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PACS: 95.55.Vj 95.85.Ry 96.40.Tv a b s t r a c tWe present results of a search for relativistic magnetic monopoles with the Baikal neutrino telescope NT200, using data taken between April 1998 and February 2003. No monopole candidates have been found. We set an upper limit 4.6 Â 10 À17 cm À2 s À1 sr À1 for the flux of monopoles with b m = 1. This is a factor of 20 below the Chudakov-Parker bound which is inferred from the very existence of large-scale galactic magnetic fields.

We review the present status of the Baikal Neutrino Project. The construction and performance of the large deep underwater Cherenkov detector for muons and neutrinos, NT-200, which is currently under construction in Lake Baikal are described. Some results obtained with the first stages of NT-200 -NT-36 (1993-95), NT-72 (1995-96) and NT-96 (1996-97) are presented, including the first clear neutrino candidates selected with 1994 and 1996 data.

The objective of the Baikal Project is the creation of a kilometer-scale high-energy neutrino observatory: the Gigaton Volume Detector (GVD) in Lake Baikal. Basic elements of the GVD-new optical modules, FADC readout units, and underwater communication systems-were investigated and tested in Lake Baikal with prototype strings in 2008-2010. We describe the results of prototype strings operation and review the preliminary design and expected sensitivity of the GVD telescope.

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