An abandoned Soviet airbase deep in the Antarctic was home to a group of intrepid scientists – where temperatures drop to -90C and the sun disappears for months at a time.

The Leningradskaya Station was once the home to USSR scientists and was built in 1971, as the paranoia of the Cold War raged on between east and west. Named after one of Russia’s most historic cities, Leningrad, the Soviet Union has set its sights on the Antarctic region by building the outpost at Queen Mary Land, a remote and desolate part of the continent.

But for the Union, Leningradskaya was more than just a research station but a symbol of the Soviet Union’s power. Meteorologists, glaciologists, and geophysicists worked side by side, gathering data that would contribute to our understanding of Earth’s climate and the mysterious forces at play in the polar regions. Scientists worked in their labs, analysing ice cores, measuring geomagnetic fields, and studying the atmospheric patterns that swirled above the icy continent.







Leningradskaya is now the ghost of a once-bustling Soviet outpost.
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Image:

Youtube / fast and Light)

The prefabricated time-capsule structure was connected by walkways to protect the inhabitants from the biting winds. During free time, the workers with write letters, play chess and read to pass the time – as it would be months before any reply would reach them.

But at the end of the 1980s the Soviet Union began to crumble under economic hardship and political unrest – meaning the outpost stations across the continent were slowly abandoned and forgotten about over time. In 1991 the doors of Leningradskaya were closed for what seemed like the final time. The relic became known as a “ghost town” buried under snowdrifts, consumed by the cold silence of Antarctica







Scientists based there wouldn’t be in contact with anyone else for months on end
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Image:

Youtube / fast and Light)

Fast forward to today, Leningradskaya remains a frozen time capsule in the heart of Antarctica. The station’s structures, weathered by decades of exposure to the elements, still stand, though they are slowly succumbing to the relentless forces of nature.

Inside, old equipment lies dormant, and the footprints of the last scientists are preserved in the snow that has drifted in through broken doors and windows. Occasionally, a team of researchers might visit, drawn by the station’s history or by the desire to recover data from the instruments left behind.







The station was perched on a cliff on Queen Mary Land – a particularly isolated part of the continent
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Image:

Youtube / fast and Light)

Over the years, the Russian Antarctic Expedition has discussed intentions to reopen the base, but nothing has ever materialized. Russia has sent icebreakers to the site which may signal some renewed interest in reopening the base, but as of yet, nothing has happened – and Leningradskaya remains exactly how it was.