LIFE
AND OTHER STORIES
AND OTHER STORIES
What Is a Research Station? Reportage
LIFE
AND OTHER STORIES
AND OTHER STORIES
What Is a Research Station? Reportage
Written by: Nikita Lavrenov
Photos by: Timur Sabirov, Alexander Semyonov
Located on the border of Karelia and the Murmansk region, just inside the Arctic Circle, is one of the global hubs for scientists — the White Sea Biological Station (WSBS) of the Faculty of Biology of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The station primarily focuses on marine biology, providing high-quality scientific services for specialists in this field. Despite its remote location, it offers internet and everyday comforts. However, these are not the reasons why many biologists consider this biological station to be the best place on Earth.
Written by: Nikita Lavrenov
Photos by: Timur Sabirov, Alexander Semyonov
Located on the border of Karelia and the Murmansk region, just inside the Arctic Circle, is one of the global hubs for scientists — the White Sea Biological Station (WSBS) of the Faculty of Biology of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The station primarily focuses on marine biology, providing high-quality scientific services for specialists in this field. Despite its remote location, it offers internet and everyday comforts. However, these are not the reasons why many biologists consider this biological station to be the best place on Earth.
The Research Fleet
"A visit to the biological station begins with the pier," says the director of WSBS, Professor Alexander Tzetlin. Most newcomers start their journey here as they arrive by sea from the Poyakonda station. An alternative route is a winter road from the same station, running along a power line through the taiga.
One of the first things you'll notice on the pier is the fleet, the pride of the biological station. It currently consists of about ten vessels, including several research ships, motor boats, and speedboats. The motor ship and speedboats are primarily used for cargo delivery, while divers operate on motor boats.
The research vessels are custom-built to meet the station's needs. For instance, in 2013, the fleet was expanded with the vessel Professor L.A. Zenkevich. It is a transformer watercraft supplied with essential scientific equipment such as oceanological winches, gantries, and booms, which can be fitted with highly specialized scientific equipment for various geophysical, oceanological, biological, and other research needs. Its living area can be transformed into a laboratory with four workstations. There is a special compartment at the stern where seismic equipment can be installed. The ship also has a wet lab where freshly collected biomaterial can be prepared for molecular and genetic studies and stored in special refrigerators and freezers.
The Professor L.A. Zenkevich watercraft was designed with the help of MSU scientists. Its equipment was manufactured across the country, and the ship itself was built at the Varyag shipyard in Petrozavodsk. "While designing the vessel, we launched several production facilities," says Alexander Tzetlin. "For instance, the winches were made in Saratov according to a one-of-a-kind special design. They turned out to be so useful and functional that they are now being manufactured for other purposes as well."
One of the first things you'll notice on the pier is the fleet, the pride of the biological station. It currently consists of about ten vessels, including several research ships, motor boats, and speedboats. The motor ship and speedboats are primarily used for cargo delivery, while divers operate on motor boats.
The research vessels are custom-built to meet the station's needs. For instance, in 2013, the fleet was expanded with the vessel Professor L.A. Zenkevich. It is a transformer watercraft supplied with essential scientific equipment such as oceanological winches, gantries, and booms, which can be fitted with highly specialized scientific equipment for various geophysical, oceanological, biological, and other research needs. Its living area can be transformed into a laboratory with four workstations. There is a special compartment at the stern where seismic equipment can be installed. The ship also has a wet lab where freshly collected biomaterial can be prepared for molecular and genetic studies and stored in special refrigerators and freezers.
The Professor L.A. Zenkevich watercraft was designed with the help of MSU scientists. Its equipment was manufactured across the country, and the ship itself was built at the Varyag shipyard in Petrozavodsk. "While designing the vessel, we launched several production facilities," says Alexander Tzetlin. "For instance, the winches were made in Saratov according to a one-of-a-kind special design. They turned out to be so useful and functional that they are now being manufactured for other purposes as well."
Photographer: Timur Sabirov /
for “Life and Other Stories”
for “Life and Other Stories”
Scientific Services
A biological station is not just a scientific center. It is also an infrastructure hub that researchers can access. For example, there is a diving service that can collect various-stage marine organisms necessary for research at the scientists' request. All you need to do is submit a request, and soon the fresh material will be collected.
