Norilsk (English) Норильск (Russian)
-  City[1]  -
The first house built in Norilsk in 1921
Location of Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia
Norilsk Location of Norilsk in Krasnoyarsk Krai
Coordinates: 69°20′N 88°13′E / 69.333°N 88.217°E / 69.333; 88.217Coordinates: 69°20′N 88°13′E / 69.333°N 88.217°E / 69.333; 88.217
Coat of arms	Flag
Administrative status (as of April 2011)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Krasnoyarsk Krai[1]
Administratively subordinated to	krai city of Norilsk[1]
Administrative center of	krai city of Norilsk[1]
Municipal status (as of December 2004)
Urban okrug	Norilsk Urban Okrug[2]
Administrative center of	Norilsk Urban Okrug[2]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census, preliminary)	175,301 inhabitants[3]
- Rank in 2010	102nd
Population (2002 Census)	134,832 inhabitants[4]
- Rank in 2002	122nd
Time zone	KRAT (UTC+08:00)[5]
Founded	1935[citation needed]
City status since	1953[citation needed]
Postal code(s)	663300-663341[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 3919[citation needed]

Norilsk (Russian: Нори́льск; IPA: [nɐˈrʲilʲsk]) is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: 175,301 (2010 Census preliminary results);^[3] 134,832 (2002 Census);^[4] 174,673 (1989 Census).^[6]

Geography[link]

Norilsk is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city (after Murmansk) north of the Arctic Circle. Norilsk, Yakutsk, and Vorkuta are the only large cities in the continuous permafrost zone.

Geographically, it lies between Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District to its north, and Turukhansky District to its south.

History[link]

False-color satellite image of Norilsk and the surrounding area (more information)

Norilsk was founded by the end of the 1920s; however, the official date of founding is traditionally set to 1935, when Norilsk was expanded as a settlement for the Norilsk mining-metallurgic complex and became the center of the Norillag system of GULAG labor camps.^{[citation needed]} It was granted the urban-type settlement status in 1939 and town status in 1953.^{[citation needed]}

Norilsk, located between the West Siberian Plain and Central Siberian Plateau at the foot of the 1,700-meter (5,600 ft) high Putoran Mountains, is situated on some of the largest nickel deposits on Earth. Consequently, mining and smelting ore are the major industries. Norilsk is the center of a region where nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, palladium, and coal are mined. Mineral deposits in the Siberian Craton had been known for two centuries before Norilsk was founded, but mining began only in 1939, when the buried portions of the Norilsk-Talnakh intrusions were found beneath mountainous terrain.

Talnakh is the major mine/enrichment site now from where an enriched ore emulsion is pumped to Norilsk metallurgy plants.

To support the new city a railway to the port of Dudinka on the Yenisei River was established, first as a narrow-gauge line (winter 1935-36), later as Russian Standard gauge (1520 mm) line (in the early 1940s).^[7] From the port of Dudinka enriched nickel and copper are transported to Murmansk by sea then to the Monchegorsk enrichment and smelting plant on the Kola Peninsula, while more precious content goes up the river to Krasnoyarsk. This transportation only takes place during the summer:^{[citation needed]} Dudinka port is closed and dismantled during spring's ice barrier floods of up to 20 meters (66 ft) in late May (a typical spring occurrence on all Siberian rivers).

In the early 1950s, another railway was under construction from the European coal city Vorkuta via the Salekhard/Ob River, and Norilsk even got a spacious passenger railway station built in the expectation of direct train service to Moscow,^[7] but construction stopped there after Stalin died.

According to the archives of Norillag, 16,806 prisoners died in Norilsk under the conditions of forced labor, starvation, and intense cold throughout the existence of the camp (1935–1956) [1]. Fatalities were especially high during the war years of 1942–1944 when food supplies were particularly scarce. The prisoners organised a nonviolent revolt (Norilsk uprising) in 1953. Unknown but significant numbers of prisoners continued to serve and die in the mines until around 1979. Norilsk-Talknakh continues to be a dangerous mine to work in: According to the mining company, there were 2.4 accidents per thousand workers in 2005.

In 2001, Norilsk was decreed a closed city for foreigners (except citizens of Belarus). This is likely because of the sensitive nature of the nickel-platinum-palladium-copper mining,^{[citation needed]} and the ICBM missile silos nestled in the Putoran Mountains nearby.^{[citation needed]}

The mosque of Norilsk, belonging to the local Tatar community, is considered to be the northernmost Muslim prayer house in the world.

