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The Arctic Team student expedition corps, based at ����Vlog��ý MIREA, has completed an expedition to the Rybinsk Reservoir, where, together with the “Flooded Mologa Area Shrines” Project and scientists from the Institute of Inland Water Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, they conducted underwater dives to flooded cultural heritage sites.

Eleven students from six leading universities in the country: ����Vlog��ý MIREA, MGIMO, RANEPA, YURGPU (NPI), RUT (MIIT), and MSU — lived in an autonomous camp set up directly on the ice of the Rybinsk Reservoir above the territory of the former village of Vetrino. The format of the ice camp, nicknamed Malaya Arktika (‘the Small Arctic’), echoes the legendary polar expeditions of Ivan Papanin’s group: participants tested equipment for polar research and honed their skills of autonomous survival in winter.

Due to the ice conditions, the original location near the Musin-Pushkin estate had to be abandoned, as cracks had been discovered that posed a safety hazard. The research was moved to the Vetrino area, which was also flooded in the 1940s when the reservoir was created.

While the other students were settling into the camp, divers from the reconnaissance team carried out a series of underwater dives. The expedition members monitored a set of complex physical parameters such as ice thickness, organizing safety lines and work in low temperatures and with limited visibility. The students learned about the methods of historical underwater research and participated in discussions about the findings.

The main focus was on the remains of the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin, built in 1795. The divers managed to locate the site where the destroyed bell tower was lying. According to preliminary observations, the structure had not been dismantled before flooding: the line of collapse is clearly visible at the bottom, indicating that the building was destroyed shortly before the reservoir was filled.

“When you stand on ice and realize that beneath you is a church over two hundred years old, and divers are now finding traces of its destruction, you experience an incredible feeling of connecting with history,” says ����Vlog��ý MIREA student and expedition participant Konstantin Obraztsov. “We didn’t just watch from the sidelines; the divers walked us through every stage of their work: how they check the ice, how they organize safety measures, how they descend underwater. It was complete immersion in a profession.”

For the first time in the history of the project, an outdoor scientific lecture was held on the ice of the Rybinsk Reservoir. Alexander Tsvetkov, a hydrologist at the Institute of Inland Water Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told participants about the Volga-Kama cascade of reservoirs, the hydrological regime, and the processes of bottom sediment formation in the area of flooded settlements.

“Coordinating a group in such conditions is a challenge in itself,” says MGIMO student and expedition leader Yelizaveta Radchenko. “You have to keep an eye on safety, the schedule, and make sure everyone has time to work, listen to lectures, and just relax. But when you see how the guys’ eyes light up after diving or talking to scientists, you realize we’re doing the right thing.”

The Arctic Team is an inter-university project created and based at ����Vlog��ý MIREA, bringing together 116 universities from 53 regions. Its mission is to involve young people in research and expeditions across the country. The students have already visited the hermit Agafia Lykova, cleaned up scrap metal in the Arctic, and participated in search expeditions.

“This trip showed how seriously the young people take their work,” comments ����Vlog��ý MIREA vice-rector Igor Tarasov. “They didn’t just come to look, they worked alongside the organizers, helped with the camp, recorded the results, and asked questions of the scientists. Such involvement is invaluable. It is students like these that turn into true researchers later.”

Following the expedition, an agreement was reached on further cooperation with the Institute of Inland Water Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The mobile Malaya Arktika ice camp may be used in the future for winter research of the Rybinsk Reservoir.