet, painter, historian, dramatist and translator. An Enlightenment-educated polymath and polyglot, he was one of the most influential people of his generation. Asachi was a respected journalist and political figure, as well as active in technical fields such as civil engineering and pedagogy, and, for long, the civil servant charged with overseeing all Moldavian schools. Among his leading achievements were the issuing of Albina Românească, a highly influential magazine, and the creation of Academia Mihăileană, which replaced Greek-language education with teaching in Romanian. His literary works combined a taste for Classicism with Romantic tenets, while his version of the literary language relied on archaisms and borrowings from the Moldavian dialect.
A controversial political figure, Asachi endorsed the Imperial Russian presence in Moldavia and played a major part in establishing the Regulamentul Organic regime, while supporting the rule of Prince Mihail Sturdza. He thus came to clash with representatives of the liberal current, and opposed both the Moldavian revolution of 1848 and the country's union with Wallachia. Engaged in a long polemic with the liberal leader Mihail Kogălniceanu, he was, together with Nicolae Vogoride, involved in the unsuccessful attempt to block the unionist project through the means of an electoral fraud. Asachi was noted for his deep connections with the Western culture, which led him to support the employment of foreign experts in various fields and educational institutions. He cultivated a relationship with the French historian Edgar Quinet, whose father-in-law he became in 1852.
Biography
Early life
Asachi was born in Hertsa, a small town which is now part of Ukraine. His family originated in Austrian-ruled Transylvania, where it was known under the name Asachievici.[1] His father, Lazăr, was an Orthodox priest who kept close contacts with Metropolitan Veniamin Costachi; according to several sources, he was of Armenian (Aromanian) descent.[2][3] His mother Elena (née Niculau or Ardeleanu) was herself the daughter of a Transylvanian priest. The couple had another son, named Petru. Lazăr Asachi was his son's first educator, after which the young Gheorghe most likely enrolled in the Church-run primary school in Herţa.[4]
In summer 1795, after deciding not to send Gheorghe and Petru to Moldavian Greek-language school in the capital city of Iaşi, Lazăr Asachi opted to give them a more modern education in Austrian lands, sending them to Lemberg, where they attended gymnasium. After completing seven terms of education in Latin, Polish and German, Gheorghe Asachi entered university (the present-day Lviv University) at the age of 14. He studied at the Faculty of Letters, Philosophy and Sciences (attending lectures in logic, metaphysics, ethics, mathematics, physics, natural history, and architecture), but, in 1804, after two years of studies, he withdrew and returned to Moldavia. Despite this, his level of familiarity with Western culture was arguably unparalleled in his native country during the first half of the 19th century.[4] Over the following decades, he designed several lodgings in both his native country and Galicia.[5]
His return followed the death of his mother and Lazăr Asachi's appointment as First Protopope of the Moldavian Metropolitan Seat, and saw the family settling in Iaşi.[4]
In Napoleonic Europe

In early 1805, Asachi fell ill with malaria, and was helped by Metropolitan Veniamin to leave for Vienna, where doctors had advised him to seek treatment. As the recipient of a stately scholarship, Asachi studied mathematics and astronomy with Tobie Bürg, as well as pursuing training in the art of painting.[5][4]
His time in the city coincided with French Empire's successes in the Napoleonic Wars, and, most important, with the 1805 War of the Third Coalition, during which La Grande Armée occupied Vienna; this allowed Asachi to familiarize himself with French Revolutionary and liberal tenets, which he partly adopted in his political activities. In 1808, as the Russo-Turkish War erupted, Moldavia was occupied by the Russian Empire, First Protopope Lazăr contacted Pavel Chichagov to have his son appointed lieutenant and local head of the Corps of Engineers, but Gheorghe Asachi refused to assume office or even return from Vienna. Instead, he left for the Italian Peninsula in April 1808, aiming to complete his studies in Rome, but making long stops in other localities on the way (he notably visited Trieste, Venice, Padova, Ferrara, Bologna and Florence). Reaching the capital of the Papal States on 11 June, Asachi left on 19 August to visit Naples, Pompeii, and other locations in the Kingdom of Sicily. Upon reaching Mount Vesuvius, he descended unaccompanied into the volcanic crater, and was encouraged by a cheering audience.[6]
He soon after returned to Rome, where he focused on studying Renaissance Latin and Italian literature, as well as taking classes in archeology, painting and sculpture, and entering his most prolific phase in visual arts. In 1809, while visiting an art shop near the Spanish Steps, he met Bianca Milesi, the 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy merchant from Milan, with whom he fell in love. Despite her 1825 marriage to a French doctor, he was to remain her passionate admirer until her death from cholera in 1849. He later stressed that she had been a major source of inspiration for him, especially in allowing him the transition "from painter to poet", while the literary critic Eugen Lovinescu believed she inspired Asachi's Romantic nationalism.[6]
At the time, he authored his first poems on Romanian nationalist subjects, which earned him an award presented by the Roman Literary Society. One of these was Viitorul ("The Future"), which voiced a call for national regeneration. Interested in the origin of the Romanians and the history of Roman Dacia, Asachi studied events depicted on Trajan's Column and searched the Vatican Library for documents regarding the history of Romania. It was during the latter research that he came across Dimitrie Cantemir's History of the Growth and Decay of the Ottoman Empire in its English-language edition.[6]
