Norilsk is a city of metallurgists, built in 1935, for the most part, using forced labor.
However, the city plan was voluntarily developed by Vitold Nepokoychitsky, an architect from Leningrad, who went to the Arctic Circle at the invitation of the head of the Norilsk plant.
Nepokoychitsky was faithful to the Leningrad school of architecture and, therefore, the first buildings in the city center were in the style of neoclassicism and the Stalin Empire.
However, unlike in St. Petersburg, the buildings in Norilsk stand on stilts and are built to withstand the winds like a single wall.
The buildings in Norilsk are also brightly colored to cheer up the locals. The railway station is even designed In the same pompous style, which now houses a museum.
The master plan for Norilsk was grandiose, but it was never completed. Already in the mid-1950s, after Stalin’s death, a struggle against architectural excesses began and Norilsk ended up being full of typical “panel” buildings.
The most beautiful and unique for the Arctic region residential buildings are, however, preserved today on Leninsky Avenue.
Dear readers,
Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following:
Subscribe to our Telegram channel
Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter
Enable push notifications on our website
Install a VPN service on your computer and/or phone to have access to our website, even if it is blocked in your country
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
Subscribe
to our newsletter!
Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox
