#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. This photo captures the early days of the modern city, showcasing the first buildings of its current neighborhoods, which, unfortunately, no longer exist.
This is 1942. During that challenging time, most efforts were focused on industrial projects. The construction of a thermal power plant and a large metallurgical plant was nearing completion, while civil construction was only allowed on a limited basis, as stated in temporary guidelines that prohibited building cultural and sports facilities during wartime.
Despite this, it was during that very period that the construction of new Norilsk – referred to as Gorstroi – began on a site located away from the industrial zone and the Avariyny settlement, which we now know as the Old town. In 1940, Moscow approved the master plan for the future city, and construction started almost immediately in the midst of the boggy tundra. Geographically, the site was near what is now Sevastopolskaya street, situated between the yet-to-be-constructed buildings of the Norilsk mining and metallurgical college and the fourth school.
The first structures built were eight two-story brick buildings – three of which can be seen in the foreground of this photograph. As recalled by the first residents, those homes had no amenities but did have electricity.
“Water was delivered in wooden barrels. The pump came later, but it was a hassle: while filling a bucket, your felt boots could freeze solid, and you’d have to wait for someone to rescue you. If there was no water at the pump, you’d have to go to Dolgoye lake and fetch it from the hole in the ice”.
Initially, wood stoves were the primary source of heat. However, this photograph already shows a small boiler room with an above-ground heating pipeline. These facilities were temporary solutions, but by the early 1950s, there were as many as 50 of them in Norilsk. The smallest boiler houses could only heat a single home.
The corner three-story building in the photograph is the first true apartment building of Gorstroi. It was built at an angle: one wing faced what would become Sevastopolskaya street, while the other faced what would become Pionerskaya street. That building later received the address Sevastopolskaya street, 5. The small two-story buildings in the courtyards, constructed before the streets were established, remained under construction numbers and were referred to as Quarter No. 5 and No. 9.
Today, on the site captured by the photographer in 1942, there stands a former kindergarten and two nine-story buildings – Sevastopolskaya street, 7a and 7b. The location of the corner building is now occupied by buildings at Sevastopolskaya street, 5, and B. Hmelnitsky street, 6, which have a similar corner design. If you wish, you can walk to this courtyard and replicate the angle of the photo. However, mount Shmidtiha is now obscured by high-rise buildings.
In the History Spot photo project’s previous publication, we wrote about the oldest structure within the boundaries of modern Norilsk.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch and Norilsk residents’ archives
