АУТОР / AUTHOR(S): Mikhail Slipenchuk 
DOI: 10.46793/CSGE5.139MS
САЖЕТАК / ABSTRACT:
The report reflects Russia’s contribution to the exploration of Antarctida from the discovery of the sixth continent by the Russian expedition on the ships Vostok (Captain Faddey Bellingshausen) and Mirny (Captain Mikhail Lazarev) January 22, 1820 to the present days. Russia’s priority in the discovery of Antarctida is confirmed by the documents of that expedition and reflected in the toponyms of Antarctica: Bellingshausen Sea, Lazarev Sea, Lazarev Mountains. With the beginning of the work of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (since 1955), the period of fundamental complex research of Antarctida, which continues to this day, begins, based on the work of an extensive network of Antarctic stations. Currently, there are seven permanent Russian stations (Vostok, Mirny, Bellingshausen, Novolazarevskaya, Progress, Russkaya, Molodezhnaya), two stations – Druzhnaya-4 and Leningradskaya – as of 2024 are mothballed. Throughout the operation of these stations, Russian scientists have conducted many sectoral and comprehensive studies and made many discoveries in geography and related branches of knowledge. The report pays special attention to the discovery of the subglacial Lake Vostok at a depth of 3769.3 m in the area of the Antarctic station of the same name, which was the result of field and theoretical research by the outstanding Russian scientist Andrey Kapitsa. Studying this lake provides insight into changes on Earth over the past 440,000 years. This knowledge aids in better understanding and predicting the processes of climate change on our planet as a whole. Russian scientists and government are aware of the importance of studying the southern polar region of the Earth, and after a certain decline in research activity in the 1990s, Russia is now again among the leaders in the study of Antarctica. This can be seen in the construction of the new permanent Vostok station complex. The report presents in detail the challenges of our time and reflects Russia’s mission in Antarctic, which provides for maintaining its international status in accordance with the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, cooperation between scientists from various countries working in this region and minimizing risk factors for it from human society.
КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ / KEYWORDS:
discovery of Antarctida; scientific research by Russian scientists; subglacial Lake Vostok; Russia’s mission in Antarctic
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