Through Bianca Milesi, Asachi met François Miollis, the French commander in Rome, who reportedly told him that Napoleon Bonaparte intended to emancipate Moldavia and Wallachia as a result of the expedition into Russia, and thus create a new "Dacian Kingdom" in the area of present-day Romania. Partly as a result of this encouragement, Asachi decided to travel back home on 22 June 1812, and, sailing down to Galaţi, arrived in Iaşi on 30 August. His designs regarding French protection over the Danubian Principalities were ended by Napoleon's retreat from Russia, and by the restoration of Ottoman suzerainty and Phanariote rules, when Sultan Mahmud II appointed Scarlat Callimachi as Prince.[6]
Early lectures and mission to Vienna

In reaction to these developments, Gheorghe Asachi centered his attention on cultural improvements, Westernization, and Enlightenment teachings, with support from Metropolitan Veniamin. In 1813, his expertise and familiarity with European languages led Prince Callimachi to appoint him Reviewer (Referandar) for the Department of Foreign Affairs.[7]
In 1814, increasingly opposed to the Greek-language teaching favored by the Phanariotes, Asachi proposed the first in a series of Romanian-language educational institutions, a course in engineering and topography to be held at the Princely Academy in Iaşi;[5][8][9] once approved by the ruler and countersigned by Veniamin, the lectures attracted a number of young boyars (including the future Ottoman diplomat Alexandros Kallimachis, Scarlat's son, Teodor Balş (who was to serve as Moldavia's kaymakam in 1856–1857), Daniel Scavinschi, as well as Gheorghe Asachi's brother Petru.[10] He gave various lectures, and offered additional training in drawing and art history,[11][12] as well as in Romanian history.[8] He organized several exhibits of his students' work in technical drawing.[5] Despite a favorable report from its inspectors, Asachi's facility soon met with opposition from Greek teachers at the Academy, which led it to be closed soon after its original students graduated (1819).[13]
Nevertheless, Asachi was not stripped of his professorship, and was allowed to maintain both his position as head of the Princely Library and his house on Academy grounds. Later in the same year, he was involved in reorganizing the Orthodox seminary at Iaşi's Socola Monastery, and traveled to Transylvania in order to enlist the help of scholars active there. His friendly relations with various leaders of the Transylvanian School helped in achieving this goal; in 1820, he returned to Moldavia accompanied by Vasile Fabian Bob, Ioan Costa, Ion Manfi and Vasile Pop, all of whom became teachers at the Academy.[13]
Early in 1821, Gheorghe Asachi's activities were interrupted when the Greek Filiki Eteria forces crossed the Prut River and took over Moldavia on their way to Wallachia, during what constituted the earliest stage of the Greek War of Independence. Like his father (who died in 1825), Metropolitan Veniamin, and many other notable Moldavians, Asachi fled into Russian territory. He returned the following year, as the Ottoman Empire retook the region and put an end to Phanariote rules (a measure which attracted Asachi's enthusiasm); the new prince, Ioan Sturdza, appointed him Moldavian representative to the Austrian Empire, an office which he held between 30 November 1822 and February 1827.[14] With this, he was awarded the traditional rank of Great Comis, and thus joined the ranks of nobility. As a diplomat, Asachi was foremost noted for his contacts with nationalist intellectuals who represented various ethnicities subject to the Austrian Empire.[15]
While in Vienna, he met the Austrian woman Elena Tauber, former governess of the Sturdza children and widow of the merchant Kiriako Melirato; she was his concubine until 1827, when they were married in an Orthodox church in Iaşi.[15] Tauber had three children from her marriage to Melirato — a girl, Hermiona, and two boys, Alexandru and Dimitrie (later, a mathematician); all of them were adopted by Asachi.[16]
Şcoala Vasiliană and Albina Românească

Soon after returning, Asachi was appointed caretaker of all Moldavian schools and Vel Agha. In March 1828, he succeeded in opening a multilingual upper school and gymnasium, connected to the Trei Ierarhi Church, named Şcoala Vasiliană or Gimnaziul Vasilian (in honor of the 17th-century prince Vasile Lupu, who had created the original education institution on that site). It was the first modern institution of its kind in Moldavia, and was soon supplemented by a college.[13] Şcoala Vasiliană also continued the engineering course, taught by Gheorghe Filipescu, and had additional chairs in mathematics, architecture, applied mechanics and hydraulics; in 1834, it sent several of its alumni, including the architect Alexandru Costinescu, for further studies abroad.[8] On 19 July 1827, a great fire in Iaşi's western quarter destroyed Asachi's lodging, as well as the vast majority of his possessions and manuscripts.[16]
Upon the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Moldavia and Wallachia again came under Russian administration. During that interval, Asachi decided to expand his educational goals and popularize new ideas through the means of press institutions, and requested approval from the Russian consul in Iaşi, Matvey Minciaky, to have these set up.[17] In April 1829, Russia endorsed his project for a magazine titled Albina Românească, which first saw print in July of the same year.[18][17][19] The first periodical to be published in Moldavia, it ran its own printing press, known as Institutul Albinei and originally housed in the Trei Ierarhi area. Alongside its stated goal (which involved generating a literary language), Albina Românească hosted pieces on current events, scientific essays, as well as articles offering practical advice.[20]
