The awarding decree was signed in the Kremlin in early 1971. The city received the Order of the Red Labor Banner for the success achieved by the workers in fulfilling the tasks of the five-year plan for the production of non-ferrous metals. By that time, the Norilsk Combine, the Norilsk Komsomol and the Norilsk geologists had already received high awards.
The order was presented to the city in the combine’s palace of culture. Former director of the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NMMC) Vladimir Dolgih flew to the ceremony. As the first secretary of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Party Committee, he attached the first award to the city’s banner. In the photo, which is kept in the photo-information bureau of the combine, you can see not only the order on the banner, Dolgih from the back, but also his predecessor as director of the combine Vladimir Drozdov, on the left, wearing glasses. In the same year, the director of the NMMC, Dolgih’s successor, Nikolay Mashyanov (applauding in the center), was awarded the Hero of Socialist Labor title. Along with him, the senior smelter of the Copper Plant Mikhail Popov received a star.
1971 went down in the history of Norilsk not only with awards and titles, but also with the first ore of the Komsomolsky mine and the beginning of the Nadezhda construction.
In the same year, the 30th anniversary of the history autographs repository was celebrated – the combine’s photo information bureau (PhIB). The founder of the PhIB, the legendary Arcady Sorokin, flew to the celebration for the first time after leaving Norilsk.
Read other materials of our photo project in the History spot section.
Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
