The South Pole of Inaccessibility, the most remote point in Antarctica and its little dictator

In geographical terms, the places furthest from the coast or from any town are usually known as poles of inaccessibility.

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In June 2022 we saw here the Pacific Pole of Inaccessibility or Point Nemo, which is the most distant place in the world from any human presence, since the closest coast (in Pitcairn) is 2,688 kilometres.

In Antarctica is the most remote place in the world on land, known as the South Pole of Inaccessibility. This point is located at coordinates 82°06'S 54°58'E. This point is 878 kilometers from the South Pole and about 3,724 meters high, although its location is a matter of debate, since the Scott Polar Research Institute places it at the coordinates 85°50′S 65°47′E.

The South Pole was reached for the first time on December 4, 1911 by the expedition led by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, but the South Pole of Inaccessibility was not reached until December 14, 1958, when the Third Soviet Antarctica Expedition arrived there, headed by explorer Yevgeny Tolstikov.

The Soviet expedition built a small base in that place, where it made meteorological observations from December 14 to 26, 1958. The base was made up of a small cabin with capacity for four people, a station radio and a small electrical station. Once they abandoned it, the Soviets left provisions there for several months and a guest book for subsequent expeditions that arrived at that site.

Since that expedition was carried out during the time of the Soviet communist dictatorship, its members placed a bust of Lenin on the base, facing Moscow. Inside, they also placed a Soviet flag with the communist symbol of the hammer and sickle. This is the most remote totalitarian paraphernalia in the world.

On January 7, 1965, an American expedition arrived at the base and found the bust of Lenin. This expedition was called the South Pole-Queen Maud Land Traverse (SPQMLT). Its members left the place on February 1, 1965, aboard a Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane. The Soviets returned to that place in 1967, during the Twelfth Soviet Antarctic Expedition.

On January 19, 2007, a British team arrived at the South Pole of Inaccessibility. By then, the Soviet base was already buried under snow and only Lenin's bust stood above ground level. On December 27, 2011, the British Sebastian Copeland and Eric McNair-Landry were the first to reach this site on foot and using kitesurf. They traveled 4,100 km. Today, Lenin's bust remains there and has been classified by the Antarctic Treaty as a historical monument at the request of Russia. Today it is the most remote monument to a dictator.