Over the following decades, it oversaw the publishing of several other magazines, which were originally designed as supplements;[21] among these, Alăuta Românească (1837–1838) and Foaea Sătească a Prinţipatului Moldovei (1839) were initiated by the younger activist Mihail Kogălniceanu, who, through his influential publication Dacia Literară, become a vocal critic of Asachi's political and cultural views.[22][23][19] First and foremost, Kogălniceanu expressed his dissatisfaction over the fact that Albina Românească relied on publishing translations from foreign authors, instead of encouraging national specificity.[19]
In addition, Asachi also issued a large panel of related works, including a series of almanacs which ran between 1847 and 1870.[24] Another magazine created by Asachi, the short-lived Spicuitorul Moldo-Român (1841–1842), was published in both Romanian and French, having a Frenchman named Gallice, who worked as a teacher, for its co-editor.[25]
Regulamentul Organic adoption
In late 1829, through a framework first outlined in the Akkerman Convention, Russian governor Peter Zheltukhin established a boards of experts from both countries, charged with drafting the constitutional project eventually known as Regulamentul Organic. The project was delayed by the ongoing war and epidemics of cholera and bubonic plague until 1831–1832, as Pavel Kiselyov took over for Zheltukhin; Gheorghe Asachi served as secretary of the Moldavian board[26][5] — the body also comprised Mihail Sturdza, Iordache Catagiu, Constantin Cantacuzino-Paşcanu and Costache Conachi.[27]
The membership outlined for the Moldavian board scandalized the lesser boyars, who pointed out that the Akkerman treaties called for the new legislation to be adopted through a vote in a representative Boyar Divan, and who attempted to have Asachi and Conachi recalled.[28] Despite the protests, the board continued its activities, being overseen by the former consul Minciaky; together with Mihail Sturdza and the Wallachian Alexandru Vilara, Asachi was dispatched to Saint Petersburg to obtain the approval of Emperor Nicholas I, which led to the document being enforced in both Principalities. In its final version, the Regulament endorsed his efforts as educator, regulating public education and transferring assets donated by Vasile Lupu to Şcoala Vasiliană.[27]
The trade regulations offered by the Regulament were welcomed with enthusiasm by Asachi, prompting him to write an ode in their honor, titled Annul nou al moldo-românilor 1830, în care s-a lucrat Regulamentul organic, acel întâi cod administrativ al Moldovei ("The New Year of the Moldo-Romanians 1830, in Which Regulamentul Organic, the First Administrative Code of Moldavia, Was Completed").[29] In sharp contrast to his later advocacies, Asachi attempted to introduce provisions for the two Principalities' union, and some of his interventions in the text were meant to facilitate this project.[30] At the time, he took a compassionate view in respect to peasants, denouncing the exploitation of their labor by the boyars.[31]
Under Mihail Sturdza
Gheorghe Asachi was heavily impressed by the institutions he saw functioning in the Russian capital, and did his best to replicate them in Moldavia.[29] After his return from Russia, Asachi became head of the Moldavian National Archives, in which capacity he published the first collection of documents referring to the country's history.[17] From early 1834 onwards, he was a main collaborator of the newly appointed prince and former colleague on the Moldavian board, Mihail Sturdza, receiving funds and benefiting from on order to prioritize education in "Moldavian" (Romanian).[32]
In July of the same year, Asachi visited the Wallachian capital of Bucharest, being charged by Minciaky with strengthening the common framework of the Regulament by ensuring that its two versions did not differ in content.[29] By May 1833, he was able to move into a new house, which he designed and erected in the Muntenimea area of Copou Hill, on a large plot of land he had purchased from Lupu Balş; at around the same time, Institutul Albinei was also reopened on the new location.[16] An 1852 survey showed that Asachi had a second, smaller, house in downtown Iaşi.[16]
In late 1834, on Asachi's request, Sturdza gave approval for the first Moldavian girls' school to be opened in the capital. On 6 June 1835, following Asachi's interventions, Academia Mihăileană, the first Romanian-language institution of higher education, was established in the city.[17] A fundamental institution of higher learning, and the nucleus for the present-day University of Iaşi, it also hosted lectures by cultural figures from Moldavia, Transylvania and Wallachia alike, including some of Asachi's young rivals; among the teachers were Mihail Kogălniceanu, Ion Ionescu de la Brad, Eftimie Murgu, Ion Ghica, and August Treboniu Laurian.[8] In addition, Asachi presented a plan to create a school of agronomy, to function alongside the city's military academy, and, by 1848, created a school for further qualification in engineering.[8]
On 15 November 1836, he founded, alongside Vornic Ştefan Catargiu and Spătar Alecsandri (the father of poet Vasile Alecsandri), a conservatory, and, after 1837, was appointed head of the Moldavian Theater, among the first of its kind to showcase original pieces in Romanian.[33] At the head of a committee, he took charge of translating a German-language dictionary into Romanian, stressing that this was a response to the Moldavians' need for knowledge.[19] During the early 1840s, he became interested in organizing education for the non-emancipated Armenian and Jewish communities — in 1842, it was as a result of his efforts that an Armenian primary school was set up.[17]
