Putin and Lukashenko were promised 10,000 years of life on Earth

The presidents contacted polar explorers at the updated Vostok station

Vladimir Putin frightened Alexander Lukashenko with the latest discoveries of Russian polar explorers who were able to look into the future of the Earth, but everything ended well. Scientists have assured that more or less comfortable temperatures on the planet will remain for about 10 thousand years. But then either a new ice age will come, or – what is more likely – extreme heat. “Fine! We’ll live a little longer,” the presidents exhaled.

On Sunday afternoon, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko met at the Konstantinovsky Palace to get in touch with Antarctica and put the updated Vostok polar station into pilot operation. However, even before the start of the teleconference, the president stunned the guest with information obtained by Russian polar explorers. Judging by the blocks of ice they extracted from the drill holes, the Earth has gone through four complete climate cycles over the past 420,000 years – as Putin put it, “from warming to glaciation.” “It would be interesting to know in what period and at what point we are? – Lukashenko was worried, – When will this colder weather or warmer weather come to us? I really want it not to be during our lives and the lives of our children.” He admitted that Putin scared him “with these periods”: “This is generally beyond understanding (…) God forbid that scientists make a mistake in our favor.”

Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov, who unsuccessfully tried to fly to Antarctica for several days, but ultimately remained in Moscow, undertook to enlighten (and at the same time reassure) the presidents. He said that studying million-year-old ice cores makes it possible to predict the future with confidence. “We are now in an interglacial period. It guarantees 20 thousand years of heat. We have already lived 10 thousand, we have another 10 thousand years ahead. Scientists are guaranteed to promise these figures,” the minister assured. However, as it turned out, the announced data does not take into account the anthropogenic impact, which can make the temperature on the planet not as comfortable as the current one. Vladimir Putin, apparently, also did not want Dad to calm down. He mentioned that in the subglacial Lake Vostok, scientists discovered the DNA of thermophile bacteria that develop at 60 degrees Celsius. This means that when predicting global warming, scientists are unlikely to make mistakes “in our favor.”

With the commissioning of a new wintering station, research on this lake, as well as other work in Antarctica, will continue in more comfortable conditions for polar explorers. “Until recently, conditions here were very modest and ascetic. The last renovation was more than 40 years ago. The first buildings (the station was opened in 1957 – MK) have long been buried under snow, and later ones are immersed in snow to a depth of 5 meters,” Putin said. The updated Vostok, according to him, will be the most modern and well-equipped station in Antarctica. The polar explorers will move into a modular building with an area of ​​3 thousand square meters, equipped with cozy living rooms, scientific laboratories, a dining room, facilities for sports and recreation, and even a dental office. To build it, the builders underwent special training on Mount Elbrus. “Because the conditions (at the Vostok station) correspond exactly to the highlands,” Putin explained.

He expressed confidence that the glorious history of Russia’s presence in Antarctica will now receive a “confident continuation,” and the new station will strengthen cooperation between scientists from different countries, primarily Russia and Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko admitted that until now he was not so deeply immersed in ice issues – he did not even know how to get to Antarctica. And I was shocked by the story that first I had to fly to Chile. However, the dad promised to improve. “I will pay closer attention to the development of this sector of science and practice. We will take this very seriously,” he assured.

“Live together,” Lukashenko addressed the polar explorers, expressing the hope that the Russians will convey his words to the Belarusians who were unable to connect to the teleconference due to bad weather conditions, “We are brothers, we have nothing to share. I wish you success and good health” “I know that you are not sick – there is no infection there,” he added with some envy. The polar explorers themselves were most concerned about the issue of financing. The research program for the subglacial lake, promising sensational discoveries and accurate predictions about the future of the Earth, has already been scheduled for 18 years in advance. And this is a huge amount of money. Meanwhile, money has not yet been allocated even for the next 2025-2027.” The government has not yet made a decision, but it will be made,” Putin said. “Everything will be normal and in a timely manner.”