NAVIGATION AND POPULATED AREAS ON THE YENISEY RIVER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700230041-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 12, 2011
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: March 15, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
REPOR
CD NO.
DATE 01
SUBJECT
HOW
Geographic - lbpography,cities;
Transportation - Rail, roads, water
PUBLISHED
Weekly periodical.;
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
USSR
j Oc 1951-6 Jan 1(,'?;5
SUPPLE
MENT TO
LANGUAGE
Russian REPORT
NO.
The Ycniocy River has two main ocur th_ ttaly'y Yenisey and the
tot shoy Yenisey. The Malyy Yenisey has i_j soiree in Ozero (hake) Tere-
K,:..:.' (CIA Photo Accession No t5C27c] and ,:he Rol'shoy Yenisey has its
source in Ozero Kara-Baly::. These two primary streams meet at Kyzyl [CIA
p!Into Accession No 150277] to Porto the Yenisey Fiver, which flows on to
to Arctic Ocean,(1)
T:,e settlement of Kungur-Tuk on 07erc Tere-Khol' is typical of the
new villages spz_ny:ug up in this area This is a village which has been
rttseu to the are :roe a plav;au in order to assure ample supplies of water
fo. !S.vest;,ck and aericuiture- Coostrucion of wooden houses and other
cu'._]dinrs is now going on in the settlement ;CIA Photo Accession No 150278]-(1)
Approa-ping the city of Ky:: i., the Yenisey Kiver? is paralleled by a
woad which runs past the city u.;?a.:~r station, A stone mo ker proclaims this
spot to be the center us the As...atic con' neat. From this; site, the city
of Kyzyl spreads out en all siuos. Schools, theaters, and government build-
ings !CIA Phut Accession No 15u279] can be seen, and buses and taxis run
along the city's straight streets. On the other side of the river rises
Mount Vilan, marking the point at which the Malyy Yenisey and the Bol'shoy
Yenisey unite to form the Yenisey River [CIA Fho u, Accession No 150230].
In this land of high mountains, air travel has become commonplace,
with Moscow just a day away by plane from Kyzyl
Er---
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far the airport, alon the road Ktxny zfyrlo,m there is a motorNvehiclefbase. Passenger buses and trucksoross the Yenis base torall
parts of Tuva.
and then set outPes"109 through the city, they cross the Yensey by ferry,
t, the main automobile artery of Tuva
Transportation has played a significant role in the development of
Tuva. The people of the region have constructed the mountain road Usinskiy
Trakt, and the Moscow-Krasnoyarsk-Kyzyl airline has been opened. But for
transporting heavy cargoes such as machinery, fuel, cement, and metals, a
cheaper and more accessible mode of transport is used -- the Yenisey River.
Moving clown the river, the first navigation aid is net on the right
bank of the river near the city ferry. This is a white wooden square
mounted on a red striped pole. Thi.-, marker is not needed by the existing
ferry or cutters, but the people of this area are preparing for an im-
portant event on the Yenisey -- the arrival of ships with cargo and pas_
sengersfrom Krasnoyarsk.
In the upper Yenisey, there is an area known as the "Sorok Yeniseyev"
where the r Yer Is d4
islands all streams by a great number of
them-el na lead among these islanEven ds whenrattempting pilots
the main channel. g
mto sail through
The river runs through rich country with black outcroppings of coal and
graphite and mountains of golden ochre sufficient to paint millions of houses.
A little further up the river the white fibers of asbestos appear as well as
varicolored marble and granite strips and lodes of silver ore.
The Erbek and Elegest mines are located in areas where the coal vein
reaches the earth's surface. New houses, schools, and stores have been
built at the mouth of the Elegest River. Two or three hundred paces up the
Elegant from the Yenisey one encounters the coal mine. This mine is not very
old, but already its production has been mechanized. Electric borers, winches,
and conveyors are in operation on the slopes, and the mine has its own electric
power station which also supplies power to the Bay-Bulun Kolkhoz. The mine
settlement is growing rapidly and there will soon be two schools and twice
the present number of stores.(2)
The Great Rapids
Further north along the Yenisey River, the Bol'shoy Porog (Great Rapids)
is encountered just beyond the mouth o the Kazyr-Suk River (CIA Photo Accession
No 1502831. In 1929, the specially constructed ship SS Ulu-Khem was moved
through the rapids for use in the upper Yenisey and thus began the transport of
cargo to Chaa-Khol'. Shagonar, and Kyzyl. This transport was effected as follows:
The SS Shchetinkin carried the cargo through the downstream rapids as far
as the beginning of the Bol'shoy Porog. Here the cargo was unloaded onto horses,
and the horses carried it above the rapids to the 'upper wharf' at the mouth of
the Kazyr-Suk River, where it was reloaded into the holds of the Ulu-Khem. At
this time, there was no road through the Sayan Mountains; therefore, the only
possibility for transport into Tuva was along the Yenisey River. When the
automobile highway through the Sayan Mountains was opened, it was decided
to cease the risky water traffic temporarily and to reconstruct the upper
Yenisey River and build a special fleet for carrying passengers and cargo
between Krasnoyarsk and Kyzyl.