In 1847, Asachi's printing press issued an Armenian-language primer.[3] He was also the person behind the creation of the Iaşi School of Arts and Crafts (January 1841), as well as helping establish the first public library, the paper mill near Piatra Neamţ, an Art Gallery and a National History Museum.[33] In the meantime, Academia Mihăileană was disestablished and transformed into a French-language school (overseen by a teacher named Malgouverné).[34]
Over the same decade, Asachi moved towards Conservatism, defending Regulamentul Organic in front of the increasingly popular liberal current.[35][19] He clashed with young activists who rejected Sturdza's rule, and, as early as 1839, noted with dissatisfaction that "a new people was born [...], with new wishes and ideas".[29] His conflict with Kogălniceanu was transported to the field of politics, and Asachi joined in condemning the anti-Regulament failed rebellion of 1848.[36] As most other press venues submitted to the minimal requirement of Russian officials and avoided publishing any material related to the revolution, Albina Românească criticized the revolutionaries for having discarded "their duty to the powers that be", and praised Russia for sending its troops to combat "anarchy".[37][19] Despite this, Kogălniceanu later claimed that, on one occasion, he had seen Asachi sobbing over having been made to criticize the Romanian activists.[38]
The debate prolonged itself over the following years, and, coupled with Asachi's unwaivering support for Sturdza, saw him joining the separatist camp at a time the post-revolutionary group Partida Naţională began openly campaigning for Moldo-Wallachian unification.[39][40] While supporting the interests of the middle class, Asachi stressed that these could compliment a feudal system, and rejected the revolutionary call for abolishing privilege.[31]
Also in 1848, Asachi lost his daughter, the 19-year-old Eufrosina, to the cholera outbreak.[16] He published two poems written in her memory.[16]
1850s
In January 1850, almost one year after the Convention of Balta Liman awarded the Moldavian throne to the reform-minded and revolutionary sympathizer Grigore Alexandru Ghica, Albina Românească changed its name to Gazeta de Moldavia, adopting an official tone.[21] Asachi, who resigned his positions as inspector and archivist in 1849, was awarded a substantial pension.[41] Between 1851 and 1854, he was head of censorship, using this position to award imprimatur for reformist ideas (with Prince Ghica's tacit approval).[41] At the time, he gave endorsement to the Chronicle of Huru, a document which was claimed to trace a direct lineage between Roman Dacia and Moldavia, and to clarify the more mysterious aspects of the country's early medieval history — the document was used by separatists to emphasize Moldavia's tradition of independence, but was the subject to an inquiry and dismissed by Kogălniceanu (it was later established that the text was a forgery).[39]
During the political battles which followed Ghica's retirement and the Crimean War, Gazeta de Moldavia transformed itself into an official platform for the anti-unionist camp.[21] After the retreat of Russian troops and an interval of Austrian administration, Moldavia and Wallachia's government came under the direct supervision of various European powers, and Kaymakam Teodor Balş ensured the interregnum in Iaşi. In this context, Ottoman authorities, through the voice of Fuat Pasha, gave their approval for relative freedom of the press to be legislated.[41] With Costache Negruzzi, Asachi again became an official censor, while again assuming the offices of archivist and inspector of Moldavian schools.[41]
As the Treaty of Paris imposed the creation of ad hoc Divans, through which the two countries' inhabitants were allowed to decide their future, the unionist camp saw a chance for fulfilling its goals; Asachi and his associates reacted vehemently, and, in May 1857, complained to the Porte that unification would bring about various perils. One month later, the government of Kaymakam Nicolae Vogoride carried out an electoral fraud to yield a separatist majority in the ad hoc Divan — Asachi, who supported Sturdza's bid for the throne, is thought to have played a major part in bringing this about, and, together with Vogoride himself, Nicolae Istrati, and the Austrian consul Oskar von Gödel-Lannoy, to have drawn up falsified the electoral lists.[42] He was himself a candidate in the Iaşi electoral college, receiving 197 votes and placing himself second among the representatives it sent to the Divan.[43] His magazine stood alone in claiming that the regime had acted impartially.[21]
The suffrage was hotly contested and annulled through an agreement between the Second French Empire and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; Asachi himself was thus forced to note that the new elections in August managed to overturn the previous results.[44] He was no longer elected a deputy, and his candidature for the position of secretary of the electoral board was awarded just one vote.[43] In 1858, Gazeta de Moldavia was entirely dedicated to political subjects and support for Vogoride's policies, and ceased print in October, as the Kaymakam ended his mandate.[21] In late November, it reemerged under the title Patria, which continued to criticize Partida Naţională from a conservative position, notably hosting articles by the anti-unionist Istrati.[21] As a new regency of three was preparing elections, the magazine rallied with Ştefan Catargiu, Asachi's lifelong collaborator and the separatist representative in the body of kaymakams, against the two unionists (Vasile Sturdza and Anastasie Panu), before Catargiu was replaced with I. A. Cantacuzino.[44] In November 1837, Asachi and another 36 separatist boyars issued a memorandum unsuccessfully asking the Ottoman Grand Vizier Aali Pasha to intervene against the unionist kaymakams, restore censorship, and to narrow down the electoral lists.[43]
Final years

