#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The Norilsk city council decided to schedule the election of the local self-government head for September 10, and Budargin was appointed to temporarily fill the post during the summer period.
By that time, he had a great track record: in 1990 he was the secretary of the Norilsk City Party Committee, in 1991 he led the construction of a 1000-bed city hospital, in 1994 he was the Norilsk administration first deputy head, in 1995 – the combine’s deputy general director for personnel, in 1997 – elected to the regional legislative assembly, in 1999 – the leader of the Northern Party.
In September 2000, Oleg Budargin was elected Norilsk mayor.
Oleg Mikhailovich was the mayor for a relatively short time, but the Norilsk people still remember the ‘Budargin’s era’.
Under him, Leninsky prospect was paved with paving slabs, which at first did not please the Norilsk people; they opened the Palace of Celebrations in a new building, next to it on the Boulevard of Lovers the Kisses Bridge was set; the Rodina cinema was repaired; a youth center opened in Kayerkan; there were large-scale repairs of schools; stalls were removed from the yards; new monuments were erected: to the builders of Norilsk and to the Afghan soldiers.
Under Budargin, Norilsk returned the status of a city with limited entry. More precisely, in 2001 it became a territory with a ‘regulated visit for foreign citizens’. In 2003, Budargin left Norilsk, having won the election of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug governor.
In the last issue of the History Spot photo project we told that there were two Embankments in Norilsk.
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Text: Svetlana Samohina, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
