Inside the northernmost city on Earth whose residents endure - 55°C temperatures and two [tr]

UK Daily Mail ^ | January 26, 2016 | Caroline McGuire

[C19fan]

Isolated, polluted and – above all – cold, it is a city built on misery and blood. It is also a city of surprising wealth – the reason for its unlikely existence. Norilsk, squatting 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, has the largest deposits of nickel, copper and palladium on earth and its hellish mines are thriving. Gulag prisoners began expanding the Siberian settlement in 1935 and over the next 20 years, 500,000 slaves took part in its construction . Thousands lost their lives.

[C19fan]

I saw a documentary about Norilsk. The whole city is a toxic waste dump from the pollutants precipitating into the soil.

[Dr. Sivana]

Well, yeah, but there aren’t many mosquitoes.

[Resolute Conservative]

Or panhandlers.

[thackney]

Life expectancy is 10 years less than in other regions of Russia, the risk of cancer is two time higher and respiratory diseases are widespread.

Some studies show that the air quality is responsible for 37 per cent of deaths of child deaths and 21.6 per cent of adult deaths.

wow...

[tenger]

Well, yeah, but there aren't many mosquitoes.

Actually if it's anything at all like Fairbanks Alaska, the mosquitoes will eat you alive in the summer time. How so? The permafrost ground is always moist. It never fully dries. I think that's the explanation for it.

[V_TWIN]

Sounds worse than the Underworld of Bartertown.

[Thunder90]

Socialism is such a wonderful thing to the environment....

[The_Media_never_lie]

Socialism is such a wonderful thing to the environment....

Yes, but their is less envy, maybe? Gotta be something else nice about socialism. Maybe Bernie can educate us.

[wtd]

A sure case for biodome developement to build indoor green spaces.

[2banana]

Send the muslim refugees there...

[43north]

+1 on the rapeugees.

I worked at Prudhoe Bay for 26 years in a similar arctic environment at 70* North latitude. During the Glasnost phase several groups of Russian bureaucrats toured the field and asked why the government didn’t just build a city there and make the workers live in it. One of them stated that he did not believe any oil was being produced. The tour guide asked what he meant. He stated that since there was no oil laying around on the tundra it was obvious that none was being produced and all the facilities were “just for show”.

What a mindset.

[Flick Lives]

Norilsk, squatting 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, has the largest deposits of nickel, copper and palladium on earth and its hellish mines are thriving. Gulag prisoners began expanding the Siberian settlement in 1935 and over the next 20 years, 500,000 slaves took part in its construction.

Sounds like the Klingon penal colony on Rura Penthe.

[VTenigma]

Hey, ya gotta die of somthin

[BobL]

“500,000 slaves took part in its construction . Thousands lost their lives.”

For completeness, that would be roughly 500,000 slaves losing their lives there, give or take one or two. The Gulags were one-way trips, people were starved to weaken them (1000 calories a day, carefully measured), and then they were worked to death - it took about a year.