Evidence of the vastness of the world is somehow
comforting in a time of viral vacuity and superficial instant commentary on the
planet’s least interesting people. So it was with glee that I read about a
distant outpost of humanity about which I previously knew nothing. Norilsk is a place known to few but inhabited by hundreds of thousands, a city of such staggering remoteness that the details of the lives of its inhabitants seem scarcely believable.
Established in the Stalin era in northern reaches of Siberia,
Norilsk is a city built around some of the richest mining deposits in the
world. Nickel and other metals come from the ground in incredible quantities,
but life in the city is life on the edge of the possible. Winter temperatures
touch -50 Celsius; buses to industrial hubs travel in convoys of 25 for safety.
You can’t reach this city by road. In winter (which is most of the time) you
can’t reach it by boat either. Planes are the only option. Locals refer to the
rest of Russia as “the mainland”. Then there’s the fact that gaining permission
to visit is incredibly hard. One extreme-travel forum I read advised those
hoping to go, who did not have perseverant contacts within the city, to forget
it.
It’s one of a number of cities in Russia which represent
a sort of unexplored frontier. Check out Yakutsk, Magadan and Dikson for other
remote Russian outposts. I can’t imagine I’d enjoy living in any of these
places, but I’m glad they’re there.
Photographer Elena Chernyshova talks about her startling images of Norilsk here:
Do you live in Norilsk, or have you visited? Tell us what it's like in the comments below.
