The average temperature at the location is −11 °C (12 °F), and on more than 200 days per year the wind is stronger than 15 metres per second (49 ft/s), with occasional cyclones.

Main areas of research are glaciology, seismology, meteorology, observation of polar lights, cosmic radiation, and marine biology.

It was erected on a sledge on the land transport route between coastal Mirny and inland Vostok Station.

It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 8) following a proposal by Russia to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

Summers however, are sunny and dry, reflecting a mediterranean precipitation pattern, in spite of its poleward latitude and cold temperatures.