The call to the Soviet youth to develop the wealth of the North was issued in May 1956. Norilsk became one of the most popular addresses for the youth of Moscow, Leningrad, Krasnoyarsk.
The first volunteers arrived at the construction of the Norilsk Combine the next month. In total, 6500 new settlers from Moscow and Leningrad responded to the appeal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Ministers of the USSR from June to October. By the beginning of the new, 1957, five hundred of them returned home, and the rest went on building the city and their life.
The first summer and autumn of the “paratroopers” were very warm. New settlers walked along the streets with songs and guitars, which was uncharacteristic of Norilsk at that time. But in the winter the famous black snowstorm happened.
After 15 years, one and a half thousand Moscow Komsomol volunteers still remained in Norilsk. Even in the year of the 50th anniversary of the plant in the city, one could meet the members of the brigades-1956.
Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
