Assessment of the Current State of Russian Biobanking in Various Sectors (Review)

In recent years, a network of diversified biobanks has been created in Russia, covering medicine, epidemiological surveillance, industrial agriculture, veterinary medicine and ecology. These biomaterial collections have become a valuable tool for solving scientific and applied problems as well as an important indicator of the level of the country’s biotechnological development. The paper uses peer-reviewed publications from the Scopus, PubMed, eLIBRARY and CyberLeninka databases, reports from the National Association of Biobanks and Biobanking Specialists and other organizations as well as regulatory documents and industry standards (ISO, GOSTs). The search covered publications from 2012 to 2025. The article discusses the role of biobanks as an auxiliary tool in the field of cell biology (in terms of cell line and tissue cultivation) and the use of bioinformatics analysis in data digitalization. Four principal domains of Russian biobanking were identified: epidemiology (infection monitoring, vaccine development), medicine (personalized medicine, oncology, pharmacogenetics), agricultural and veterinary sciences (breeding, veterinary surveillance) and ecology (biodiversity conservation, climate change monitoring). The major barriers remain heterogeneous data formats and the absence of a unified catalogue. We conclude that, while retaining their utilitarian function as cryostorage facilities, biobanks are increasingly becoming knowledge hubs and platforms for collaboration between scientists from different fields. The importance of biobanks will continue to grow alongside advances in personalized medicine, gene therapy and biosafety. Further development of biobanking requires a coordinated package of measures to harmonize standards, fully digitize collections and establish systematic collaboration between specialists across disciplines. Addressing these challenges will enable databases to function not only as archival repositories but also as resources for creating new drugs and vaccines, improving the accuracy of epidemiological forecasting and managing risks associated with naturally occurring and zoonotic infections.