Food, clothing, shelter and transportation constitute the main part of people's daily life, there is no lack of anything, it can be said that they have a good life. People also say "eat well, sleep well", from this also shows that eating and living is more important, many people struggle for half a life to have a cabin of their own, and it is the biggest wish of many people to live in a room that is airtight and heated and has a small window.
The red circle is Niagan
In russia's vast Siberian region, there are countless small cities, Niakan is one of them, Nyakan belongs to the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region, founded in 1985, is a small place with a permanent population of just over 50,000, although it is hundreds of kilometers away from the Arctic Circle, but it is located in West Siberia, where it is cold all year round, for example, it is not yet the coldest time, the temperature in Nyakan is already minus 32 degrees Celsius.
Niakan's industry is very developed, there are refineries, natural gas processing plants, petroleum geology plants, power plants and other enterprises, relying on strong natural resources, it seems that the people of Yagan should live well, but in fact this is not the case.
In Nyagan, there is a special residential area, the so-called houses are made of iron barrels or old carriages, these "houses" are connected, and the people who live here are former geologists, oil workers and construction workers, etc., and why they live here, what difficulties they encountered, and began to tell our stories today.
Niakan only had settlers in the 1930s, before it was all wilderness, no people, in the 60s, a logging camp was built here, at that time it was mainly a place to collect wood, there was no human settlement, and by the end of the 70s, a forest farm was established here, and a railway passed through here, and the population gradually began to increase.
Nyagan Railway Station
In 1978, the Red Lenin Oil and Gas Exploration Expedition was established, and soon after the discovery of industrial oil in Niakan, the population grew rapidly from a few hundred to more than 4,600, all of whom were oil workers from all over the country, as well as dragging their families. After several years of development, on August 15, 1985, Nyakan was granted the status of a city, which was previously at most the rank of town. By the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nyakan had a permanent population of more than 60,000.
But obviously, the growth rate of the population exceeded the speed of building houses, so what about so many workers, the government and oil companies at that time could only temporarily find a way to transform the previous scrap iron barrels, or old tin carriages, as temporary shelters for workers, they have been looking forward to good living conditions, the municipal government and companies will solve the housing problem for them, but this delay, after 30 years.
The first lumberjacks who came were the first Nyakans, and now they are the third generation, they still do not have their own houses, even if it is only a few square meters of small single rooms. In the neighborhood where they lived, the "houses" were made up of iron barrels and scrap cars, which were not like residential areas to be exact, but like some slum kiln in Africa, where thousands to 10,000 people lived according to various statistics.
Lyudmila Mokhno and her husband, who came to Niakan from Ukraine in 1984 to earn a living, were oil workers, so they also lived in abandoned carriages. There was no wood under the carriage, no separation layer, nothing, so the ground in the carriage was very cold.
Since living here 30 years ago, Lyudmila said, "The family has never used running water. "Although there is a water pipe, as soon as Lyudmila opens it, all that flows out is yellow water, I don't know if it is rust or mud, and the water cannot be used at all anyway." There are two options for wanting to use water, one is to have a regular water truck to send water here, and the other is to go to the spring.
Lyudmila's husband did not have much time to come home from work, and most of the time he spent on his daughter's family, and Lyudmila's daughter Olga also lived in the old carriage, not far from here. Each time, the son-in-law carried 3 large buckets, drove to the spring well for several minutes, and then filled the water with a funnel and transported it home. Lyudmila said that after 30 years, she was used to it, and what else could she do.
Victoria, another resident here, apparently didn't calm down as Lyudmila, "All the kids are coughing!" Constantly running nose, constantly taking sick leave, these living conditions are what children can endure!? And the coldest time in winter is minus 50 degrees, which is too dangerous, for the health and life of children. ”
"I have written to the government many times, hoping to help us and solve the housing problem. But a woman in the government said it was not the government's responsibility to provide housing. "Everyone who lives here, obviously has a lot to say.
Irina's family also lives in the old carriage, she has two children, the space in the carriage is very small, even two people walk side by side is difficult, "we have all the things in the pocket, because there is really no extra place to put, these are necessary." 」
It was cold inside the room, but it wasn't the main thing, the scariest thing was that there were rats in the room, everywhere, under the bed, in the corners, and we couldn't put anything on the floor. Washing dishes can only get up later, because at night rats crawl everywhere. Irina complained.
When it rains outside, almost every household here has to take out a basin to receive water, the rain seeps into the house from the old carriage, the only cardboard compartment on the roof of the carriage has long been moldy, the rain is ticking down, and the rain in the basin will be full in a short time, and the rainwater will be spilled outside in a smaller container.
Irina's husband, Sergei, while pouring rain on the outside, pointed to the top of the door and said, "There used to be a small roof here, but now it has been demolished, because it is moldy inside, it has rotted." I felt that I was not living in Russia, that Nyakan did not belong to Russia, but was a place alone, and that we were abandoned. ”
In 2017, the government answered questions from residents in Nyakan and promised to provide them with funding to solve their housing difficulties. Then they did, moving people to apartments and issuing them guarantees of payment for new homes, but strangely with restrictions that did not include children born after 2012.
In other words, as long as the family has children born after 2012, they are not eligible to live in the apartment. "It may seem like everyone has their own piece of space, but in fact, my niece and children are not included in the program." Olga, Lyudmila's daughter, said helplessly.
"This can be lost by 1.5 million rubles for future housing, which is definitely a huge amount of money in Niagan. I was highly educated and worked for a large oil company, but my monthly salary was less than 20,000 rubles. Olga seems desperate for the reality of the situation.
Tatiana, who has lived in the old carriage since she was 7 years old, said her parents were both construction workers in Nyakan, who came from Kyrgyzstan. Tatiana grew up, went to school, got married, and now has 2 children, but their family's savings can't even afford a humble studio apartment. "My daughter and son, and I will have granddaughters and grandchildren in the future, and we are going to live in the same room?" How do we live? No one knows what to do. Tatiana said.
Pavel, another father, said that the local government had removed his child from the project and that he had only received compensation of 730,000 rubles, but the last apartment cost 2 million rubles, Pavel said he did not know what he should do. As for the vulnerable, there is also no preferential policy, Lyudmila's neighbor is disabled, Valentina's husband is also disabled, he had an operation three years ago, but unfortunately failed, resulting in disability.
"Now he's lying disabled, no toilet, no bath, and doesn't give us loans. They used to pay a lot for the construction of the city, but now no one remembers it. I never thought I would live in such conditions. We seem to be on our knees so we can't see what they're doing up there. Valentina was furious.
In fact, this situation in Nyakan exists in many countries and regions, people have a hard life, and they can't see hope, but they can't afford to change it, and they can only numb it day by day.
Like Olga and Tatiana, they are the third generation of Nyakan residents, and perhaps the fourth and fifth generations still can't change the reality, but for the sake of life, they can only persevere, there is no end.
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