There are also organisms that are rarely found in nature but still need to be studied. For this reason, the biological station has recently set up a scientific collection with a cryopreservation facility. The collection also stores specimens needed for ongoing research as well as sample materials, specimens of organisms that have been used to describe new species. In the low-temperature storage, whole organisms preserved in alcohol are stored in plastic jars, trays, and containers on long pull-out racks. Meanwhile, DNA samples and tissue pieces are stored at -80°C in the cryopreservation room. There are more than 13,000 lots in total. When creating the collection, as well as when establishing the biological station, scientists had to find unconventional solutions to the most trivial problems. For instance, each sample needs to be tagged, so they had to come up with tags that could be stored in 90% alcohol for years. Markers and standard printer ink wouldn't work. They tried a special printing technology using a thermostatic printer, experimented with materials, and found a solution within a year. Every little detail appears to be well thought out.
The scientific collection was created and is maintained by Nikolai Neretin, an employee of the biological station. He studies amphipod crustaceans (sandhoppers) that produce silk. These silk-making crustaceans have been known since the mid-19th century, but according to Nikolai, there is almost no modern research on them. He is therefore trying to understand the biochemistry of crustacean silks and their properties.
There are also organisms that are rarely found in nature but still need to be studied. For this reason, the biological station has recently set up a scientific collection with a cryopreservation facility. The collection also stores specimens needed for ongoing research as well as sample materials, specimens of organisms that have been used to describe new species. In the low-temperature storage, whole organisms preserved in alcohol are stored in plastic jars, trays, and containers on long pull-out racks. Meanwhile, DNA samples and tissue pieces are stored at -80°C in the cryopreservation room. There are more than 13,000 lots in total. When creating the collection, as well as when establishing the biological station, scientists had to find unconventional solutions to the most trivial problems. For instance, each sample needs to be tagged, so they had to come up with tags that could be stored in 90% alcohol for years. Markers and standard printer ink wouldn't work. They tried a special printing technology using a thermostatic printer, experimented with materials, and found a solution within a year. Every little detail appears to be well thought out.
The scientific collection was created and is maintained by Nikolai Neretin, an employee of the biological station. He studies amphipod crustaceans (sandhoppers) that produce silk. These silk-making crustaceans have been known since the mid-19th century, but according to Nikolai, there is almost no modern research on them. He is therefore trying to understand the biochemistry of crustacean silks and their properties.
Photographer: Timur Sabirov /
for “Life and Other Stories”
for “Life and Other Stories”
A Laboratory Facing the Sea
In addition to the diving service and scientific collection, the biological station has several well-equipped labs where most of the experimental research is conducted. Several labs equipped with modern microscopes are located in the Aquarium Building, a three-story brick structure from the mid-1960s. The molecular genetics lab houses the "northernmost" next-generation Illumina sequencer.
This building was the dream of the station's legendary 1960s director, Nikolai Pertsov, after whom the station is named. Some 300,000 bricks were purchased for its construction — the largest material investment in a biological station at that time. The bricks were loaded onto ships and unloaded at the biological station by volunteers from construction teams.
The biological station continues to expand with new Scandinavian-style houses, with one of Moscow's architectural bureaus recently taking responsibility for the station's overall appearance. The new buildings include both living quarters for educators and researchers and modern laboratories specializing in specific branches of biology such as embryology, cell biology, and other fields.
The first lab was established at WSBS in 1952, built from the "prison camp logs" left over from the nearby logging expeditions of the Solovki prison camp.
The logging was supposed to make the prison camp profitable by using forced labor, the product of which was exported. Documents contain fragmentary information about the camp's logging activities, but according to recently published data, Poyakonda served as a hub where prisoners were brought and products were shipped out of.
The death rate of prisoners on these expeditions is difficult to estimate, but even according to incomplete data collected by the International Memorial (considered to be a “foreign agent” in the Russian Federation), it was extremely high: people died of hunger and cold even on the way from the railway station to the work site. In the early 1930s, several countries advocated for boycotting certain cheap Soviet goods made using forced prison labor, including timber, leading to the cessation of logging expeditions. The memory of them remains, in particular, in the first WSBS laboratory building.
