stylistic:style_transfer
Historical traditions

The first European to reach the lake is said to have been Kurbat Ivanov in 1643.

In the past, the Baikal was referred to by many Russians as the "Baikal Sea" (море Байкал, More Baikal), rather than merely "Lake Baikal" (озеро Байкал, Ozero Baikal). This usage is attested already in the Life of Protopope Avvakum (1621–1682), and on the late-17th-century maps by Semyon Remezov. It is also attested in the famous song, now passed into the tradition, that opens with the words Славное море, священный Байкал (Glorious sea, sacred Bajkal).To this day, the strait between the western shore of the Lake and the Olkhon Island is called Maloye More (Малое море), i.e. "the Little Sea ".

Lake Baikal is nicknamed "Older sister of Sister Lakes (Lake Khövsgöl and Lake Baikal)".

According to 19th-century traveler T. W. Atkinson, locals in the Lake Baikal Region had the tradition that Christ visited the area:

The people have a tradition in connection with this region which they implicitly believe. They say "that Christ visited this part of Asia and ascended this summit, whence he looked down on all the region around. After blessing the country to the northward, he turned towards the south, and looking across the Baikal, he waved his hand, exclaiming 'Beyond this there is nothing. ' " Thus they account for the sterility of Daouria, where it is said "no corn will grow."

Lake Baikal has been celebrated in Russian folk songs. Two of these songs are known in Russia and its neighboring countries, such as Japan.

The latter song was a secondary theme song for the Soviet Union's second color film, Ballad of Siberia (1947; Сказание о земле Сибирской).