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Paper short abstract:

I am to analyse whether historic sites and monuments can be used as instruments to build Soviet and Russian colonial narratives. The following areas will be analysed: Buromsky cemetery (Mirny station), Lenin bust at the Pole of Inaccessibility. Soviet snow tractors, a drilling complex building.

Paper long abstract:

Unlike on other continents, human presence in Antarctica has a short history and its the material culture reflects a 200-year history of human presence and human activities in a place with no Indigenous population.

In order to protect against the degradation of the artefacts and objects of significant historical importance, contributing to better understanding the process of exploration of Antarctica, a useful instrument was created- a list of historic sites and monuments (HSM) WAS created.

Toponomy, political and state symbols, funerary or religious objects, cutting edge technology play a central role in the process of building colonial narratives.

Antarctica is a region of significant geopolitical significance., I am to analyse whether at to what degree, HSMs can be used as instruments to build Soviet and Russian colonial narratives and what are strategies of building such narratives.

For the case study, the HSMs representing Russian and Soviet presence in Antarctica have been chosen.

The HSMs will be examined, their origin, the history of their creation, their primary and actual function, meaning, technical state; state of preservation. The following areas will be analysed:

- Funeral landscape - the Buromsky Cemetery at the Mirny Station

- Historical markers and memory makers: Lenin bust at the Pole of Inaccessibility.

- Technological achievement- two heavy Soviet snow tractors, a drilling complex building.

Based on an analysis of HSMs, one can observe that they are powerful instruments supporting colonial narratives, based on two main pillars: superiority and priority demonstrated on: religious, ideological and technological levels. .