Today, Russian science has every chance of reaching a completely new level, which would be impossible without proactive effort in the international dimension. In this regard, it makes sense to recall the experience of successful scientific cooperation between institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and organizations in Western countries at the turn of the century, in the most difficult years of the systemic crisis in Russia. This experience may prove useful in the present conditions.

Upper Cambrian-Lower Ordovician volcanic-siliceous-terrigenous strata of the Zasur'ya Group belonging to the Gorny Altai segment of the Paleo-Asian Ocean are considered in this paper. The Gorny Altai segment developed over a long period, of not less than 25–30 million years. The Zasur'ya Group consists of the Listvenny, Talitsa and Marcheta Formations, in ascending stratigraphic order. The Listvenny Formation is represented by basalts, cherts and terrigenous rocks, whereas the Talitsa Formation mainly consists of terrigenous rocks. The Marcheta Formation is characterised by terrigenous rocks, tuffs, cherts and jasperoids. Geochemical features of basalts and tuffs from the Zasur'ya Group indicate they are oceanic island alkali basalts and E-MORB basalts. Lithologic markers of environments of sedimentation within the Gorny Altai segment of the Paleo-Asian Ocean are described, and bio-indicators of the environments of siliceous sedimentation are evaluated. The results indicate that the Zasur'ya Group was deposited in a deep-water oceanic environment.

The geologic structure, geochemistry, lithology, and paleontology of the Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician volcanosedimentary Zasur'ya Group in Gorny Altai are considered. Its geochemical parameters, lithologic features, and biomarkers are indicative of its oceanic genesis. The regularities of the spatial distribution of various facies types of Zasur'ya Group sections are revealed. Eight conodont zones are recognized there. They allow precise dating of the unit. The Gorny Altai sector of the Paleo-Asian ocean has been proven to exist. for ca. 40 Ma. The stratigraphic position of the metamorphic and volcanosedimentary deposits of Rudny Altai is considered. In the Char a sector of the Paleo-Asian ocean, the age position of the volcanosedimentary units is refined and the stratigraphic levels of oceanic sediments are outlined.