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Surveys were made on speed of current and water flow in the numerous
rapids, and at the same time the largest boulders and rocks were dynamited,
thus freeing the river in this area from much rock peril. The greatest
effort was made in the Bol'shoy Porog, where the river was forced into a
narrow, rocky course 60 meters in width, strewn with countless boulders
and rocks and a waterfall 4 meters high. To get a ship through this water-
fall, it was necessary to dynamite the lower section of the river bottom
and to build a complicated system of mechanical traction.
A winch was installed above the rapids with a long steel cable running
over it, connected at one end to floats above the watercourse and at the
other to three tractors. A vessel approaching the rapids is taken in tow
by the cable and proceeds through the course under her own power coupled
with the power of the tractors. The return trip down the rapids is made
with only the ship's power.
Survey ships are used on the river for laying out courses through the
rapids, as well as on smaller branches of the Yenisey running through the
mountains and taiga. In the spring of this year, the MS Turkmenistan sailed
1,000 kilometers along the Podkamennaya Tunguska to Vanavara. Captain
Zykov announced at that time that the shipyard in Krasnoyarsk had built
the powerful diesel vessel Kyzyl, which would be able to operate in all areas
of the upper Yenisey, needing the aid of tractors only at the Bol'shoy
Porog?(3)
Down the river from the Bolshoy Porog lies the town of Shushenskoye,
where Lenin once lived. Shushenskiy Rayon is one of the most important
agricultural regions of Krasnoyarskiy Kray, with two MTS, two sovkhozes,
and 14 kolkhozes.
The 400-hectare national preserve imeni V. I. Lenin lies near
Shushenskoye and the house in which Lenin lived is within the city
Minusinsk and Abakan
Leaving Shushenskoye, itis a short trip to Minusinsk, a city of many
parks and gardens and richly endowed with museums and historical landmarks
[CIA Photo Accession No 150285).
Minusinskiy Rayon and the southern areas attached to it are famous in
Siberia for their production of grain. The area also is rich in watermelon
production.
Minusinskiy is the automobile hub of. Tuva, with great numbers of trucks and
drivers Concentrated there. All year round, night and day, trucks pass
t'.:_ ..gh the city bound for the Sayan Mountains. Hundreds of trucks are
based in the city to serve the sovkhozes of the southern regions of
Krasnoyarskiy Kray and the new lands of Khakasskaya Autonomous Oblast.
There is a great influx of tourists to the Sayan Mountains. They are
almost always interested in visiting the capital of the Khakasskaya
Autonomous Oblast, the city of Abakan. This city is only 24 years old, but
it has become an important center. Here, for the first time in 1,000 kilo-
meters from the source of the Yenisey, the whistle of steam locomotives can
be heard.
Abakan is a junction of the rail, road, water, and air networks. The
general impression of the city is one of new construction. New homes are
going up, schools are under construction, entire sections are being layed
out, and streets are being paved. Construction I. under way everywhere.
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There was a time when coal was brought to Krasnoyarskiy Kray from the
Cheremkhovskiy Basin on the shores of the Angara River, but now the coal
mines of Khakassiya are producing coal themselves. Not far from Abakan, the
mining city of Chernogorsk has risen.. Formerly, a small workers settlement,
it is now a city with ten schools, a mining school, gardens, a railroad
station, and a intercity motor vehicle station.
Coal from the Chernogorsk mines is taken to the port of Podkunino on the
Yenisey. Passenger ships leavino va......+-4 stop in Podkunino for coal
bunkering.(4)
Krasnoyarsk
At Krasnoyarsk, the Yenisey is crossed by the railroad bridge of the
Trans-Siberian Railroad. Overhead, planes can be heard as they begin flights
to Moscow, Vladivostok, Peiping, Pyongyang, Kyzyl, and the Arctic.
A new airport is under construction in Krasnoyarsk and there is heavy
train traffic through the city to Altay, Kazakhstan, and Barabinek in the
west, and to China and Korea in the east, carrying self-propelled combines
of the latest type produced by the Krasnoyarsk Self-Propelled Combine Plant.