This building was the dream of the station's legendary 1960s director, Nikolai Pertsov, after whom the station is named. Some 300,000 bricks were purchased for its construction — the largest material investment in a biological station at that time. The bricks were loaded onto ships and unloaded at the biological station by volunteers from construction teams.
The biological station continues to expand with new Scandinavian-style houses, with one of Moscow's architectural bureaus recently taking responsibility for the station's overall appearance. The new buildings include both living quarters for educators and researchers and modern laboratories specializing in specific branches of biology such as embryology, cell biology, and other fields.
The first lab was established at WSBS in 1952, built from the "prison camp logs" left over from the nearby logging expeditions of the Solovki prison camp.
The logging was supposed to make the prison camp profitable by using forced labor, the product of which was exported. Documents contain fragmentary information about the camp's logging activities, but according to recently published data, Poyakonda served as a hub where prisoners were brought and products were shipped out of.
The death rate of prisoners on these expeditions is difficult to estimate, but even according to incomplete data collected by the International Memorial (considered to be a “foreign agent” in the Russian Federation), it was extremely high: people died of hunger and cold even on the way from the railway station to the work site. In the early 1930s, several countries advocated for boycotting certain cheap Soviet goods made using forced prison labor, including timber, leading to the cessation of logging expeditions. The memory of them remains, in particular, in the first WSBS laboratory building.
Photographer: Alexander Semyonov /
for “Life and Other Stories”
for “Life and Other Stories”
Unusual Traditions
The first phase of active construction at WSBS began in the 1950s and coincided with the period of development of the Moscow University's new territory on Sparrow Hills. Back then, MSU allocated almost no resources for the construction of the biological station, yet Nikolai Pertsov, the newly appointed young director, had ambitious plans. Thus, a tradition of unique construction brigades emerged at WSBS, where volunteers would build the station in exchange for a modest boarding fee.
During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a dire need for construction materials, leading to a tradition among construction brigades to bring with them bricks used for building small stoves. Later on, the biological station acquired a barge for transporting cars, large machinery, and heavy loads, eliminating the need for volunteer delivery of construction materials.
Over time, it became a tradition for the construction brigades to leave behind plaques inscribed with the names of all brigade members. These plaques are now displayed on the wall next to the stairs in the Aquarium Building. Oddly enough, it was deemed cool among the regulars of the White Sea construction brigades to bring a train plaque from the train they travelled on to the station — several such artifacts now also adorn the staircase.
A contemporary tradition at WSBS is celebrating Neptune Day on the second Sunday of July, when biology students are here for their internship. While the students are the ones who come up with the program, there is an enduring tradition of preparing sea-themed costumes for the celebration. According to director Alexander Tzetlin, the primary modern tradition of the biological station is to work well.
During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a dire need for construction materials, leading to a tradition among construction brigades to bring with them bricks used for building small stoves. Later on, the biological station acquired a barge for transporting cars, large machinery, and heavy loads, eliminating the need for volunteer delivery of construction materials.
Over time, it became a tradition for the construction brigades to leave behind plaques inscribed with the names of all brigade members. These plaques are now displayed on the wall next to the stairs in the Aquarium Building. Oddly enough, it was deemed cool among the regulars of the White Sea construction brigades to bring a train plaque from the train they travelled on to the station — several such artifacts now also adorn the staircase.
A contemporary tradition at WSBS is celebrating Neptune Day on the second Sunday of July, when biology students are here for their internship. While the students are the ones who come up with the program, there is an enduring tradition of preparing sea-themed costumes for the celebration. According to director Alexander Tzetlin, the primary modern tradition of the biological station is to work well.
Typical Tasks
Besides the students from the MSU Biology Department who do their academic internships at the biological station, dozens of researchers visit annually. As per the Google Scholar's scientific publications database, approximately a hundred scientific articles that mention the biological station are published each year.
The articles cover a wide array of topics, including some very fundamental research studies. For instance, an international team of biologists, which included members from the biological station and the MSU Biology Department, studied a conserved gene that encodes one of the respiratory chain proteins in microscopic diplostraca crustaceans. Upon comparing this gene in different species of crustaceans, it was discovered that their spread across Northern Eurasia began from the continent's northernmost points — Kamchatka and Chukotka. During the Ice Age, they sought refuge in European Russia, and after the glacier receded, they re-colonized the Arctic. These crustaceans have caught scientists' attention not by coincidence, but because they serve as the primary food source for several commercial fish species.
