Splash zone (as a part of the near-shore zone) of most Eurasian lakes remains insufficiently studied. It has now become widely accepted that this particular area is a fast and effective environmental indicator reflecting response of the ecosystem to anthropogenic stress. The term «splash zone», commonly used in the scientific literature on marine coast zoning, is referred to as a part of the littoral zone subject to wetting by splash from breaking waves. A similar zone with most contrasting gradients in abiotic conditions constantly exists in Lake Baikal and occupies the area from the water edge to the slope base. Splash zone is 1800–2000 km long its lower margin migrates 10 and more meters upwards to the shore slope following the water level rise. Investigation of the splash zone is a new trend in limnological research of Baikal and, therefore, is considered prospective for science and commerce in providing knowledge on this important part of the lake. It has been found out that splash zone is quite rich in feeding resources: it accumulates detritus and domestic waste, providing favourable grounds for the development of specific communities and strongly affecting the hydrochemical and microbiological conditions in the interstitial and coastal waters. This zone is inhabited by representatives of at least 4 invertebrate complexes of different origin: Palearctic and cosmopolitan species (derived from Siberian water bodies surrounding Lake Baikal) shallow water, widely distributed and endimic species derived from Baikal infauna of forest soils and representatives of terrestrial biocoenoses. Our observations show that the splash zone is subject to a most intense anthropogenic load: the grounds in the littoral and splash zone serve as a buffer, filtering the waste discharged from the neighbouring settlements. The splash zone is the place of the highest concentration of the household rubbish. We suggest that the splash zone may be a most efficient tool in monitoring the anthropogenic stresses on the lake. The first results of our interdisciplinary investigations in the splash zone of Lake Baikal were published in a series of papers. The first of the contributions defines the splash zone and presents a brief description of Baikal splash zone, a list of the major factors responsible for the productivity of the splash zone communities, as well as some of the authors’ ideas on the organization of monitoring in this zone.