Along the snowy shores of Lake Baikal, many of the 5,000 residents of the village of Listvyanka are abuzz. Their quiet little town was mentioned on TV and radio during President Vladimir Putin's visit to Vienna in connection with international politics and high finance.

What got the town talking was a report that an Austrian company signed an agreement to develop a $200 million ski resort in Listvyanka. That's quite a sum for a village that boasts four cafes, a restaurant and small lodging house and where a 50-ruble ($1.70) a month salary is still something to brag about.

"We just saw the news about it on TV," said Galina Morozova, the village administration head, reached by telephone. "It was unexpected, and we haven't even discussed the matter yet with the [Irkutsk] regional authorities."

Morozova added that the dollar figures being bandied about would be a big break for Listvyanka, which is about 4,200 km east of Moscow. "It [$200 million] is a substantial amount of money," she said. "If it is invested here, it will provide lots of new jobs. It will bring income to the local residents."

That will be good news for people such as Listvyanka resident Mikhail Kolesov, who said a ski resort might help the locals actually earn a living in the village.

"It would be so great," he said. "We could have more jobs and finally start making some money."

Kolesov explained that, during summer, when tourists visit nearby Lake Baikal, lucky entrepreneurs can make some money. "A friend of mine made 50 rubles ($1.70) a month selling gems, and that's really good for here," he said, adding that many people live in poverty and support themselves by selling fish and souvenirs.

"If the project materializes, we can finally make a better living," he added. "I am surprised that nobody thought of this earlier. They can easily make back that $200 million that they're talking about investing here."

The resort is set to be built by Austrian ski-resort equipment manufacturer Dopplemayer. According to village administrator Morozova, it might take a month before local authorities have any specific information on the project's details or timing.

But many people in the village said they were convinced the project would eventually come about, especially considering the fact that the president himself is an avid skier.

"We are still very much surprised about the news, but if Putin is talking about it, then it should happen," said Nina Voloknina, who also works for the local administration. "I heard about it on the radio. If it happens, it would be really good."

Access to the village currently might be a problem for potential visitors, residents pointed out. The closest airport is in Irkutsk, the oblast capital, about 70 km away. There are daily six-hour flights from Moscow to Irkutsk by Aeroflot and three flights a week by Transaero to Moscow. There are no regular direct flights to foreign cities, however.

From Irkutsk, there is bus service four times a day to the village costing 23 rubles ($0.80.) A private taxi would cost $50 and a helicopter service is also available for $500 an hour.

Mikhail Kelman, first deputy head of Irkutsk Oblast administration, however, said that if the ski project did in fact become reality, a completely new system of infrastructure would likely be developed.

"They have announced that it is just an intention to do the project, so I don't want to comment on it yet," he said of the ski resort plan. He added that similar projects had been discussed before but never materialized.

"No one has seen the project papers at this time, and I don't think that they are ready yet," said Kelman, who added, though, that he had no doubt that such a project would be successful if it came to fruition. "Baikal is Baikal, and people will come here from around the world."

He agreed, though, that the resort would be a boon to the regional economy.

"Of course, shops and services will benefit," he said, adding that the Listvyanka labor force probably would be enough to satisfy the demand for such a project. But, he said, if they needed more workers, "Irkutsk is not so far away."

Listvyanka was first mentioned in print in 1772 by Russian explorer I.G. Georgy. The village was used as a port for a ferry service across the lake. It has not grown much since then, mostly due to flooding caused by the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric station during Soviet times. The village spreads over 5 km on the bank of Baikal.

In addition to the cafes and boarding house, there are already some nearby resort hotels owned by the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Intourist. The main attractions are the wooden St. Nicolas Church and the local zoo, which has three bears, a fox and a mountain ram.

Booking reservations for the ski resort might not be the easiest thing in the world just yet, however. There is no official telephone code for the village, and experienced Moscow telephone operators had to struggle to place calls there. But they managed to eventually complete a connection, albeit with enough static to keep all participants of the call shouting loud enough to disturb their co-workers.

‘A friend of mine made 50 rubles a month selling gems, and that's really good for here.' - Mikhail Kolesov / Baikal villager.