The river passenger station at Krasnoyarsk is an impressive building
[CIA Phoio Accession No 1502A61, and its landing stages are now lined with
neti passenger ships which recently arrived in the city via the Northern
bet. nuuce. rnese passenger ships, such as the Ioeif Stalin, often set out
for the polar port of Dudinka, a voyage lasting almost a week.
The broad bay of the shipbuilding plant opens off the river. The re-
cently launched, self-propelled barges Moekva, Sevastopol', and Stalingrad,
as well as a group of tugs, lie in the bay. Ships with the mark of the
Krasnoyarsk Plant are preparing to make long voyages to other rivers.
Self-propelled barges leave the shipbuilding plant for the large river
port at Zlobino. From Zlobino, the supply route stretches to Igerka and
Dikson, to Arctic trading posts, and to polar stations.
Proceeding e
are encountered and thecity rdie ppearsab hind the
lands. Ships
countless is s
proceeding down the river stop at Atamenov and then 1ayezhnoye, where a
large two-story building may be seen among the trees. This building houses
children from polar cities who are brought south during the pnlAr night.
Pobeda automobiles may be seen on the highway, which runs along the river,
and all-metal buses are run from Krasnoyarsk to Yeniseyek.
The village of Zalivskaya is reached just above the Kazaobinskiy Porog.
The village is a perpetual source of rivermen and pilots who have guided
vessels through the rapids for generations.
At the entrance to the Kazachinskiy Porog, all ships are stopped by a
semaphore post, and no vessels are allowed to enter the rapids without per-
mission t'rom thn dispatcher. who directs the transfer >f ships through the
area. He directs traffic through he rapids by the use of semaphore
operators at posts along the river. 'i'lls current is too strong to allow free
passage of ships, so the tow vessel Angara is stationed in the river through-
out the navigation season. When a ship or barge arrives, the Angara leaves
the village of Porog and takes the vessel in tow in the lower roadstead. The
Angara is fitted with powerful winches with a heavy cable which is anchored
above the rapids. Heading into the current, the Angara and its tow enter the
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rapids and the winches take a strain on the upstream cable. In this way,
the Angara pulls herself and the towed vessel thirough the rapids, a distance
of more than 3 kilometers.
With the completion of the dam which will form the Yeniseysk Reservoir,
the Kazachinskiy Porog will disappear.(5)
Strelka and Yeniseysk
Beyond the rapids lies the town of Strelka, at the confluence of the
Yenisey and Angara rivers. Nowhere else in the nation can one see the
meeting of such river giants as these.
Strelka is a busy place. Paths and roads run from the wharves to the
village, beginning on the steep river bank and extending to the outskirts,
where the log houses of buoy tenders are set among the boulders. The village
is divided into two parts, the old quarter and the new, by a stream. The
venerable huts are still preserved in the old section of the town, which
long ago was an important stop on the Russian-Chinese trade route.
The village of Strelka is now alive with activity in connection with
the construction of the Angara hydroelectric proJect.(5)
The old city of Yeniseysk, the cradle of much of the Yenisey fleet and
departure point for Siberian exploration, is a busy port where wooden barges
(built in Yeniseysk) and steel lighters are rapidly loaded. Great timber
rafts from the Angara River are constantly in the channel. The whistles of
steam cranes and ships arriving from Dikson add to the air of haste and
activity about the city.
Downstream from Yeniseysk, the river broadens and deepens and, as at
sea, navigational aids, radio, air ice patrol, and sailing directions become
necessarl.
Sailing directions take particular note of the mouth of the Bol'shoy
Kas River, which has been known historically as the water route between the
Yenisey and the Ob' rivers. Beyond the village of Nizhne-Shadrino, the
river bank becomes low and a pebble-strewn plain opens up, which the waters
of the Bol'shoy Kas cross. Proceeding 300 kilometers from the Yenisey, to the
crest of the watershed, Ozero Bol'shoye is encountered with the interlacing
Yazevaya, Derevyannaya, Malyy Kas, and Lomovataya rivers. Here one may see
the locks and 8-kilometer canal which has been destroyed by time, storms,
and rain. This canal, built during the reign of Aleksandr II, was never able
to handle vessels of more than 6 tons, and then only during the spring.
However, Soviet hydrotechnicians are keeping it in mind; the Ket'-,{as route
was the most important wuter route to China a century ago, and if the Ob'
and Yenisey could now be united by a canal, the great masses of Angara
timber could be floated to the Oh' from the Yenisey without transshipment
to the railroad, and could be shipped further along the Ob' to Altay, and
along the Irtysh to Kazakhstan. In return, grains, livestock, and produce
could be shipped to the lower Angara and down the Yenisey to Taymyr with-
out using the railroads. The Siberia of the future includes a gigantic
hydroelectric station on the Yenisey, a great artificial sea, new cities,
and a broad water route from the Yenisey to the Ob'.
