The famously clear waters of Baikal - the world's deepest and oldest lake - are under threat from tourists, says leading scientist Maxim Timofeyev.
Tourist numbers from Siberia rising as economy improves following 2014 downturn
Russians staying home for football festival while the country also sees as influx of visitors who might otherwise come to Thailand
Vital for making its waters so 'pure', one theory is that rising underwater methane leaks are killing off the sponge, but is there a silver lining?
A vision of deepening ties between Russia and China outlined by Ambassador to Beijing Sergei Razov.
Tourist chiefs in Thailand have stressed the importance to them of visitors from the eastern regions of Russia.
Staycations have become a 'mass source of income' for businesses on the edge of Baikal, with predictions of more to come in 2015.
Beijing proposes tours to neighbouring Khabarovsk region which wind the clock back to the Communist era.