VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Norilsk is named for the river and mountains which in turn named after the fishing pole norilo used by northern fishermen to this day.
The first expedition to study Norilsk's subsoil resources was led by Nikolai Urvantsev in 1920. Urvantsev's geological party built its first wooden hut at the foot of Mount Rudnaya in 1921, during the second Norilsk expedition. In 1939 Norilsk became a workers' settlement and in 1953 a city. The city's permanent population is 204,033 people. The main industries are metallurgy (83.5% of the city's economy), mining (1.4%), generation and distribution of power, gas and water (5.3%).
The biggest employer in the city is the Norilsky Nickel Mining and Metallurgical Plant (86.9% of the city's industrial output).
The Norilsk industrial area accounts for 44.1% of the Krasnoyarsk Territory's industrial output.
In January-March 2010 the city's industrial output stood at 65.4 billion roubles (135.1% over same period in 2009 at current prices), of which metallurgical output accounted for 57.3 billion roubles (140%). As of June 1, 2010 unemployment in the city had dropped to 1.3% (the average in the territory is 2.2%), with 1,959 people registered as unemployed and claiming benefits. Small business in Norilsk (including individual entrepreneurs) employs 11,811 persons (10.3% of the total number of gainfully employed people). The average monthly accrued wage in Norilsk in 2009 was 40,800 roubles (almost twice the average in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, which is about 21,000 roubles). Wages dropped 6.1% (by 3.1% in the territory as a whole) compared with 2008. There were no wage arrears in the city as of June 1, 2010.
The city has 41 secondary schools, a boarding school, three education centres, an Orthodox primary school, six additional education institutions, 39 preschool childcare institutions and an information technology centre. The preschool institutions have the space to meet 55.4% of demand (the figure for the territory as a whole is 61.7%).
The city healthcare system comprises six hospitals, three polyclinics, an emergency medical assistance station, branches of territorial medical institutions: a psycho-neurological centre, and a blood transfusion station. Availability of hospital beds is 81.56 per 10,000 people (110.8 in the territory as a whole), availability of outpatient medical assistance is 268.37 visits a shift (309.8 in the territory as a whole).
The city has the Mayakovsky Transpolar Drama Theatre, the Central Library with 10 branches, four cultural and entertainment institutions, the Rodina cinema centre, a museum, an art gallery, an art and a musical school, four arts schools and an aesthetic education centre for children and youth. The public libraries have 65,300 subscribers.
Norilsk has 16 sporting facilities, nine sports schools for children and young people. The number of people who regularly participate in physical training and sports activities is 28,000.
