On February 11, the results of the 2026 Presidential Fund for Nature competition were announced at the "Primeval Russia" festival. The winners will receive grants from the President of the Russian Federation totaling 1 billion rubles to implement 157 projects developed by ecologists, biologists, and nature reserve specialists.
The winners included two projects submitted by researchers from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences:
"The Origin of Caucasus Groundwater Biodiversity: What Mollusks Can Tell Us About the Evolution of Subsurface Ecosystems." Applicant: E.M. Chertoprud, co-author: D.M. Palatov.
The goal of the project is to reconstruct the history of the formation of Caucasus groundwater fauna using a model group of mollusks of the Hydrobiidae family as an example, assess current threats to its conservation, and create a scientific basis for its protection. More information about the project can be found at this link.
"Digital Zoology - Preparation of an Atlas of the Distribution of Mammals in Asian Russia." Applicant – A.A. Lisovsky.
The goal of the project is to provide open access to data on the distribution of mammals in the Asian part of Russia. More information about the project can be found at this link.
Congratulations to the winners! We wish you success in implementing your projects!