On 8 December, Pozarym Federal Nature Reserve marked its fifth anniversary. This specially protected nature conservation area is located in the Tashtyp District of the Republic of Khakassia on the border with Tyva and is considered a classic example of pristine nature in the West Sayany mountain range.

The nature reserve was established in 2011 by an instruction from Vladimir Putin, a member of the Russian Geographical Society’s Board of Trustees. Members of the Russian Geographical Society’s Republic of Khakassia division were actively involved in establishing the reserve.

Pozarym became the first federal nature reserve in South Siberia. It united specially protected nature conservation areas of the republics of Altai, Tyva, and Khakassia, as well as the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory into a single nature conservation network.

Pozarym Federal Nature Reserve covers an area of about 254,000 hectares where about 30 endemic plants grow. It is inhabited by over 100 bird species, including 18 listed in the Russian Red Data Book. In addition, seven local bird species are included among globally rare European and Asian species. The staff works to save rare and endangered animal species, including the snow leopard, the Asiatic ibex, a forest subspecies of the reindeer, the Siberian argali, the red wolf and many others.