The situation changed in January 1859, when Partida Naţională was able to ensure the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as both Prince of Moldavia and Prince of Wallachia, in what was the de facto union of the two countries. After congratulating Cuza on his accomplishment, Asachi authored a pome titled Odă la Dumnezeu ("An Ode to God"), which proclaimed the brotherhood of Romanians and the notion that "power resides in Unity".[43] Patria drastically reduced its articles in support of separation, while allocating most of its space to reprinting official papers.[21] Nevertheless, as Domnitor Cuza was deposed and the election of a foreign ruler over the Romanian Principality was being assessed, it is probable that Gheorghe Asachi again switched to a separatist stance: on 14 April 1866, after an incident during which Iaşi crowds protested the prolongation of unification beyond Cuza's reign, he was the subject of an inquiry on charges of sedition. This remains a mysterious aspect of his political career, and it is certain that Asachi eventually rallied with Carol later in the year. It is likely, however, that his inconsistent views prompted other intellectuals to reject his participation in founding the Romanian Academy.[43]
The various projects also involved Asachi's own financial reserves, which led him to become indebted and mortgage his assets on several occasions: in 1862, after Asachi was declared insolvent, the Copou house was put up for auction, but the writer was able to come up with the money before the sale was perfected.[16] He continued to depend on debts in order to feed his family, and unsuccessfully offered Institutul Albinei to be purchased by the state.[16] In February 1869, the Dimitrie Ghica government awarded Asachi a yearly pension of 8,888 lei, "for the important services he has brought to the country from 1813 to 1862".[43] He died several months later in Iaşi, and was buried at the Patruzeci de Sfinţi Church.[31][16] His printing press ceased its activity in 1867.[16]
Literature
Style and subjects
During his youth, Asachi was one of the most representative members of an idealist generation of Moldavian intellectuals.[36] In the context of early Romanian literature, where Romanticism and delayed Classicism coexisted, Asachi, like Grigore Alexandrescu, George Baronzi and others, tended to side with the latter,[45] at a time when his counterpart in Bucharest, Ion Heliade Rădulescu, bridged the gap between the two schools.[46] The literary critic Garabet Ibrăileanu concluded that Asachi's literature signified a transition between a Classicist stage exemplified by Costache Conachi and younger Romantics such as Vasile Alecsandri and Dimitrie Bolintineanu (he also concluded that the casual comparisons made between Heliade Rădulescu and Asachi had failed to note that the former was not a conservative).[19] Gheorghe Asachi recommended his students to study Italian literature, and would frown upon models inspired by French literature.[19]
His creation comprised poems, the first of which were written in Italian,[47] as well as vast array of short stories and novellas, through which Asachi attempted to create a legendary history partly mirroring Romanian mythology.[48] The major influences on his work were Renaissance authors such as Petrarch, Ludovico Ariosto, and Torquato Tasso, but he also accommodated more modern influences, such as Salvator Rosa, Thomas Gray, Gottfried August Bürger, Vasily Zhukovsky, Lord Byron and Friedrich Schiller.[49]
Thus, Asachi created himself a fictional location, called Dochia — a reference to both Dacia and the myth of Baba Dochia, which houses the Ceahlău Massif under the name of Pion.[48] Asachi was also the first person to mention Baba Dochia in connection to the Roman Emperor Trajan and the Dacian Wars — the vague and unprecedented references make it likely that he actually invented the original story as well.[50] References to this universe are also present in an eponymous novella about Dragoş, the first Prince of Moldavia, which partly drew on old chronicles, and partly displayed Asachi's own fictional devices. The story centers on Harboe, a chivalrous Tatar ruler who resides in the Cumanian town of Romidava, who falls in love with Branda, the daughter of a Moesian lord and would-be wife of Dragoş.[51] Dochia's hidden altar, referred to as "a simulacrum", is guarded by a Vestal-like priestess and a deer hind. Asachi's other prose works on historical subjects take similar liberties with their subjects (they notably describe large Gothic monuments and tournaments in medieval Moldavia, as well as improbable details from the lives of 14th–16th century Princes Bogdan I, Stephen the Great, and Petru Rareş).[51]
Asachi's works also include romanticized accounts of a journey made by the Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa into Moldavia (Mazepa în Moldova) and the life of Ruxandra, daughter of Vasile Lupu and wife of Tymofiy Khmelnytsky (Rucsandra Doamna), as well as Jijia, where a captured fairy recounts her previous existence as a Christian martyr, and Sirena lacului, where a dishonored maiden, who has turned into a siren, takes revenge on boyar.[51]
In connection with Nicolae Vogoride's policies, Asachi drew on historical subject to counter the calls for unity voiced by Partida Naţională; in addition to the endorsement he gave to the Chronicle of Huru, he emphasized, in an article of June 1857, the campaign led by Stephen the Great into Wallachia, calling for a landmark to be raised in honor of "the vanquisher of the Wallachians".[42] This mirrored the earlier comments made by the Wallachian anti-unionist Dimitrie Papazoglu, who proposed a celebration and monument honoring the 1653 Battle of Finta (during which the Wallachian forces of Matei Basarab had defeated an army of Moldavians and Cossacks).[42]
