11:26, 31 October 2025

Russia to Launch Digital Monitoring of the Caspian Sea’s Ecology

Data Will Be Collected From Russia and Other Coastal Nations to Track Environmental Change

At the Third International Caspian Digital Forum in Dagestan, telecom company MTS Web Services signed an agreement with the republic’s Ministry of Digital Development to launch a pilot project monitoring the ecological state of the Caspian Sea. The initiative will collect and integrate data not only from Russia but also from other countries bordering the Caspian, creating one of the region’s most comprehensive environmental monitoring systems.

According to Olesya Sukhonos, head of environmental initiatives at MTS, the project will draw on the company’s experience running large-scale digital ecology programs across Russia.

“This year, we added our platform — a system for proactive environmental risk management — to the national software registry,” Sukhonos said. “It doesn’t just collect environmental data but helps prevent and manage ecological risks. It’s a fundamentally new level of interaction with nature, and we’ve already implemented similar projects in many Russian regions.”

Scaling to Other Regions and Countries

Sukhonos highlighted MTS’s flagship project in the Nizhny Novgorod region, where the company monitors the Volga River — one of the key waterways feeding the Caspian Sea — using 15 floating sensor stations. In addition, the region’s air quality monitoring network now includes over 75 stations, all integrated into a unified digital platform.

“In this region, we also implemented an air quality monitoring project,” she explained. “More than 75 stations have been installed, and all the data is consolidated into a single platform. What’s especially encouraging is that this project has had a very positive impact on the region’s social environment.”

Sukhonos confirmed that there is growing international interest — including from CIS and neighboring countries — in adopting advanced digital solutions for environmental protection. To support global collaboration, MTS has translated its ecological monitoring platform into English.

The company also announced plans to develop a digital twin of the Caspian Sea by the end of 2026 — a real-time simulation that will track sea-level fluctuations, forecast geological changes, and assess the environmental impact of new coastal infrastructure projects.

Territory management and ecology