#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Norilsk residents at that time went to fight the white enemy hand-to-hand: they cleared roads and railway tracks with shovels. The combine’s annual losses reached eight million rubles. During a blizzard, it was allowed to stop almost all other work and bring people out to fight the drifts. This is how the first Norilsk residents remembered it:
“The winter of 1939–1940 fell upon the builders early, extremely snowy and stormy, even the old Taimyr residents were surprised at its severity. The construction site choked with snow. By the end of November, the construction site of the Big metallurgical plant (the future Nickel plant – author’s note) turned into a kind of mountain and snow country with many ravines, plateaus and gorges. The vehicles were paralyzed; even on a sleigh with a horse, it was impossible to get through. There were no snow removal equipment in Norilsk at that time. So the workers had to make tunnels for communication between individual sections, workplaces and dumps. The snowstorm once again showed the people of Norilsk that it was their worst and most dangerous enemy. How could they deal with snow drifts?
Strong winds carry huge masses of snow and, encountering obstacles on their way, leave behind them snow “plumes” reaching considerable length and height. The snow in these plumes is such a compacted mass, compressed by the wind, that nothing could be done with an ordinary shovel. They used a pick – the same one used to break up the soil. Somewhat later, a tool appeared in the form of a large hoe, with the help of which they passed through the snow face. Much, too much labor was spent on snow removal. And with what result? One day you clean it up, and the next day there will be snowdrifts again, plumes again…
During man’s struggle with the violent polar elements, several original and effective methods of snow protection were born. In December 1940, the first snow protection products appeared at the construction site of the Big metallurgical plant. First of all, we tested a way to use snow to protect ourselves from snow. A wall of snow blocks was built perpendicular to the direction of the prevailing winds; its length reached a kilometer. The blocks were stacked one on top of the other, in several floors, and most of the snow was retained against this wall. The work of the builders became easier.
Searching and observations continued, experience accumulated. We developed an active snow protection system. It is still in effect today. The creator and its practical leader for many years was railway engineer Mikhail Potapov. Fighting snow and blizzards became his life’s work. During the most severe snowstorms, with wind speeds of 20–25 or more meters per second, when nothing could be seen in the mad dance of the black snowstorm, Mikhail went to observe the work of the structures he had created. He shrank from the cold and the wind that got into every crevice, and… looked for the best method to curb the elements. He found it: he made the blizzard work usefully, work like a snowblower and even better, cleaner. This is incredible, but true.
Come to Norilsk and see how the Potapov fences work near the railway tracks or on numerous highways. The wind sweeps the road – and the stronger it is, the cleaner it sweeps. Old Norilsk residents lovingly called Potapov Father Snow Blow. Already hopelessly ill, he did not give up what he loved. As soon as one told Mikhail that somewhere a snow fence was not working satisfactorily, he immediately, regardless of the weather, went on a trip, found out the circumstances and gave the right recipe for how to “heal” this area…”
In the History Spot’s previous publication, we told how the first Norilsk residents walked from Dudinka to Norilsk.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