The Yenisey below the mouth of the Bol'shoy Kas becomes strewn with
hazardous obstacles to navigation. Such names as the Proklyatyye Ostrova
(Cursed islands), Proklyatyy Perekat (shoals), and Proklyataya River are
typical of this region.
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As the Osinovskiy Porog (rapids) is approached, the shoreline, sky, and
river undergo a change. The Yeniseyskiy Khrebet (mountains) rise against the
sky, with the vertical cliffs of the "Shcheka" crowding down on the river
and echoing the sound of ships engines and whistle. As soon as a vessel
emerges from the Shcheka, the hunchbacked, rocky, Ostrova Korabliki are en-
countered [CIA Photo Accession No 150287], and beyond them, the mouth of the
Podkamennaya Tunguska River. At this point, the taiga i; beginning to undergo
changes and becomes more sparse; the conversion to the northern tundra has
begun. (6)
The Yenisey from this point north is entered by many branches, including
the Sukhaya Tunguska and the Nizhnyaya Tunguska, with the ancient city of
Turukhansk on the high shore above it. This city was an intermediate point
on the main trade route from the Taz River and the city of Mangazeya to
China, and eventually became the center of this trade with the opening of the
Yenisey-Ob' canal and navigation through the Kara Sea. Nov the "new"
Turukhansk stands on the river -- with new streets, new buildings, new schools,
and new stores. Turukhansk is near the Arctic Circle, yet the surrounding
land is planted by kolkhozes. and hrough the streets as in any other
Soviet City
To the north of Turukhansk, the Kureyka River empties into the Yenisey.
Thi:;slream would probably go unnoticed except for the fact that it meets the
Yenisey at the point it is crossed by the Arctic Circle. Across from the
mouth of the river stands the well-known settlement and wintering station of
Kureyka. In old Russia, Kureyka was a foresaken place, a snowy prison. Now
there is a Pioneer camp in the city and the shouts of children can be heard.
The buildings and lands of the Kureyskfy Sovkhoz can also be seen, and among
the low-growing timber of the river bank stretches the new Kureyka. No signs
of the old wintering station are found he-e, having been replaced by the
cottages of the kolkhoz z two-story building of the boarding
school On the bank of the river stands the
hut wh in lived in exile.
Agriculture and livestock raising was considered impractical in this
area 15 years ago, but in 1552-1953, the Kureyskfy Sovkhoz joined the oblast
vegetable and livestock societies and is now taking part in the All-Union
Agricultural Exposition. The sovkhoz' yearly yield per hectare of land aver-
ages 500 centners of cabbage and 110 centners of potatoes.(6)
I rka
Proceeding further north, down the river, where signs of the Arctic are
beginning to appear, the deepest channel on
the northern Yenisey
Igarka is a most unusual city. The houses, streets, and sidewalks are
all of wnna ..a -4A. o pave the yards, bridges, squares, and
quays Below the wood, the ground is perpet-
ually rozen.
In the center of the city the tundra is not so evident, but at the edge of
town where new houses are being built and roads layed out, the dull gray tundra
is once more encountered.
Igarka grew on the perpetual frost of a desolate swamp. This year, it com-
pleted 25 years of existence. IL a quarter of a century the city has grown and
matured. It now requires several days to visit its seaport, ship-repair yards,
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shops, tirb:-processing combine, museum, theater, the Pedagogical Institute of
the People of t,e u.....,. --- -1-1.. .
Tremendous timber rafts -- wooden islands bearing houses, radio stations,
and clubs -- arrive in the Igarka channel from the Angara and the lower Yenisey
rivers. Powerful electric winches separate the rafts and draw the logs to the
shore where they are stacked.
The timber-processing combine in Igarka is a city within a city. It has
its own streets, squares, quays, lanes, and alleys. The combine area is covered
with millions of planks, boards, etc., from which they are carried to the piers
by trucks.
In the Igarka channel, ocean timber carriers of almost every nation of
Europe are seen. English, German, Italian, Polish, Finnish, and Greek diesel
vessels ride at anchor in the channel. Navigation signals and a map of the
water route from Igarka to the ocean hang from a wooden tower in the port.(7)
Dudinka
Proceeding along the river from Igarka, one approaches the largest river
ort of the is is Dudinka, set on a strip of dismal tundra
The eye is met by great stacks of Angara timbe ,
warehouses, shops, railroad track, portal cranes, conveyor lines, and elevators.
