Astrobiology in Russia: past, present and future prospects

The purpose of this review is to examine the historical background and the scientific and philosophical foundations underlying the emergence and development of Russian astrobiology. In addition, it seeks to provide the international scientific community with a comprehensive account of the principal achievements of the Russian scientists whose research has contributed to the field of astrobiology. Their contributions include experimental models of prebiotic synthesis and impact-generated organics; the formulation of original theories of life’s origin; investigation of cold and glacial terrestrial ecosystems as analogs for Mars and celestial icy bodies; advances in bacterial paleontology with significant astrobiological implications. A significant amount of data produced by Soviet scientists were published exclusively in Russian journals and therefore remained largely inaccessible to the international scientific community. The review also discusses the current state and principal scientific directions of Russian astrobiology, its international cooperation, the challenges and prospects it faces, and provides a comparative analysis with the development of astrobiology in Western countries. Its primary aim is to outline the fundamental structure of astrobiology research in Russia from a retrospective perspective.