Norilsk 🇷🇺
The city of Norilsk is one of the Northernmost inhabited cities in the world. However, it is anything but a winter wonderland - it's Russia's most polluted city. It's an isolated place, restricted from tourists, and built on the ruins of a forced labor camp.
For almost three months of the year, there is no daylight at all while in June and July, there is no night.
But the secret to the city's existence, despite its harsh climate, is the wealth of metals buried beneath the snow.
The metal reserves in Norilsk's mines are the largest on earth at almost two billion tons. As such, the city has become one of the largest producers of nickel and is the largest source of palladium in the world.
It's a city of extreme cold and extreme pollution that has destroyed an area of trees twice the size of Rhode Island.
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