#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The ski season in Taimyr usually starts in October and ends in June. However, in the 1930s – 1940s, skiers were rarely seen in the middle of winter. The polar night and the February-March snowstorms paused skiing.
Pictures from the photo archive of the Nornickel Polar Division indicate that at that time skiers sometimes moved from Norilsk to lake Lama. So, in February 1945, a cross was held there under the guidance of designer Dmitry Muravyov. The intended winner of the Lenin Prize for building the city on the permafrost was a first-class skier and gymnast.
But the ski passage of the same 1945 from Norilsk to Dudinka obviously took place in the spring and, most likely, after the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, judging by the happy faces of the athletes.
It is known that 100 kilometers to Dudinka, if you count along the railway line, in the 1940s skiers usually covered in about 36 hours. Decades later, in 1970, ten was enough for the team of the Copper plant and Medvezhy Ruchey mine to come to the capital of Taimyr. Thouh, skiers skied without rest and meals.
Read other materials of the photo project in the History spot section.
Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division Archive
