Andrey Nekrasov, 42, joined an adventurous group who spent an hour below the frozen surface of Russia's Lake Baikal, the world's largest lake, in temperatures of -20 degrees Centigrade.
These photos, taken at up to 50ft deep under the crust of ice, show the incredible underwater world which few people have been able to witness.
A diver stands on the ice at Lake Baikal, the world's largest lake
The adventurous group of ice-divers as they penetrate the ice and spent an hour 50-feet deep under the crust of ice
Photographer Andrey Nekrasov, 42, took the plunge and dived into the 2,500ft deep frozen lake to take these incredible images
The divers prepare to enter Lake Baikal. Andrey
travelled more than 3,000 miles by plane from his home in Odessa in the
Ukraine to Siberia
Despite surface temperatures of minus 20-degrees Centigrade at this time of year the divers spent around an hour in the water
In spite of the freezing temperatures, Lake Bailkal is a wildlife haven and home to 1,700 species of plants and wildlife
A diver chills out on the Siberian ice at Lake Baikal
A member of the support team keeps an eye on the divers (left) while one explores a tunnel in the ice (right)
The lake lake is the largest in the world, it has five-times the volume of all five Great Lakes of North America.
Despite surface temperatures of minus 20 degrees Centigrade at this time of year, the 12,200 square mile Siberian UN Heritage Site of Lake Bailkal is a wildlife haven - home to 1,700 species of plants and animals.
Andrey travelled over 3,000 miles by plane from his home in Odessa in the Ukraine to the town of Ulan Ude in Siberia. He then journeyed the final eight miles across frozen tundra to reach the lake.
Photographer Andrey Nekrasov is watched by two female divers who stare through the ice as he explores life below the ice
A diver moments after jumping into the -20 degree waters of Lake Baikal
