Step out of the cold through the open door to enter the PIN exhibits...
Moscow is best known for sites such as St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square (above). It is also home to the world's largest paleontological institute. This affiliate of the Russian Academy of Sciences has more paleontologists under one roof than any other institution in the world. They have collections from all over the former Soviet Union and the world and researchers studying such diverse questions as the origin of life, dinosaurs from Mongolia, and mammals from cave faunas in Georgia. The breakup of the Soviet Union has had both good and bad effects on the institute. The freedom to visit collegues in other parts of the world has increased, but their budget has been slashed so that they can hardly afford to make use of this new opportunity.
The Museum of Paleontology, which is run by the Institute, has beautiful public exhibits, largely unheard of outside of Moscow. These feature Mongolian dinosaurs, synapsids (relatives of mammals) from the Perm region of Russia, and Pre-Cambrian fossils, representing the dawn of life, from Siberia. Some of these exhibits are now touring the world, having visited both Australia and Japan. Even with this extra exposure, most of the PIN's exhibits remain inaccessible to the world. The Paleontological Institute is trying to acquire an internet line so that they can have their own on-line exhibits. Until then, they have graciously "loaned" us some of their exhibits for our own Virtual Museum.
Step out of the cold through the open door to enter the PIN exhibits...
Collegues at the Paleontological Institute in Moscow can be reached by writing:
Researchers at the PIN can also be contacted by email at pbul@paleo.msk.su with the name of the researcher in the subject line.