Barguzinsky Nature Reserve

Barguzinsky Nature Reserve is a strict nature reserve, or zapovednik, on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. Established in 1916 to protect the Barguzin sable from commercial extinction, it is generally regarded as the oldest strict nature reserve in Russia and one of the oldest in the world, predating the Soviet Union itself. The reserve covers a stretch of the Barguzin mountain range rising from the lake shore through taiga forest to alpine tundra, and access is tightly restricted to scientific research rather than public visitation, in keeping with its strict protection status. It forms part of the Lake Baikal UNESCO World Heritage Site.