Gheorghe Asachi's style has been criticized from the time of his debate with other intellectuals of his age, when Mihail Kogălniceanu argued that his lyrical works were mere replicas of foreign models. Several influential literary historians of the 20th century expressed similar views: George Călinescu indicated that, in general, poems by Asachi sounded "banal"; in one of his essays, Paul Zarifopol commented that Asachi and his generation, from Iancu Văcărescu to Vasile Cârlova, Alexandru Hrisoverghi, and Heliade Rădulescu, were "semi-cultured" and "amateurs". Both Călinescu and Zarifopol stressed that, in his best work, Asachi announced the poetic language of Mihai Eminescu, the most influential author of the late 19th century.[52]
Language
Present at the forefront during debates regarding the shape of literary language, Asachi drew criticism for introducing archaisms and marginally used neologisms to the Romanian lexis, as well as for the forms of spelling he encouraged. Commenting on a series of words which are nowhere used outside his novellas and poems, George Călinescu called them "impossible [...], presently seeming bizarre, mostly Romantic, lacking in historical perception".[51]
In essence, Asachi called for the modern language to reflect as much as possible the one used by the folk — in this respect, he came closer to Kogălniceanu's views than to those of Heliade Rădulescu (at a time when the latter favored using the dialects employed by the Romanian Orthodox and Greek-Catholic churches).[53] One of the first to discover old Moldavian chronicles and recommend them for reading, he came to propose that the Moldavian dialect, as reflected in these, could be used as a template for the modern speech.[54] Nevertheless, his views fluctuated, and he was noted for proposing himself that the Church language be used as a template, while contrasting the support he gave to Westernization in general with his distaste for popular French-sounding neologisms.[19]
In an article he published in 1847, Asachi defined himself as a partisan of "the juste milieu" on language matters, and recommended adopting words and rules of grammar with moderation, and from all sources available. According to the literary critic Garabet Ibrăileanu, "[...] anybody who has ever read anything of what this writer has authored knows that he has a language of his own, a characteristic one, resembling those of many writers, without resemblig that of anyone else to the point where we could place him in any category." The same commentator nonetheless noted that there were clear similarities between the way in which Asachi used Romanian and the language favored by Costache Conachi.[19]
His enduring aversion towards Western neologisms, as well as towards the Latin-based linguistic purism favored by many Transylvanian scholars, made Asachi a predecessor of the Bukovinan academic Aron Pumnul. However, in his later years, Asachi came to praise and uphold Heliade Rădulescu's controversial advocacy in favor of modifying Romanian on the basis of Italian (with its claim that the two languages were in fact closely related dialects of Latin).[19]

Asachi's experimentations with the Romanian Latin alphabet were noted for their inconsistencies, and criticized as such by Kogălniceanu (who, as an example, pointed out that Asachi had alternatively used "tch", "tz", "c", and "cz" to mark the voiceless postalveolar affricate).[19]
Asachi and the Romanian theater
Considered, together with the Wallachian Heliade Rădulescu, the founder of early Romanian theater,[55][56] Asachi produced the first staging of a Romanian-language play, first performed for the public on 27 December 1816, at the Ghica family manor.[57][58] The work was his own adaptation of Myrtil et Chloé, a pastoral theme authored by Solomon Gessner and retaken by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian;[59][60][55] in its printed version, the text also featured illustrations drawn by his own hand.[61] Extremely popular, Asachi's play was celebrated for helping to counter the perceived xenophily of the early 19th century Moldavian cultural environment.[62] Two Ghicas and a Sturdza were assigned parts in the first staging, and Veniamin Costachi was present in the audience.[58]
In early 1837, his conservatory began functioning regularly, which coincided with Asachi's leadership of the National Theatre. Before and after this moment, the writer contributed translations from various prestigious dramatists and playwrights, August von Kotzebue, Voltaire, Jean Racine and Nikolai Gogol among them. In parallel, he published librettos for popular operas, thus lending a hand to the development of local operatic theater.[62]
Contribution to visual arts

As a teacher, Asachi assisted and encouraged the development of Romanian art. Before he came to exercise his influence, Moldavian art was essentially dependent on boyar patronage, and, by the turn of the 18th century, had come to focus on portrait painting.[63] Asachi centered his energies on introducing Romantic nationalist themes and popularizing new trends.[12] He integrated painting, architecture, and drawing and oil painting in classes taught at Academia Mihăileană (called class de zugrăvie, an antiquated version of "painting course"), and introduced lithography through the means of his printing press.[17][12][5]
In the 1830s and 1840s, he encouraged artists the copying and publishing of paintings and drawings with historical themes. Asachi emphasized the educational aspects of zugrăvitura istorică în oloiu ("history painting in oil"), and intended its creations to reach as wide an audience as possible.[17][12] In this respect as well, his contributions were equivalent to those of Heliade Rădulescu, who opened the first museum in Wallachia (1837).[64]
The resulting works are generally naïve in quality, and inaccurate in their reconstruction of historical scenes.[65] Gheorghe Panaiteanu Bardasare, the recipient of a scholarship to the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich, was the only one of his many disciples to remain under the influence of Asachi's tenets for the rest of his life, developing these into academic art.[66] Asachi's disciples also included Gheorghe Lemeni, who studied in Munich and Rome, and the minor artist Gheorghe Năstăseanu.[67][68]
