Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Red Data Book of the Russian Federation (RDBRF) is a government document listing rare and endangered animals, plants, and fungi within Russia's territory, continental shelf, and marine economic zone. It originated from Soviet biological research conducted between 1961 and 1964 and has since become a legal instrument for species protection. Local subspecies such as the Ladoga seal are included alongside broader taxa.
The Ministry of Agriculture adopted the first official Red Book in 1974, and it was published in 1978. A second revision focused exclusively on animals appeared in 1984, followed by a plant edition in 1988 that listed 533 species.
The RDBRF uses six categories, numbered 0 through 5. Category 0 covers species considered probably extinct, meaning no confirmed presence in Russian territory for 50 years, while Category 5 designates species that have recovered through active conservation measures.
After the Soviet Union's dissolution, regional Red Listing became fragmented. By 2003-37 regional Red Data Books had been compiled, but they covered only 42 of Russia's 89 regions and most did not meet federal standards for legal publication.
Critics argue that regional Red Data Books waste conservation funding on paperwork that duplicates the federal RDBRF. A further allegation holds that illegal animal traffickers use regional books to locate endangered species, though proponents dispute both claims as unproven and argue that regional books support local biological research.
As of 2003, the legal framework consisted of the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993, the Law on the Animal World enacted on the 5th of May 1995, and the Law on the Protection of the Environment of 2002. Russia was operating under the 1998 edition of the RDBRF at that time.