According to the annual survey of the Nauka (lit. “Science”) Russian TV channel, the launch of the project in March this year is the key event of the Year of Science and Technology in the Russian Federation. It has completed the list of the top 5 scientific events of 2021.

1,600 experts-scientists and residents of Russia not related to science have participated in the annual survey. Respondents have answered the questions about the significance of the scientific events of the outgoing year. The survey also makes it possible to evaluate the awareness level of the Russians about certain discoveries.

The launch of the neutrino telescope Baikal-GVD on Lake Baikal has completed the list of the top 5 scientific events of 2021. It has become the largest in the Northern hemisphere and the second-largest in the world. It has won 4.1 out of 5 points in the survey; 31% of respondents have known about the event.

The unique neutrino telescope Baikal-GVD will help detect sources of high-energy neutrinos, study the evolution of galaxies and the Universe, as well as solve the key task of forming the world’s neutrino network. The telescope is the result of intense work of an international team of more than 70 scientists and engineers from eleven scientific centres in Russia, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan with the leading role of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. It also should be reminded that in December 2021, the neutrino telescope on Lake Baikal has detected a signal from a radio blazar flare.

The creation of neurocomputer interfaces, machine learning technology for early detection of the risk of transmission of dangerous zoonotic viruses, and achievements in the fields of quantum computers and quantum cryptography are among the top 3 scientific events of the year.