During his working visit to the Primorye Territory, President Vladimir Putin visited the research and educational complex "Primorye Oceanarium" on Russky Island on September 6. He initiated the construction of the oceanarium not only for tourists, but for research as well. Mr Putin was shown a stuffed grey whale and areas where visitors will be able to watch fish swimming over their heads, as well as the dolphinarium and a fish-breeding lab. Andrei Adrianov, director of the Institute of Marine Biology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Mr Putin that the oceanarium is designed for research and education of students. All those who want to know more about ocean fauna are also welcome to visit. "We have already planned a large project with the university for the formation of a bio technopark, and will practice the breeding of precious fish and invertebrates and will select new species for aquaculture."

Mr Adrianov said they plan to gather species of fauna from all five oceans in the new oceanarium, and will need different water contents for their upkeep. He said there will be about 700 aquariums, including 200 large ones. The biggest will contain 7,000 cubic meters of water. "This fantastic amount of water will allow us to keep the largest marine species, including sharks and white whales," the researcher said.

Upon completing the tour, Mr Adrianov presented Mr Putin with a large photo of a white whale and a copy of a film about the underwater world that will be used to educate students and conduct research. After visiting the construction site of the future oceanarium, Mr Putin took a motor boat to the centre where white whales are trained. He was lucky to see a couple of tricks performed by these mammals.