It was built by the Norilsk Combine for the children of its workers – on the banks of the Yenisei River, in a pine forest near the village of Atamanovo, 100 kilometers from Krasnoyarsk. The children were sent there for two summer months, from June 25 to August 25. The first Tayouzhny was opened in 1944. It was designed for two hundred children of 9 to 12 years old.
The memoirs of a former student of Norilsk school No. 1 about this camp in 1946 have been preserved: “Together with my classmates in 1945 I went to a pioneer camp in Podtesovo, and to Tayozhny in 1946. I remember the forest, which came up right to the water of the Yenisei. We lived in tents, the official opening was just being prepared. We could only dream of electric light. With all household chores, we tried to manage in the dawn. They fed us very well: sausages, tomato juice, bread, butter, cheese. The camp was fenced, but with the local, Atamanovo children, we got in touch quickly, shared bread with them and other things we managed to get. The locals lived hard at that time”.
At first, the boys and girls rested separately. Girls remained in the girl’s half, right on the beach, and the boys were placed in the forest.
One more recollection of the first season is by Maya Borun-Korotaeva who perhaps got into the shots the negatives of which are stored in the photo archive of the Polar Division.
Later, she described her first impressions on Tayozhny in one of the books About Time, Norilsk, and Myself: “Immediately after unloading from the ship, we went to the dining room. There were long tables, and many deep plates with rolls, butter, honey. First we were timid but later we began to feast. We were fed well while the time was difficult, the country was starving. Norilsk loved children”.
In the late sixties, Tayozhny included already 11 camps. Each had its own name, a territory with houses, dining rooms, sports grounds and a swimming pool. Up to 4 000 children rested there annually. Today, the Tayozhny health complex includes three camps. Each one works independently, the shift duration is 21 days. During the summer holidays, the complex can accommodate up to 3 000 children.
Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Larisa Reshetnikova and the Nornickel Polar Branch archive