Administrative and municipal status[link]

Administratively, it is incorporated as the krai city of Norilsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[1] Municipally, the krai city of Norilsk is incorporated as Norilsk Urban Okrug.^[2]

Demographics[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Economy[link]

MMC Norilsk Nickel, a mining company, is the principal employer in the Norilsk area. The city is served by Norilsk Alykel Airport and Norilsk Valek Airfield. Due to the intense mining, the city is one of the ten most polluted cities in the world.^[8]

Norilsk-Talnakh nickel deposits[link]

The nickel deposits of Norilsk-Talnakh are the largest nickel-copper-palladium deposits in the world. The deposit was formed 250 million years ago during the eruption of the Siberian Traps igneous province (STIP). The STIP erupted over one million cubic kilometers of lava, a large portion of it through a series of flat-lying lava conduits lying below Norilsk and the Talnakh Mountains.

The ore was formed when the erupting magma became saturated in sulfur, forming globules of pentlandite, chalcopyrite, and other sulfides. These sulfides were then "washed" by the continuing torrent of erupting magma, and upgraded their tenor with nickel, copper, platinum, and palladium.

The current resource known for these mineralized intrusion exceeds 1.8 billion tons.^[9] MMC Norilsk Nickel, headquartered in Moscow, is the principal mining operator in Norilsk-Talnakh. The ore is mined underground via several shafts, and a decline. The ore deposits are currently being extracted at more than 1,200 m (3,900 ft) below ground. The ore deposits are drilled from the surface. Nickel production for 2008 amounted to 299.7 thousand metric tonnes. Copper production for 2008 amounted to 419 thousand metric tonnes.

The deposits are being explored by a Russian Government-controlled company. The company is known to be using electromagnetic field geophysics, with loops on surface which are over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) on a side. They are conclusively able to image the conductive nickel ore at depths in excess of 1,800 m (5,900 ft).

Climate[link]

Norilsk has an extremely harsh climate. Average February temperature is about −35 °C (−31 °F), and July is only about +12 °C (54 °F). Average temperature is approximately −13 °C (9 °F), and temperatures as low as −58 °C (−72 °F) have been recorded. The city is covered with snow for about 250–270 days a year, with snow storms for about 110–130 days. The polar night lasts from December through mid-January, so that Norilsk inhabitants do not see the sun at all for about six weeks. In summer, symmetrically, sun does not set for more than six weeks. Temperatures are known to rise above +25 °C (77 °F) in July.

Environment[link]

Landscape near Norilsk

Much of the surrounding areas are naturally treeless tundra.

Pollution[link]

The nickel ore is smelted on site at Norilsk. The smelting is directly responsible for severe pollution, generally acid rain and smog. By some estimates, 1 percent of the entire global emissions of sulfur dioxide comes from this one city. Heavy metal pollution near Norilsk is so severe that mining the surface soil is now economically feasible, as a result of acquiring high concentrations of platinum and palladium through pollution.^[11]

The Blacksmith Institute^[8] included Norilsk in its 2007 list of the ten most polluted places on Earth. The list cites air pollution by particulates (including radioisotopes strontium-90, and caesium-137 and metals nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, and selenium) and by gases (such as nitrogen and carbon oxides, sulfur dioxide, phenols, and hydrogen sulfide). The Institute estimates four million tons of cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, arsenic, selenium, and zinc are released into the air every year.^{[citation needed]}

According to an April 2007 BBC News report,^[12] the company accepted responsibility for what had happened to the forests, and insisted they were taking action to cut the pollution. For the period up to 2015–2020 the company expects to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by approximately two-thirds, but admits it is hard to guarantee this pace of reduction because they are still developing the technology. CNN has claimed that there is not a single living tree within 48 km (30 mi) of the nickel smelter Nadezhda ("The Hope").^[13]

Notable people[link]

• Andrey Bartenev, artist^[14]
• Natalia Yurchenko, gymnast
• Walter Ciszek, Jesuit missionary priest and political prisoner
• Dmitri Torbinski, association football player

