THE CRIMINALS LIVE NEXT DOOR

now to fetch Siberian pine. But they must load enough
coal at Murmansk to carry them there and back—which not
only wastes time but takes up loading space. The Russians
hope that fuel on the spot will help them in their plans for
importing large quantities of goods into Northern Asia via
the Arctic Sea Route. Such are the reasons that have inspired
the building of the little railway from Dudinka to Norilsk.

The mines of Norilsk cut through the frozen soil, through
eternal ice, no railway has ever been built so far north
before—these arguments do not impress Shevelyov. He
was glad to think that I believed all these enterprises to be
a little daring and complicated. fNever been done before',
'terribly difficult', "great sacrifices', 'tremendous amount
of energy5,—so much the better. The Bolshevist super-
lativists like that kind of thing. It appeals to their
imagination. They love calling themselves large-scale
business magnates and sound economists, but a daring
scheme is more tempting to them than one which is only
profitable. At least, that is how I always found them.

Meanwhile the people building the line and the mines
at Norilsk have to be provisioned with food, building
material and machinery. All bulky stuff—preserved food,
timber, and heavy steel—are brought to them once a year
by water with the Tiasina Expedition'. But everyday
needs—bread, butter, vegetables, and light metal products,
such as electrical machinery, pneumatic drills and hammers,
spare parts, transmission wheels, newspapers, letters and of
course the people themselves—are flown there. The
organization of this transport service was Shevelyov's
share of the job. There are already over 3000 people
living and working in the mines and on the railway.

It is believed', said Shevelyov, 'that Norilsk will employ
10,000 men in the mines and the metal combine, and 5000
on the railway and in the port. That means that within
five years we shall have townships at Norilsk and Dudinka
with an aggregate population of 35,000. A fine job to