Fish are also a subject of applied research at the biological station. Recently, an international team of physiologists led by Denis Abramochkin, a senior researcher at the MSU Biology Department, discovered how phenanthrene (a petroleum product) affects the heart function of northern saffron cod. It was found that phenanthrene disrupts the heart rhythm of fish and can even cause cardiac arrest in high concentrations. The scientists also detailed the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon. This research allows for the assessment of risks to fisheries in case of oil spills, which are a periodic occurrence in the Arctic, and could aid in finding practical solutions in the event of global environmental disasters.
The articles cover a wide array of topics, including some very fundamental research studies. For instance, an international team of biologists, which included members from the biological station and the MSU Biology Department, studied a conserved gene that encodes one of the respiratory chain proteins in microscopic diplostraca crustaceans. Upon comparing this gene in different species of crustaceans, it was discovered that their spread across Northern Eurasia began from the continent's northernmost points — Kamchatka and Chukotka. During the Ice Age, they sought refuge in European Russia, and after the glacier receded, they re-colonized the Arctic. These crustaceans have caught scientists' attention not by coincidence, but because they serve as the primary food source for several commercial fish species.
Fish are also a subject of applied research at the biological station. Recently, an international team of physiologists led by Denis Abramochkin, a senior researcher at the MSU Biology Department, discovered how phenanthrene (a petroleum product) affects the heart function of northern saffron cod. It was found that phenanthrene disrupts the heart rhythm of fish and can even cause cardiac arrest in high concentrations. The scientists also detailed the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon. This research allows for the assessment of risks to fisheries in case of oil spills, which are a periodic occurrence in the Arctic, and could aid in finding practical solutions in the event of global environmental disasters.
Photographer: Timur Sabirov /
for “Life and Other Stories”
for “Life and Other Stories”
Three Reasons
The biological station was established here, in the Rugozerskaya Bay of the Kandalaksha Gulf, 15 kilometers from Poyakonda, for at least three reasons. This location was selected by a scientific expedition of ten students under the guidance of Kirill Voskresensky, a postgraduate student from the Department of Invertebrate Zoology. In 1938, they were dispatched here by Lev Zenkevich, the head of the same department, with instructions to find a place with an accessible and diverse littoral zone, good fishing, and not too far from supply bases.
The expedition traversed several hundred kilometers along the coast of the White Sea before choosing this location, which is now a full-fledged scientific village named Primorsky. In August 1938, Professors Zenkevich and Rossolimo — the future director of the future marine research station — arrived here and put up a location monument. The monument was recently discovered in the ground and replaced with a new one. Postgraduate student and later professor Voskresensky also left a mammoth painting on a rock near WSBS. The paint here is regularly being refreshed.
Today, the biological station boasts not only supplies, fishing, and a diverse littoral zone but also electricity, high-speed internet, and in some places, mobile phone coverage. Its transport inaccessibility and relative isolation from civilization draw in only the people who have a clear purpose for being here. As a result, a tight-knit community has formed around the biological station. Students who have visited here forever remember the spirit of this place and continue to share their stories in thematic social media groups decades after graduating from university.
The expedition traversed several hundred kilometers along the coast of the White Sea before choosing this location, which is now a full-fledged scientific village named Primorsky. In August 1938, Professors Zenkevich and Rossolimo — the future director of the future marine research station — arrived here and put up a location monument. The monument was recently discovered in the ground and replaced with a new one. Postgraduate student and later professor Voskresensky also left a mammoth painting on a rock near WSBS. The paint here is regularly being refreshed.
Today, the biological station boasts not only supplies, fishing, and a diverse littoral zone but also electricity, high-speed internet, and in some places, mobile phone coverage. Its transport inaccessibility and relative isolation from civilization draw in only the people who have a clear purpose for being here. As a result, a tight-knit community has formed around the biological station. Students who have visited here forever remember the spirit of this place and continue to share their stories in thematic social media groups decades after graduating from university.
