Towards the great unknown: the Soviets prepare for their thrust into the Antarctic interior

National prestige and the desire to reap a rich scientific harvest were the forces driving both the Soviet and American expeditions in their quest to establish stations deep in the Antarctic interior in preparation for research to be carried out during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957 – 1958. While American historians and expedition members have left a record of the American IGY exploits, little is known in the English speaking world of the men of the first Soviet Antarctic expedition who landed on the coast of the Antarctic continent in January 1956. They quickly built their main base, Mirny, and as a result gained a firm foothold from which to launch out into the icy interior towards the South Geomagnetic Pole and the Pole of Inaccessibility. This paper uses Russian sources to trace the preparatory steps taken by these pioneers in their attempt to reach and establish scientific bases in those remote locations.