Aspects of the Soviet IGY

IUGG evolves (1940–2000)

“…. should be taken all over the earth", and especially at the Equator as well as at the poles (Bulkeley, 2008). This idea was supported by WMO, whose historical predecessor -the International Meteorological Organization -had launched two previous International Polar Years.…”

President Eisenhower, the Antarctic Treaty, and the Origin of International Spaces

“…At that time, the Soviet Union had yet to become effectively engaged in either ICSU or planning the IGY from 1 June 1957 through 31 December 1958, even though Russia had contributed to the 2nd IPY (Laursen, 1959) as well as the 1st IPY in 1882-1883 (Heathcote and Armitage, 1959). Soviet engagement largely began only after the October 1954 ICSU meeting in Rome, where the United States proposed that satellite launches should become a significant component of the IGY (Siddiqi, 2000;Bulkeley, 2008). Still, in 1954, the United States had no intention to interact with the Soviet Union in managing Antarctica, as reflected by the statements in the National Security Council (1954a): "Orderly progress toward a solution of the territorial problem of Antarctica which would ensure maintenance of control by the United States and friendly powers and exclude our most probable enemies."…”

Bellingshausen's first accounts of his Antarctic voyage of 1819–1821

“…And third, the Soviet Academy of Sciences did not receive an invitation to take part in the International Geophysical Year (IGY), which quickly became a far more effective vehicle for Soviet Antarctic policy than aggressive diplomacy, until the end of 1952 (Bulkeley 2008). The treatment of the fifth report, especially from 1949 to 1961, is now part of history itself, pertaining to a bygone era.…”