Arguably, Asachi's most important contribution to the artistic field was his involvement in attracting foreign painters to the Moldavian scene, by offering them commissions or educational assignments; among these were the Polish Ludwik Stawski and Mauriciu Loeffler, the Italian Giovanni Schiavoni,[69][70] as well as the Austrian Josef Adler (noted for authoring an 1833 manual for landscape painting and still life works) and Ioan Müller (who taught figurative art).[71] Of them, Asachi reportedly considered Schiavoni to be the most competent, while he tended to replace most others after reexamining their skills.[72] Another important Italian artist who arrived in Iaşi during that period was the former Carboneria revolutionary Niccoló Livaditti, to whom Asachi did not, however, assign a teaching post.[73] In 1843, four years before the Iaşi Academia was radically transformed, the art classes were disestablished due to the protest of various boyars (who objected to the fact that members of all social groups could attend them).[74]
Gheorghe Asachi's own works, many of which date back to the time he spent in Rome, show the influence of Classicism.[61] Noted for their rigorous use of artistic conventions and nature study, they are nonetheless considered inferior to both their creator's contributions to other cultural fields and the works of other many painters active in Moldavia at the time.[12] Asachi himself is known to have sketched out works which were completed by his foreign collaborators or students (among these is a since-lost painting of Stephen the Great facing his mother, signed by the Italian artist Giani, and an 1845 painting of Moldavians in the battle of Malbork Castle).[75] A series of Classicist drawings from the early decades of the 19th century have only tentatively been attributed to Asachi.[12]
Descendants
Elena, Gheorghe Asachi's widow, died in 1877.[31][16] Of his adopted children, Dimitrie Asachi was to be the most famous: a pupil of his stepfather's, he was to author the first original book on mathematics in his country (1841).[8] Alexandru Asachi, who joined the Romanian Army and became an officer,[16] was himself known as an artist: a lithographer and author of historical works, he published several albums of hand-colored prints during the 1850s.[76]
In 1835, Hermiona Asachi (whose given name was often Francised as Hermione)  fell in love with Alexandru, the underage son of former Prince Alexander Mourousis, who soon after moved into Asachi's house; this scandalized other members of the Mourousis family, and the conflict was ended only when the two youths agreed to marry.[16] They had a son, George Moruzi, who died in 1856.[16] In 1843, Hermiona translated and published Silvio Pellico's collection of maxims, Dei doveri degli uomini.[77] She got married a second time, in 1852, to the well-known French historian Edgar Quinet[16][78][79][80] (between 1841 and 1845, she had attended Quinet's lectures at the Collège de France);[78] five years later, Asachi translated and Quinet's collected works into Romanian — according to historian Nicolae Iorga, the edition was toned-down and censored.[25] The Quinets did not have any children.[16]
Landmarks and portrayals

In autumn 1890, a statue of Asachi was erected in front of the Trei Ierarhi Church school complex, an initiative taken by a group of his conservative collaborators. On the same occasion, Asachi's remains, together with those of his wife Elena, were placed in the monument's base.[31][16] The courtyard of Asachi's house on Copou Hill hosts a small monument, which he raised to the memory of his daughter Eufrosina and his grandson George.[16]
Asachi laid out the plan for a monument honoring Regulamentul Organic, completed by the Russian artist Sungurov with workforce hired from Galicia, and raised on Copou as the first structure of its kind in Moldavia.[81] He is also noted for having proposed, in 1853, to create a modern cemetery in Iaşi on Galata Hill — his project was never used, but in 1871, Eternitatea, a cemetery corresponding to his requirements, was set up on land donated to the city.[82]
The Copou house itself was taken over by Malvina Czapkai, a creditor of Asachi and his son Alexandru; it served as a boarding school, and, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, as a Russian military hospital.[16] In 1892, Marie of Edinburgh, who had just married the Romanian heir apparent, Ferdinand Hohenzollern, purchased it for 52,000 lei.[16] It was subsequently the Principesa Maria School for Arts and Crafts, destined to women's education, and, during World War I, served as a home for orphaned girls.[16] In 1937, Queen Marie transformed into an institute for welfare, which notably hosted the practice of sociologist and psychologist Mihai Ralea.[16] The house was again a hospital in World War II, when it was taken over by the Romanian Air Force; in 1948, when the Communist regime was established, it was nationalized (together with all other Royal property), and served as the headquarters of the Romanian Land Forces 4th Corps, and was later rented for private use.[16] Since 1976, it has housed two institutes of the Romanian Academy (the Alexandru Philippide Institute of Philology and the Gheorghe Zane Institute of Economic and Social Research).[16]
Among the artists two have depicted Asachi during his lifetime were his associate Giovanni Schiavoni (whose painting shows the young writer surrounded by objects illustrating his many interests)[83][84] and Constantin Daniel Stahi (a pupil of Panaiteanu Berdasare).[85] In December 1937, a section of the University of Iaşi was created into an institute of technology, with the name of Gheorghe Asachi Polytechnic School (the present-day Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iaşi).[8] A public library in the city also bears his name, as do a school erected in 1900 on the site previously occupied by Şcoala Vasiliană and high schools in the Romanian cities of Botoşani and Sibiu, as well as in the Moldovan capital Chişinău.

