Nicholas Breyfogle received an NEH Fellowship for his book project, “Baikal: The Great Lake and its People.” The project is an environmental history of the Lake Baikal region of Siberia from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Over 25 million years in age, Baikal is one of the earth’s natural wonders. The lake is the world’s oldest, deepest, and largest (in terms of volume of water), holding one-fifth of all surface, liquid freshwater on the planet—more water than all the Great Lakes combined. His research reconstructs the history of this dynamic, world-important body of water and the people who lived near it—how the lake and its environs have changed over time through their own ecological rhythms, how humans have transformed the lake and its ecosystems, and the ways in which human society has simultaneously been changed and directed by Baikal. By exploring the relationship between humans and Baikal (cultural, socio-economic, political, ecological, biological, and technological) over the longue durée, this project contextualizes Soviet-era environmental traumas, analyzes broad patterns found at the nexus of Russians and the environment, and discusses the development of Russian conservation efforts. Using the lens of Baikal and the methodologies of environmental history, the study also sheds new light on questions of colonial contact, economic development and resource management, the formation of Russian identity, evolution of Russian science, the historical importance of natural disasters, and the role of the sacred in Eurasian society.