Introduction to Russian Society for Photobiology

This Special Issue is devoted to the latest conference event of the Russian Society for Photobiology (RSP)—the 9th Congress of the RSP held in Shepsi, Krasnodar region, Russia, on September 12–19, 2021. The RSP was organized in 1993 and from its very beginning the RSP has promoted activities of scientists, engineers, professors, and students in photobiology and the related fields of science. The main mission of the RSP is the organization of workshops, meetings, and congresses focused on photobiological research, particularly welcoming young researchers. A brief history of the RSP can be found in this SI of Biophysical Reviews (Koppel and Krasnovsky 2022). Notably, RSP does not levy membership fees, and its management is elected to work on a voluntary basis. The RSP plays a significant role in the organization of, and contributes significantly to, photobiological research in Russia.

The 9th Congress of the Russian Photobiological Society

The 9th Congress of the RSP was originally scheduled in 2020 but it was postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Congress has been held as a hybrid online-in-person event and it ran in 8 sections with 144 attendees, 18 of whom delivered their talks online. Including their listed coauthors, overall 314 participants joined the meeting. The Congress organization ran through several phases. First, the Program Committee suggested the title for the Congress “Actual Problems in Photobiology” and set the 8 Sessions of the Congress program. When Coordinators volunteered for each Session (Table 1), they cooperated with the Program and Organizing Committees to appoint Chairs for each Session’s meetings. The Congress was concluded by taking the joint photo (Fig. 1).

Table 1 Sessions of the 9th Congress of the Russian Society for Photobiology (RSP)
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Fig. 1
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Participants of 9th Congress of the Russian Photobiological Society held in Shepsi, Krasnodar region, Russia, on September 12–19, 2021. Joint photo

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Scientific content of the Congress

The content of the key talks delivered at the Congress was shaped into invited review papers that made up this Special Issue of Biophysical Reviews. These contributions are listed, together with their outlines, and the commentary papers pertinent to each session of the Congress, in Table 2.

Table 2 Key contributions to the Special Issue of Biophysical Reviews dedicated to the 9th Congress of the Russian Society for Photobiology (RSP)
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Young scientist competition

Forty young scientists participated in the Congress. The Award Committee evaluated their presentations, though with some difficulties in comparison of contribution coming from different levels of BSc, MSc, and PhD. Eventually, 20 young scientists were selected as winners. The winners presented short talks (3 min talks with 2 min questions) at the special session; they were awarded Winner’s Certificates and souvenirs (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2
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Young scientists — awardees of Young Scientists Competition at 9th Congress of Russian Photobiological Society (from left to right; from up to down). Aleksandr Ashikhmin, Konstantin Chekanov, Anna Vishnevskaya (primary processes of photosynthesis); Valeria Dmitrieva, Anna Shukshina, Darya Vetoshkina (regulation of photosynthesis); Artemiy Sukhanov (photoreception); Anton Benditkis, Ioanna Gorbunova, Daniil Gvozdev, Dmitriy Pritmov, Natalya Shilyagina, Polina Starygina (basics of photodynamic, laser, and PUVA therapy); Marina Larionova, Pavel Natashin (bioluminescence and photonics of fluorescent proteins); David Gabrielyan, Makhmadyusuf Khasimov, Darya Zharova (microalgae as converters of light energy into biofuels and high-value products); Ekaterina Gromova, Alexander Khmarik (ecological photobiology)

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Heroes of the Congress organization

Together with the RSP, the Institute of Basic Biological Problems Russian Academy of Sciences (The Separate Subdivision of Federal Research Center “Pushchino Center of Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences”) and M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University organized the 9th Congress of the Russian Photobiological Society. Many volunteers worked hard as Program and Organizing Committee members, organizing communication with participants of the Congress, providing registration, technical assistance, realization of smooth sessions and online talks of participants, preparation of advertisements about program changes and reminders about different events, etc. All authors of this SI bid thanks on behalf of RSP Central Committee. Particular acknowledgement should be given to Darya Vetoshkina, Tatyana Fedorchuk, Irina Sterelyukhina, Elena Korovina, Larissa Koppel, Aleksey Semenov, Sergey Khrushchev, Marina Kozuleva, Lada Petrovskaya, Olga Koksharova, Olga Voitsekhovskaya, Evgeniy Vysotsky, and Ivan Proskuryakov for their enormous contribution to the Congress preparation.

The venue of the Congress

In 2011, the Mayak lodging house in Shepsi village, Krasnodar region, Russia, has been chosen as the venue for the RSP congresses. It is located at a beach of the Black Sea shore and gives an excellent opportunity to combine comfortable meetings in conference room (more than 200 seats) and convenient accommodation as well as pleasant rest at the beach, in the park, or using sport facilities. In addition, informal meetings that take place at any scientific forums are possible almost anywhere in the park zone, recreation rooms, and other premises. The RSP has a long-standing partnership with Mayak, so we never miss an opportunity to say thanks to our hosts especially to Alexander Kovalev, the Director; Olga Yarzhinskaya, the Administrator of the hotel; Anna Zhorova, the restaurant Manager; and Elena Kovaleva, responsible for keeping and explaining rare plants in the lodging house garden, for their heartfelt kindness and hospitality for all guests of “Mayak.”

In conclusion, the 9th Congress of the RSP, in spite of COVID-19 restrictions, brought together many researchers enabling them to exchange their thoughts and share their latest results. Participants received a lot of new information from the presentations and, most importantly, exchanged new ideas, agreed to continue their cooperation, and created new connections. So, in view of what is said above, the 9th Congress of the RSP appears to be quite successful.