References[link]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Законодательное собрание Красноярского края. Закон №10-4765 от 10 июня 2010 г. «О перечне административно-территориальных единиц и территориальных единиц Красноярского края», в ред. Закона №12-5780 от 21 апреля 2011 г «Об отнесении посёлка городского типа Тура к категории сельских населённых пунктов и о внесении изменений в Закон края "О перечне административно-территориальных единиц и территориальных единиц Красноярского края"». Вступил в силу 1 июля 2010 г.. Опубликован: "Ведомости высших органов государственной власти Красноярского края", №33(404), 5 июля 2010 г. (Legislative Assembly of Krasnoyarsk Krai. Law #10-4765 of June 10, 2010 On the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Territorial Units of Krasnoyarsk Krai, as amended by the Law #12-5780 of April 21, 2011 On Re-Categorizing the Urban-Type Settlement of Tura as a Rural Locality and on Amending the Law of the Krai "On the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Territorial Units of Krasnoyarsk Krai". Effective as of July 1, 2010.).
• Законодательное собрание Красноярского края. Закон №12-2697 от 10 декабря 2004 г. «О наделении муниципального образования город Норильск статусом городского округа». Вступил в силу через десять дней после официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ведомости высших органов государственной власти Красноярского края", №34, 19 декабря 2004 г. (Legislative Assembly of Krasnoyarsk Krai. Law #12-2697 of December 10, 2004 On Granting Urban Okrug Status to the Municipal Formation of the City of Norilsk. Effective as of the day ten days after the official publication.).
• "Norilskaya golgofa" "Memorial", regional Branch "Siberia", publisher: "Klaretianum", Krasnoyarsk, 2002 (Russian)

External links[link]

• MMC Norilsk Nickel
• Norilsk portal
• "Noril'sk, Northeast Siberia". NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17259. Retrieved 2006-05-01. 

v t e Administrative divisions of Krasnoyarsk Krai Administrative center: Krasnoyarsk Cities and towns Achinsk  · Bogotol · Borodino · Divnogorsk · Kansk · Krasnoyarsk · Lesosibirsk · Minusinsk · Nazarovo · Norilsk · Sharypovo · Sosnovoborsk · Yeniseysk · Zelenogorsk* · Zheleznogorsk* Urban-type settlements Balakhta · Beryozovka · Bolshaya Irba · Bolshaya Murta · Chibizhek · Dubinino · Goryachegorsk · Insha · Kedrovy · Koshurnikovo · Kozulka · Krasnokamensk · Kuragino · Motygino · Nizhny Ingash · Nizhnyaya Poyma · Novochernorechensky · Pamyati 13 Bortsov · Podgorny · Podtyosovo · Pokanayevka · Predivinsk · Rassvet · Razdolinsk · Sayansky · Severo-Yeniseysky · Shushenskoye · Snezhnogorsk · Solnechny** · Strelka · Svetlogorsk · Teya · Tinskoy · Ural · Yemelyanovo · Yuzhno-Yeniseysky · Zelyony Bor Administrative districts Abansky · Achinsky · Balakhtinsky · Beryozovsky · Birilyussky · Bogotolsky · Boguchansky · Bolshemurtinsky · Bolsheuluysky · Dzerzhinsky · Evenkiysky · Idrinsky · Ilansky · Irbeysky · Kansky · Karatuzsky · Kazachinsky · Kezhemsky · Kozulsky · Krasnoturansky · Kuraginsky · Mansky · Minusinsky · Motyginsky · Nazarovsky · Nizhneingashsky · Novosyolovsky · Partizansky · Pirovsky · Rybinsky · Sayansky · Severo-Yeniseysky · Sharypovsky · Shushensky · Sukhobuzimsky · Taseyevsky · Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky · Turukhansky · Tyukhtetsky · Uyarsky · Uzhursky · Yemelyanovsky · Yeniseysky · Yermakovsky *Closed cities and towns under the federal governance **Closed urban-type settlements under the federal governance

v t e Closed cities of  Russia Bolshoy Kamen Fokino Gadzhiyevo Krasnoznamensk Lesnoy Mezhgorye Mirny Norilsk Novouralsk Omutninsk Ostrovnoy Ozyorsk Polyarny Raduzhny Sarov Severomorsk Seversk Shikhany Snezhinsk Snezhnogorsk Tryokhgorny Uglegorsk Vilyuchinsk Zaozyorsk Zarechny Zelenogorsk Zheleznogorsk Znamensk

vep:Noril'sk