Dudinka is the center of the Taymyr National Okrug. Its streets are bedded
with stone and paved with aophalt. On the main streets of the city one feels
the fascination of the polar city -- sea captains, seamen, polar workers, and
fishermen are everywhere. Kolkhoz students from the two-story building hous-
ing the polar kolkhoz school are frequently seen, as well as people who have
come from Murmansk and Leningrad by ships or have flown from Dikson, and even
some who were at the North Pole yesterday. But what is most strange is to
meet railroad workers here. It is 1,000 kilometers from Dudinka to the Trans-
Siberian Railroad, but here in the polar city there are steam locomotives and
heavy trains are drawn from the port to the station in the hills.
A city bus runs to the outskirts of Dudinka, as far as the railroad
junction. Old and new quarters, schools, stores, and finally the railroad
station, lie along the bus route. Trains are formed in this station, loaded
with countless crates, transformers, and boring machines sent to one address-_
Norilsk. Noril'sk is like a magnet, drawing cargoes from both the sea
and tqe Yenisey River.
Passenger trains running from Dudinka to Norilsk are of all-metal
construction similar to those used on the Moscow-Leningrad or Moscow-
Pekin lines. The 100-kilometer trip from Dudinka to Norilsk through
the desolate tundra is very pleasant in these fine trains.
The construction of this railroad beyond the Arctic Circle was quite
remarkable. It was carried out from two sides -- from Dudinka and from the
site of Norilsk, which did not exist at the time. Track, cars, and steam
locomotives were delivered by sea to the mouth of the Pyasina River, where
they were transloaded to a fleet of flat-bottom boats and moved down the
marshy river to Ozero Pyasino. After the lake was frozen, the equipment
was loaded on tremendous sledges and towed across the lake ice by trains of
tractors to the site of the new city Norilsk. Under extremely adverse con-
ditions, the track was laid, ties were put in place, and bridges were built.
The struggle with nature continued for months and years. In the winter, the
workers were supplied with staples from the air.
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The railroad.was finally constructed, but it remained inactive for 6
months. First heavy storms, then mountains of snow, and then flooding, pre-
vented operation. Mazy times trains disappeared in the snow drifts and the
wheels of the locomotives were covered over by snow. Now a high slotted
fence has been built along the tack so that the wind itself is employed to
keep the track clear by blowing off the drifts.(7)
Norilsk
The arrival in Norilsk by train is impressive. The station is a large
stone structure with a vast asphalt-covered area [CIA Photo Accession No
1502931 and a ce + m the semicircular Gvarde ska
ya Ploshchad
The city of Norilsk has been growing rapidly since its founding 15
years ago. In the past 4 years, for example, 129,000 square meters of new
living space have been opened and about 15 million rubles were spent for
st is and sidewalks have been as halt-covered
There are 14 schools in Norilsk. In four of the schools there are
greenhouses where the children raise flowers and vegetables during the
winter. Night schools have also been opened for young people in the polar
city, where about 2,500 young men and women study.
five workers are stud in at the of technic institutee hundred and sevent
There Is one music-drama theater in the city, and there are two motion-
picture theaters and two houses of culture. The city library has about one
million volumes in its collection. Buildings for a music school nd a new
motion-picture theater are under construction and a television center is
planned.(8)
The electric trolley can be used for a tour of Noril'sk,including a visit
to the museum which tells the history of the city. The greenhouses of the
local sovkhoz and the open fields of potatoes and cabbage are also noteworthy.
The staaium in Norilsk has many sports facilities, and across from it there
is a large covered sport field house similar to a dirigible hanger. The
foundation for a new sports combine containing a large, all-year swimming
basin is situated not far from here. There is also a new seven-story resi-
dential building being constructed, in which each apartment in it has hot and
cold running water, a bathroom, electric stove, central heating, and trash
chutes.
The polar night lasts in Norilsk from November to the middle of
January. Cold winds arrive from the ocean during this period and heavy
snows fall. Millions of electric lights are used during the polar night
along the streets and in the buildings, while snowplows keep the streets
open to allow continued )peration of buses and taxis.
The Yenisey from Dudinka to the mou L has uepths which allow fret
operation of ocean-going vessels.(7)
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Ibid., 10 Oct 54
Ibid., 17 Oct 54
Ibid., 31 Oct 54
Ibid., 21 Nov 54
Ibid., 5 Dec 54
7. Ibid., 19 Dec 54
8. Moscow, Pravda, 6 Jan 55
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