The station was opened on February 13, 1956 by the 1st Soviet Antarctic Expedition. It was originally used as main base for the Vostok Station located 1,400 km from the coast, this function is now served by Progress Station.[1] In summer, it hosts up to 169 people in 30 buildings, in winter about 60 scientists and technicians. The average temperature at the location is –11 °C, and on more than 200 days per year the wind is stronger than 15 m/s, with occasional cyclones.
Some 2 km south of the station stands a metal stele with an inscribed plaque. It was erected on a sledge on the land transport route between coastal Mirny and inland Vostok Station. It commemorates Anatoly Shcheglov, a driver-mechanic who died while performing his duties. It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 8) following a proposal by Russia to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. Other similarly designated historic sites in the vicinity of Mirny are Ivan Khmara’s Stone (HSM 7) and the Buromskiy Island Cemetery (HSM 9), both on Buromskiy Island 2.7 km north of the station.[2]