#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. “Instead of a Christmas tree – skis, skates and slides” – this was the festive slogan of those years, and it also suited Norilsk. But in 1935, when the order was issued to speed up the construction of a nickel plant in the Arctic, the New Year’s symbol in the Soviet Union was “rehabilitated.” Norilsk residents at that time celebrated the holiday under different trees.
From the memoirs of Grigory Saprykin, a Norilsk resident since 1935:
“Seventy meters from Urvantsev’s house there was a barracks that housed a canteen for civilians. They put up a Christmas tree there. There were no toys, but the schoolchildren decorated it with colored ribbons… The school did not exist yet, but Maria Meshkova, a teacher, the wife of my boss, Ivan Meshkov, taught lessons at her home. So the children participated in the New Year’s Eve with us. At midnight I was already at the rig. It worked nonstop. Apparently, at about ten o’clock we left the festive evening – Mikhail Homulo, he came from Kuzbass, Kursk resident Andrey Toropov, Muscovite Grigory Zuev… We went to our shift, where the New Year, 1936, found us. And the evening in the dining room was organized by the women’s council, led by Elizaveta Matveyeva (the Norilskstroy head’s wife)”.
From the memoirs of Zoya Nardina:
“I remember the 1937 New Year’s Eve in Norilsk. I was nine years old, and I went to the second grade of a small one-story school in the Old town. The Christmas tree was real, but the toys were homemade. We cut them out of paper. No New Year’s costumes. We were wearing white blouses, black sundresses with straps and pioneer ties. Masks-glasses were put on the face and tied with a string. The teachers played the harmonica and balalaika. And we danced around the Christmas tree and played. For participation in the games, Father Frost gave us candies – punch caramel, so-called pillows, without wrapper, and small rubber dolls.
From the memoirs of Hanon Wulfson:
“Since July 1942, I was in the camp department at the thermal power plant. After the victory at Kursk, many prisoners had their sentences reduced, and I was given a suit with American boots and an invitation card to the New Year party. Each camp department had its own Christmas tree, which grew nearby; it was decorated with jars and their own crafts. And with invitation cards it was possible to visit the Christmas party at the Trade Union Club. A pop orchestra was playing there. There were also treats: white bread (instead of black), herring, soup, pies. But the first thing to do was drink a pine drink. Those without escorts were allowed to stay longer than one in the morning. And on January 1, everyone had to go to work”.
In the History Spot photo project’s, we told about how they prepared for the New Year in the 1920s.
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Text: Svetlana Ferapontova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
