#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The head of the Norilsk combine and the forced labor camp, Avraamy Zavenyagin, entrusted the work on the map and survey of the area to the design department of Norilsk.
Experts identified five possible sites. Two of them – in the valley of Bear Creek (rus.: Medvezhy Roochey) pit and on the slope of mount Dvugorbaya – were too small, and besides, an industrial zone was already being built nearby. The third site – on the northern slope of mount Nadezhda – was five kilometers away from the plant. Now we no longer think this is too far, especially from the factory pipes, but at that time the transport issue was not resolved. The area near Zub mountain and lake Tiskel was also considered remote and swampy. And finally, the fifth site – near lake Dolgoye – with a relatively calm terrain and satisfactory soils was considered the most convenient. The chief architect of the Norilsk project, Vitold Nepokoychitsky, later recalled how the location for the city was chosen.
“It was necessary, along with the combine design and construction, to design and build a large, modern, fully equipped city. Surveyors proposed several sites for urban construction.
Avraamy Pavlovich Zavenyagin, going to the window of his office, said: “Two platforms are visible from here. That is one of them – in the valley of the Medvezhiy Roochey”, and, as we approached, he pointed to a narrow ravine covered with a deciduous forest already beginning to turn yellow, on the right and in front abutting the slopes of two mountain ranges, separated by a deep gorge, framed on the left by a low hill.
In the distance, the ravine was closed by an impressive dome-shaped mountain, with a narrow strip of snow on top that had not melted over the summer. Avraamy Pavlovich moved to one of the windows overlooking the Octyabrskoye highway, and, nodding towards the mountains visible nearby, said: “Here, at the foot of those hills, almost all the main workshops of the future plant will grow. Immediately, a little to the left, the surveyors outlined another site – for the city construction.
You can no longer see other sites from here. For now, check out their locations on the map”. And, going up to the desk, he transferred the drawing lying on it closer to the light, onto a table covered with blue cloth. “We are approximately at this point”, said Avraamy Pavlovich, pressing a sharpened pencil to the paper.
“To the north of here there is a fairly large lake – Dolgoye. The far shore of the lake is hilly, but beyond the hills lies a large, almost flat plain. This is the third section. Another site is here, across the Shchuchya river in the area of lakes Zub and Tis-Kel, near mount Zub”, continued Avraamy Pavlovich and, drawing a pencil along a winding blue line, he stopped it near two bizarrely outlined spots of the same color.
“The fifth and last section is behind the railway line, at Nadezhda station, west of Shmidt mountain. We have just seen this mountain from the window. Inspect the sites and give your suggestions. Remember that we are talking about building a completely modern, well-maintained city. I hope that you, Leningraders, will find the right solution”, concluded Avraamy Pavlovich, saying goodbye to us with a smile.
The very next day I climbed up and down the area of Bear Creek ore deposit and mount Dvugorbaya, getting a complete picture of them. I was very pleased that the past day had not passed without benefit. But, returning home, I suddenly stopped, struck by a sudden doubt.
How can this be, I thought, after all, Avraamy Pavlovich told me that the future combine’s main production workshops will be located at the foot of the Barriernaya and Dvugorbaya mountains, that this location is already recorded in the master plan of the industrial site. But this is non-ferrous metallurgy – highly hazardous production! What kind of urban construction can we talk about, in the immediate vicinity of the plant, where it is impossible to withstand even the most minimal sanitary gaps. Check the map again? But everything is clear without verification.
The next day we also managed to inspect the area behind Dolgoye lake, and then one located on the left bank of the Shchuchya river, near lakes Zub and Tis-Kel. In general, it made a good impression, but still, in terms of its natural characteristics, it was significantly inferior to the site near lake Dolgoye. Two days later, all the competing sites were already quite familiar to me. The latter, near Nadezhda station, turned out to be located in an open, treeless area at a relatively large distance from the workshops of the future plant. Its only advantage was its practically unlimited size…”
It was the site near lake Dolgoye – with a relatively calm topography and satisfactory soils – that seemed most profitable to the architects. And Norilsk began to be built where it is today.
In History Spot photo project’s previous publication, we told how the first film trailers roamed around Taimyr.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
