MOSCOW, January 15 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian expedition led by a polar explorer and MP plans to arrive in the Antarctic on Saturday to inspect Russia's polar stations.

Arthur Chilingarov, the Russian president's special representative for international cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, will be joined by lawmakers from the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

The group will also examine the living and working conditions of Russian polar explorers in Antarctica. The Antarctica-2009 expedition, launched on January 12, will last until January 24.

The Russian polar explorers are working together with an expedition led by Monaco's Prince Albert II. The prince asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in late December to provide technical assistance for his month-long polar trip.

"We are definitely showing the whole world that we have serious plans to continue polar research," Chilingarov said.

Russia has also recently been active in the Arctic, where in 2007 two mini-subs made a symbolic eight-hour dive beneath the North Pole to bolster the country's claim to a large swathe of seabed believed to be rich in oil and gas.