The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-09-05
Culture, Health, Com
fort First Consideration
In New Town
By VERN SMITH


KHIBINOGORSK, u. S. S. R.
The BolshevikS Storm The Tun-
dra," is the title of the book of
pictures of Khibinogorsk industries
put out by the city department of
information and printed for them
by the state. That title represents
the history of Khibinogorosk, as a
city.
The tundra is half swamp, half
forest of low fir trees, frozen over
in winter and with nine feet of
snow on it then. The tundra was
known before the Bolshevik time,
In 1884 a French geologist, Ribot
passed through here, going back on
foot from India and wrote a de-
scription of the region.
In the period 1887 to 1892. the
Finnish geologist Ramzai made sew
eral trips here and found the apa-
tite ores (used as fertilizer) which
are the basis of the city'S present
Importance. In 1920, after the Boil
shevik revolution geologist named
Fersman headed an expedition to
survey the region for the Muir
mansk railway administration. Then
in 1929 an expedition from the
Scientific Institute of Fertilization
came out, especially to plan the ex-
traction of apatite.
All this time there was nobody
living on this tundra but 40 Lopars,
barbarians.
In 1929 the first crew built a
wagon road from the railway to the
tundra. The first loads of tools
and provisions came in drawn on
sleds by reindeer. Later there were
tractors. Sometimes the tractors
were showed under so deep that
men were sent out on skis to locate
them. On Feb. Is, 1880, the rail-
way track was enough ready so
that a train came about half way,
and a temporary station was set up
there. In April of the same year,
trains were running all the way.
Two cars were switched on a siding,
and the offices of the apatite trust
set up in them, with the present
director, Kondrikov, in charge. He
was there before, too, with the first
five men, Bolsheyiks, who came to
start things going.
These five men would meet over
their borscht (beet SOUP with
which they ate cookies because the
bread supplies were delayed and
the box of cookies happened not
to be. Huddled together in little
tent they would discuss while they
ate, such problems as whether to
build the factories first or the
houses for the people in the city
that was to rise out of the tundra.
They decided that both would have
to be built together. 1t sounds fan
tastic, but both the city and the
factories are there now-you can
go and see them. I did.
Even when the side track office
was established. there was not
much more than a plan, little ma
terial, tools or machinery.
But men began to pour in, trans
portation problems we're solved. and
on July l, 1880, they began to
build the city electrical plant, the
plant, many times expanded, which
now, a long time later in 1894, is
only an auxiliary to the tremen-
dous volume Of power that flows in
from the new Neevges plant.
Start Mining
On August l, they started build
ing the apatite concentration plant
On Nov. 7 of the same year they
finished the first public dining
room, the first bath house and the
first store. Until then, workers hac
eaten in the open, in all kinds Of
weather. By the end of that veal
they had over 10000 square yard;
of housing area, for workers tc
live in.
Meanwhile the mine was started
On Jan. is, 1881, the string of
settlements became officially a city
the mine Soviet being turned int
the Soviet of the City of Khibin
! ogorsk-