Norilsk last Stalin-era dwellings built on Sovetskaya street
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Norilsk last Stalin-era dwellings built on Sovetskaya street

February 04, 2025

In the History Spot section, we present another rare snapshot. This image captures a significant and intriguing moment in Norilsk’s urban development.

#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. In this photo, the photographer documented the construction of the last courtyards in the historical part of Norilsk. The year is 1957: a residential building is being built at Pavlova street, 3, along with neighboring buildings that aren’t visible in the frame – Lenin prospect, 18 and 22, as well as Soviet street, 14. At this time, the era of Stalinist architecture in Norilsk was coming to an end; only a few buildings, such as the restaurant Gornyak and the semi-Stalinist structures on Zavenyagin street, managed to cross the Rubicon of Sovetskaya street.

What prompted the rejection of Stalinist architecture? During this period, the country began the industrialization of construction, a process known as Hrushchyovization (from the Soviet Union’s secretary general at that time Nikita Hrushchyov. – editor). In 1955, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Council of Ministers issued a historic resolution titled On Measures for Further Industrialization, Improving Quality, and Reducing Construction Costs.

That decree rejected all forms of individual creativity in architecture.

“…Projects often feature excessive architectural embellishments that lead to wasteful spending of state funds… there is a dispersion of resources… We must decisively improve project planning by primarily using standardized designs and conventional construction methods… Consequently, the Academy of Architecture of the USSR will be dissolved, with all its institutes and facilities transferred to the Academy of Construction and Architecture”.

The architectural community got into in shock by these decisions, as the essence of their profession – creativity – was being stripped away. As Larisa Nazarova, the chief architect of Norilsk, stated, “From now on, we no longer designed each building as an integral part of the street; instead, we took ready-made standard projects and adapted them to the local context”. This is precisely why the last Stalin-era buildings in Norilsk look so different from their earlier counterparts. The only ‘decorations’ they feature are modest false balconies and forlorn cornices.

The first step towards the industrialization of housing construction in Norilsk was taken in 1958, when brick blocks were used to build the first Hrushchyov-era based on standard designs. Even the architects had to acknowledge a significant advantage: construction time was reduced from one and a half years to just five or six months. A large number of families, who had previously lived in barracks and communal apartments, quickly moved into those new homes.

However, the Hrushchyovkas significantly altered the face of Norilsk. Standard designs developed for the mainland had to be adapted for the North. For instance, balconies, which could have enlivened the facades, had to be eliminated. As a result, our new buildings turned out to be strikingly simple. In contrast, even a Hrushchyovized Stalinist building looks more appealing.

In the previous History Spot’s publication, we discussed Pioneer street.

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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Norilsk residents and Nornickel Polar Branch's archives

February 04, 2025

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