Cited sources
Călinescu, George (1983) Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu, Editura Minerva, Bucharest.
(in Romanian) Cărăbuş, Gheorghe Gabriel (2004), in , Nr.10, at the Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava; retrieved 3 July 2007
Djuvara, Neagu (1995) Între Orient şi Occident. Ţările române la începutul epocii moderne, Humanitas, Bucharest. ISBN973-28-0523-4
Drăguţ, Vasile; Florea, Vasile; Grigorescu, Dan and Mihalache, Marin  (1970) Pictura românească în imagini, Editura Meridiane, Bucharest. OCLC
Măciucă, Constantin (1978) "Prefaţă", p.V-XXXV, in Ion Heliade Rădulescu, Scrieri alese, Editura Albatros, Bucharest. OCLC
Oprescu, George (ed.) (1958) Scurtă istorie a artelor plastice în R.P.R., Editura Academiei RPR, Bucharest. OCLC

(in Romanian)
(in Romanian)

How many poems did Gheorghe Asachi write?


Mary Lassiter Hoffman (born 1945) is a British writer and critic. She has had over 90 books published whose audiences range from children to adults. One of her best known works is the children's book Amazing Grace, which was a New York Times bestseller at 1.5 million copies and a finalist for the 1991 Kate Greenaway Medal.[1][2] From 2002 to 2012, she wrote the teen fiction series Stravaganza.
Background
Born in Hampshire, England in 1945, Mary Hoffman was the youngest of three daughters. From a young age, she enjoyed going underground to visit the office of her father who worked for the railway.[3] Hoffman won a scholarship to James Allen's Girls' School in Dulwich. From there she went to the University of Cambridge to study English at Newnham College and then spent two years studying Linguistics at University College London.
In 1998 she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Library Association for her work with children and schools.[4] She worked at the Open University for nearly five years, contributing to courses for teachers on reading, language and children's literature. For eighteen years she was Reading Consultant to BBC Schools TV's Look and Read series and wrote the teaching scripts. She has been a freelance, self-employed professional writer and journalist since the mid-90s. She has argued for the role of British Children's Laureate to encompass active lobbying against cutbacks to libraries and was a nominee for the 2011–2013 post.[5][6]
Hoffman lives with her husband Stephen Barber, whom she married in 1972. She moved from London to West Oxfordshire in 2001. They have three daughters, including the writer Rhiannon Lassiter.[7] Hoffman frequently works in Italy and speaks Italian. She has also lectured in Latin and Anglo-Saxon.[8] Hoffman is a contributing blogger to  and .  In 2016, Hoffman and Barber founded The Greystones Press, an independent book publishing company.[9]
Writing
Mary Hoffman's first book was White Magic in 1975. At the suggestion of Richard Adams, she had it published by Rex Collings after it was rejected by several other publishers.[8] Hoffman has written 24 picture books including the Amazing Grace series. When it was published, she received an award from Waldenbooks.[8] Amazing Grace was adapted to the stage by Shay Youngblood and ranked as one of the 50 best culturally diverse children's books by Seven Stories.[10] The 2015 anniversary edition features and afterword by LeVar Burton. The illustrator, Caroline Binch, hired members of a family in Gambia as models for Grace and other characters. Hoffman has described the trip to visit them as her first trip to Africa.[10]
Hoffman began to focus more on teen fiction in the years since, becoming known for the Stravaganza series and the historical novel The Falconer's Knot, which won the French Prix Polar Jeunesse and was shortlisted for The Guardian Children's Book Award and North East Teenage Book Award.[11]
Hoffman has written several re-tellings of myths, legends, fairy tales, nursery stories and biblical stories. These include Women of Camelot, which tells the King Arthur stories from the points of view of the female characters. She has also edited collections of stories, including Lines in the Sand (2003) – a response to the allied invasion of Iraq, with all funds raised donated to UNICEF in Iraq. She was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2011.[10] Her works for adults are published under a variety of names including Amy Lovell, Suzy Cavendish and Mary Lassiter.[12]

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 at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
 at Library of Congress Authorities, with 73 catalogue records
 at LC Authorities, with 1 record
 in libraries (WorldCat catalog)