#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The young Kharkov resident Yevgeny Astashin arrived in Norilsk in 1956 with slogan:
Our surname begins with A, which means we must always be the first.
He started as a worker at the Tsentralnaya (Eng.: Central) mine, became a foreman at the Zapolyarny (Eng.: Polar) mine in 1964, and in 1968 he moved to Talnahshahtoprohodka (Eng.: Talnah mine).
Astashin learned to be a sinker and settled in the Talnah mines for a long time. He built all the mines: the first one was Mayak (Eng.: Lighthouse), followed by Komsomolsky, then Oktyabrsky (Eng.: October) and Taimyrsky.
Astashin and his team became well-known throughout Norilsk very soon. The reason was high-speed drilling initiated by Evgeny.
Sinkers are always the first, they pave new horizons. In the depths they are pioneers combining two difficult professions: a builder and a miner. The side of two mine shafts, for example, is a jewelry task that requires accuracy up to a meter. Add to all this the category of time and you get high-speed drilling.
The excitement of high-speed drilling captured the foreman Astashin. He had enough personal experience, authority andcharisma to unite, uplift and inspire people.
Astashin’s team drilled the honorary first hole at Komsomolsky at the end of 1968. They set speed records there: they covered 200 linear meters in one face in a month for the first time in the Combiine’s history, they broke the record themselves – 213 meters, and they brought the record figure to 283.5 meters in June 1971.
The first Komsomolsky’s stage was completed in March 1971, there was a considerable merit of the Astashin’s brigade. Yevgeny Astashin received his first Order of Lenin for this.
The Astashin’s brigade was at the forefront on the Oktyabrsky too. The miners came up with original fastening methods: metal arches and formwork. The Astashin’s brigade set a record of all-Union significance there: 371 linear meters per month passed with one face. It was the highest figure for Siberia and the Far East.
In the History Spot photo project previous publication, we told about the street with four houses and one palace in a row.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division archive
