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HIRTY years ago, a group
oF of engineers and workers
came to the picturesque banks
of the Yenisei. The Soviet
Union needed a port, a large
port from which to ship timber
via the Northern Sea Route.
And so, in a channel of the
river, deep enough and con-
venient for ocean-going steam-
ers to navigate, 435 miles from
the Kara Sea, the port of
Igarka was built.

Igarka is a long way from
Moscow. The journey seems
‘endless to the traveller going
‘by train to Krasnoyarsk and
then by steamer down the
Yenisei. But in our days air-
eraft offers a much more con-

“venient means of transport. In
the Soviet Union two agencies
function for the transportation
of passengers and cargoes to
the Far North. One of these is

“the “Aeroflot,” the other — the
‘Polar Aviation Administration.
Each of them brings passengers
to Igarka by a different route.

““RKeroflot” carries them via
Krasnoyarsk, and the Polar
Aviation Administration
through Arkhangelsk, Naryan-
Mar, and Dudinka.

_ J flew to Igarka by the sec-
ond route. The whole journey
took about a day and a half.
But that was only because bad
weather forced us to spend the
night at one of the aerodromes
en route. It was winter-time.
The plane flew in the darkness
of the Polar night which knows
no day. At midday, only a faint
gleam of dawn glimmered in
the south.

But suddenly numerous
lights gleamed brightly far be-
low us, the plane made a sharp
turn, and landed.

eyond the Arctic Cir

The 30th anniversary of the found-
ing of Igarka, the Soviet polar city and
port, was celebrated this summer.

Here we publish a story by Vsevolod
Parkhitko, speciai correspondent of the
newspaper Sovietskaya Rossiya, written
after a visit to Igarka.

Of course, the climate is sev-
ere' in the North. There are
blizzards which bury _ the
houses and roads. under the
snow and in the mornings peo-
ple have to dig out a path from
their doors. The thermometer
often drops to 40 degrees hbe-
low zero. You meet with the

frost which pierces you. to the

bone the minute. you step. out
of the plane in Igarka.-

In recent years, the city has
changed beyond recognition. It
has become a large centre of
the timber industry, and one
of the largest ports shipping
timber to the Far North, It
would take many days to make
the round of all its enterprises,
to see all its streets. The timber
yards alone form a_ whole
town. And how many more
sawmills, factories producing
building parts, and other enter-
prises, there are!

During high-water in the
spring, and even in -the sum-
mer, small tugs tow huge tim-
ber rafts over the upper
reaches of the Yenisei. Timber
is also floated from the Angara,
the Podkamennaya Tunguska,

As was intended, Igarka be-
came a woodworking city. On
the banks of the Yenisei, as
far as the eye can reach, lie
stacks of sawn, cured, or raw
timber. Steamers flying the
flags of many countries put in
at Igarka for cargoes of timber.
Russian timber, in particular,
the ‘golden’ Angara  pine-
wood; is well known in the
markets of the world. The
majority of the new construc-
tion sites in the Soviet Arctic
receive their building timber
from Igarka.

However, Igarka is not sim-
ply a timber-shipping port. It
now has a fish-dressing and
canning plant, and shipyards
jin which fishing trawlers are
built. Collective fisheries sup-
ply the town with fresh fish.
Moreover fish from the Yeni-
sei, dressed in Igarka, is sent
to the central regions of the
country.

The townspeople have fresh
vegetables daily: potatoes, car-
rots, cucumbers, tomatoes, rad-
ishes, onions — all these are
grown locally. Large vege-
table-growing state farms have

and the Nizhnyaya Tunguska, | been organized next to the city.

from all the rivers which flow
into the huge basin of the Yeni-
sei.

I went to Igarka to see my
mother, a geologist and special-
ist in eternal congelation; she

‘schools

has been living in Igarka for
many years. Whether a- house
or a road has to be built, or an
ordinary tennis or volleyball
court laid out—the eye of the
geologist is needed: everywhere
here.

In Igarka the eternal con-
gelation deviates from the or-
dinary. In the summer some
sections of the soil thaw to a
very great depth, while at
other places blocks of eternal
ice lie ata depth of only eight
to 12 inches. That is why every
new construction site has to be
inspected by geologists before
work begins; they have to cal-
culate the strength of the soil
and give their conclusion to the
builders.

Igarka is both an industrial
and a cultural centre of the
Soviet Far North. As in every
other Soviet city, all the chil-
dren go to school. Besides
schools, there is a special edu-
eational establishment — a
Northern Peoples’ Teachers’
Training School, at which lo-
cal teachers are trained for the

Nenets who. inhabit a large
part of Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The city has several clubs, li-
braries, a territorial museum,
and an experimental station of
the Institute of Polar Agricul-
ture. Foreign sailors can spend
an interesting evening at the
International Club.

Igarka is only 30 years old.
That is maturity in man, but
youth for a city. This young
city, however, has _ already
taken a definite place in the
family of Soviet cities. Its
townspeople love it and are
doing their best*to improve and
beautify it still more

mys}

~| His excuses:

of the Evenks and]:

~ Right fo leisure

MRS. E. M., Vancouver,
B.C.: Much has been said and
| written about women’s “right
“| to work.” As a working moth-
‘er, I would like to raise the

|slogan of women’s “right %@
some leisure time.”
Many working women I

know put in a full day ata
plant or office, then have to
hurry -home, stopping to shop
on the way and prepare sum
per for their husbands.

After they have eaten the
husband retires to the TV set,
leaving wifie to do the dishes,
“T’ve got a union
meeting at eight o’clock, I need
an hour’s rest.”

It may just so happen that
mother also has a meeting of

\her PTA, or mass organiza-

tion, or political party, or wo.
men’s auxiliary, that same
night. If she says so, poor
tired hubby replies: “Aw, your
meeting isn’t so important;
why don’t you skip it and stay
at home.”

This double exploitation of
women exists in many pro
gressive homes. Isn’t it. time
we women raised the banner
of “share the housework” and
asserted our right to a little
leisure?

Youth problems

J. E. Vancouver, B.C.: One
of the major problems which
the trade unions and leftwing
organizations are not tackling
boldly enough concerns youth
who leave schools and can’t
find jobs.

An unemployed trade union.
ist has his union to turn to
for help. But most unions have
no provisions for taking in
jobless youth with no’ trades
training, and all too often
these young people feel the
unions are hindering their
chances of getting work,
rather than giving assistanee.

These young people must be
drawn into the fight for jobs,
but how? For they are the
workers of tomorrow who will
play a big role in the winning
of socialism.

Most youth have a healthy
idealism and could be recruit-
ed into the fight for a better
Canada. Some organizations,
like the Socialist Youth
League, are trying to approach
these youth and interest them
in the aim of socialism.

But youth organizations can-
not cope with this big job “on
their own.” ‘We adults, and our
unions, organizations and left
wing political parties such as
the LPP, must project leaders
ship and policy. Can we hon,
estly say we are doing enough
in this regard?

October 16, 1959—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5

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