Norilsk

Norilsk (nərēlsk`), city (1989 pop. 175,000), Krasnoyarsk Territory, N Siberian Russia. The northernmost major city of Russia and the world's second largest city (after Murmansk) above the Arctic Circle, Norilsk is the center of a region where nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, and coal are mined. A railroad links Norilsk with the Yenisei port of Dudinka, from where ores are shipped via the Northern Sea Route to European Russia. Hydroelectric plants are nearby and natural gas is found in Tyumen. Founded in 1935, Norilsk was the site of forced labor camps during the Stalin era.

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Noril’sk 

a city under krai jurisdiction in Krasnoiarsk Krai, RSFSR; one of the northernmost cities in the world. Its construction was begun in 1935, and in 1937 a railroad was completed, linking the city with the port of Dudinka on the Enisei River (122 km, now electrified). The population of the city was 156,000 in 1974 (in 1939 it was 14,000, and in 1959, 118,000). Noril’sk is a major mining and metallurgical center, refining local copper-nickel sulfide ores. There are metalworking and construction-materials industries.

Although the first general plan of Noril’sk (1939) attempted to create a large scale for the first northern city, it did not sufficiently take into account climatic conditions, such as permafrost, strong winds, and the polar night. The actual building of the city (chief architect, V. S. Nepokoichitskii) eliminated a number of problems of the original plan: the streets were laid out perpendicular to the direction of the wind, the paths of the streets were interrupted in order to break the force of the wind, and areas were built up completely, forming enclosed courtyards that are protected from snowdrifts. A new general development plan was drawn up for the city in 1961.

Noril’sk has a drama theater (1954), a swimming pool (1959), the Palace of Culture of the mining and metallurgical combine (1965), and an indoor skating rink (1971). Educational establishments include the Agricultural Research Institute of the Far North, an evening industrial institute, and a music school. On Jan. 28, 1971, Noril’sk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

REFERENCES

Shcheglov, S., and A. Bondarev. Gorod Noril’sk. [Krasnoiarsk] 1958.
Dunaev, V. P. Samyi severnyi. Moscow, 1960.
Lebedinskii, V. N., and P. I. Mel’nikov. Zvezda Zapoliar’ia. Moscow, 1971.