#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The new exhibition is a report on the Norilsk residents’ journey on the diesel-electric ship Monchegorsk along the Northern Sea Route, which lasted seven days and two hours.
The famous Norilsk photographer Vitas Beneta and the Nornickel Polar Branch’s public relations department’s manager Anton Zaitsev made this fascinating and memorable trip. In a week, they covered more than two thousand kilometers on the ship along the Yenisey, Kara and Barents seas. Thanks to their photographs, Norilsk residents will be able to see the harsh Arctic and the path to the mainland.
“It is symbolic that the Far North Artery exhibition opened on Russian Polar Explorer Day. Our cinema complex has already developed a tradition; every year on this day we organize some thematic activities. The Arctic is our everything, and Norilsk is the northernmost city, and besides, the guys had an interesting and memorable trip. It’s wonderful that Nornickel helped us organize this exhibition”, shared Anastasia Batova, the Rodina cinema complex director.
On the cinema lobby’s walls there were 27 photographs, supplemented by infographics. The photos were taken with a camera and a quadcopter; in front of each of them you want to stop and look for a long time at the details on the ship, people’s faces and the shades of ice, water, sky. Information posters hanging nearby tell about the Murmansk Transport Branch fleet, the Polar Transport Branch, the Dudinka seaport, which is considered the northern gateway to the great Northern Route, and about the route itself, which connects Europe and Asia and strengthens ties with the mainland.
The diesel-electric ship Monchegorsk, on which the guys traveled, was built by the company in 2008 and since then has been plowing the Northern Sea Route.
“In mid-March of this year, Vitas and I managed to walk with a film crew along the Northern Sea Route to show the incredible beauty of this waterway to Norilsk residents and tell them about it. Nornickel’s fleet is the largest and northernmost one. The Polar Transport Branch handles 95 percent of all incoming cargo to Taimyr. We spent seven days on the diesel-electric ship Monchegorsk, or, to be more precise, seven days and two hours. During that time, we walked along the Yenisey, went out into the Kara sea, then the Kara Gate, then Barents sea, where the ice ran out, and moved for another couple of days to Murmansk. We felt all the changeability of the weather: snowstorms, frosts, bright sun, but, unfortunately, we did not meet any animals: neither a polar bear nor seals. Although there were many pawprints. To say that we were captivated by this trip is to say nothing! Delight! Incredible beauty”, said Anton Zaitsev.
It is worth adding that thanks to modern technology, the guys managed to capture such a unique natural phenomenon as ice lard. This is a thick layer of small ice crystals on the water surface when its temperature is just below zero degrees. In photographs, the icy grease looks like clouds, and the ship appears to be floating in the clouds.
“The trip came as a surprise to me. Like a gift from fate. I consider myself lucky. Lots of impressions. I have also acquired valuable professional experience and take it into account for the future. I tried to spend all of my time on deck, seizing the moment, because most impressive things happened there. Moreover, you could always warm up and drink coffee. And again sunrises and sunsets, all the shades of the river and seas, the whimsical nature of natural phenomena. I made portraits of people. The team is very friendly and open; they communicated easily and talked about their everyday work. Captain Sergey Kondakov is a man with a capital letter. While traveling, I thought it would be nice to buy a quadcopter. The shots taken from above are amazing”, said Vitas Beneta.
The travelers’ stories about life on the diesel-electric ship are also interesting. For example, the pool was always filled with water from the sea through which they passed: the Kara or Barents. Both of them unanimously say that they would like to stay a couple of days longer, or even better, to repeat the trip.
The Far North Artery exhibition at the Rodina cinema complex will run until June 10 inclusive, Norilsk residents should hurry up to see it. You can combine a visit to the exhibition with a visit to film shows at Rodina.
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Text: Maria Sanina, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
