#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. In 1941, Zavenyagin was appointed Deputy People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR.
He proved that in Norilsk it was possible and necessary to organize a full cycle of nickel production – from ore to pure metal. Prior to that, it was believed that only ore would be mined and matte smelted there, and processing would be carried out on the mainland. Zavenyagin proposed to build a modern city with complete infrastructure and everything necessary for a long stay.
His personality is assessed in different ways, but it was he who moved the construction of the plant and the city from the dead center.
When the plant was named after Zavenyagin in 1959, a new street in Norilsk was also named after him.
In 1960, his cast bust was installed on Administrative square (now it stands in the foyer of the Nornickel Polar Division’s office) and the square itself was renamed in his honor.
In the main photo above: Avraamy Zavenyagin and Grigory Ordzhonikidze with employees of the Novokramatorsk Machine-Building Plant, 1935.
In the last issue of the History spot photo project, we told that Norilsk was one of the first cities in Russia to set composters for travel tickets in buses.
For other issues of our photo project about the history of the city and the combine, go to the History spot section.
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Text: Svetlana Samohina, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
