Russia opens new facilities at the Vostok station in Antarctica

Russia's Vostok Base in Antarctica has opened a new winter complex.
Vostok Research Station is around 1,301 kilometres (808 mi) from the Geographic South Pole, at the middle of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Vostok is located near the southern pole of inaccessibility and the south geomagnetic pole, making it one of the optimal places to observe changes in the Earth's magnetosphere. Other studies include actinometry, geophysics, medicine and climatology.

The station is at 3,488 metres (11,444 ft) above sea level and is one of the most isolated established research stations on the Antarctic continent. The station was supplied from Mirny Station on the Antarctic coast. The station normally hhosts 30 scientists and engineers in the summer. In winter, their number drops to 15.