5 interesting facts about Russian Antarctic station “Vostok”

Here in Petrozavodsk where Enjoy Russian school is located students who come to learn Russian language in Karelia live with snow for maximum 3 months. They come here, enjoy pretty landscapes, learn Russian individually or in a group and they leave. But the locals have no choice but to spend 5-6 months in snow throughout the year and this is not even a verge. Russian researchers from Antarctic station Vostok live at the Pole of Cold with the lowest temperature on Earth (about -80/-90°C) 9-10 months straight! Some say Russians are brave, some say these people are crazy. But it doesn’t change the fact they deserve admiration.

What you may not know about the place where even Russian space technologies might be tested

1.  The whole station is covered with snow. The station founded by the Soviet Union in 1957 was named after the ship of the First Russian Antarctic Expedition. During the winter only 12-13 people leave at the station to maintain its work till the summer time expeditions. The station itself is the number of frame houses interconnected by tunnels and covered with snow. Even
2.  Want to find Antarctic penguins? Go somewhere else. People who live at the station are constantly asked if there is a chance to find penguins nearby. And the answer is “no”.  You need to move to other 5 Russian stations or choose the location other countries work at. By the way the total amount of Antarctic stations is about 90.
3. The age of the water under the station is 200-300 000 years. Lake Vostok is a unique reservoir because the water did not abut the atmosphere ever. The discovery made by Russian explorers is known as one of the most significant in the scientific world.
4. Antarctic researchers know how to keep eggs from spoiling. Russian film director Olga Stephanova was living at the station for a while and was impressed by a number of fats. Especially this one seemed to be super cool. Basically all you need to do is to turn all the eggs upside down once in 20-25 days. That’s the Russian ‘polar bears’ secret:)
5. A fly was the only one ‘pet’ at the station. You are not allowed to take any pets to the station. And explorers say there was a fly they were living with for a long time. And the problem was that a cook was so determined to do his job perfectly that he killed a fly once he saw it  the kitchen. Sad but true. And since then – no pets at all.

Enjoy Russian winter activities in December: not that cold but also exciting!

This winter Enjoy Russian school gives you an opportunity to experience a tiny part if this extreme buried-under-snow way of life and enjoy snowy landscapes! Take an individual course in December and January and come to the Russian North!

• You’ll see beautiful nature of Karelian winter: snowy fairy-tale sceneries, northern lights, visit snow and ice annual festival!
• Enjoy Russian banya and ice swimming, take a ski tour or arrange a picnic in the winter forest!
• Visit dog and deer farm, take a trip to world famous Kizhi island!
• Taste all kinds of traditional Russian and Karelian food whilestaying with a Russian host family and hear all interesting stories about Russian history, life in Russia and Soviet Union, amazing or weird Russian traditions firsthand from your hosts;

And bside that you’ll significantly improve your vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Thant’s what you need if you really want to reach the best results in Russian for a short period of time. By the end of the course you’ll be surprised by the progress you’ll have made!