#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. 15-year-old Mikhail Godlevsky studied at school and worked: loader in the port, draughtsman, technician in geodetic parties on the rivers Lena, Aldan, Angara and Mana.
Godlevsky entered the Leningrad University’s Physics and Mathematics department in 1922, but he was expelled ‘for origin’ in 1926. In 1927, he resumed his studies at the Leningrad Mining Institute’s Geological department and worked in geological parties in Siberia, the Urals and Kazakhstan every summer. He headed the Central Research Geological and Exploration Institute’s petrographic and mineralogical group and taught at the Mining Institute’s Mineralogy department after graduation.
During the World War II Godlevsky participated in the Leningrad’s defense: he was captured and refused scientific work in Germany. As a former war prisoner Godlevsky was arrested and sent to Norilsk in 1946. Here he worked as a geologist at the mine and continued his research. Godlevsky collected information on the Norilsk copper-nickel and carboniferous deposits’ geology and genesis. He wrote an innovative work The Application of Probability Theory to the Geological Problems’ Solution.
Mikhail Godlevsky joined the Norilsk Complex geological exploration expedition in 1955. Godlevsky made a forecast metallogenic map which helped to discover the Talnah deposit. In 1958 he defended his doctoral thesis Traps and Sulfide Copper-Nickel Norilsk Region’s Deposits. A theory of copper-nickel ore formation which beginning was laid by Urvantsev and Kotulsky was developed for the first time in the country in this work. Godlevsky’s research in Norilsk led to an increase in the number of valuable elements extracted from Norilsk ores.
One of the minerals discovered among the Talnah ores is named Godlevskite in honor of Mikhail Godlevsky.
In the History Spot photo project previous publication, we told that the club-theater was planned to be built on Gvardeiskaya square.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
