So here is the second thread about the trip I've just done in Siberia.
You can see the first pics about Norilsk here :
Siberia from North to East. Part 1 : Norilsk.
Dudinka is a city a lot smaller than Norilsk, of about 30,000 people. Actually people of Dudinka see Norilsk as the big city.
Dudinka is located 80 km west of Norilsk, it's a port at the mouth of the Yenisei (or Ienisseï) river, one of the three great siberian rivers (along with the Ob river and the Lena river). We had to go to Dudinka to take the boat and going up the river as far as Ienisseïsk (some 1,500 or 2,000 km to the south, a 4 days- boat trip).
Dudinka is not the most welcoming city, and I am not only talking about the landscape. Actually we should have normally slept at the hotel in Dudinka (the only one in town), but we couldn't because, although our rooms were reserved, the lady refused us to come in.
Why ? Because, as you may know, while in Russia, every foreigner must register himself at the hotel or police station when he moves in a city. In this case, the police officer in charge of that was simply not there, and so the lady at the hotel prefered to refuse that we take our (reserved) rooms.
Actually it was a good thing because running water was cut in the hotel, and since we couldn't sleep at the hotel, we had to sleep on the boat (where there was water).
Our driver also told us the story of an Argentinian guy who wanted to be at Dudinka for the New Year's Eve and ended up for three months in the local prison because he hadn't the right authorization (like Norilsk, Dudinka is officially forbidden for the foreigners who need special authorizations to get in).
1- Dudinka is located in the Taymyr region (part of the Krasnoyarsk kraï) :
2- On the way to Dudinka, the same abandonned commieblocks, already seen when going to Norilsk :
3- Dudinka, founded in 1667.
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5-Orthodox church :
6- Local Lenin :
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9- The local museum was surprisingly vast, modern and interesting, although not very visited. It focuses on the indigeneous people (like the Evenks or the Evens) and their way of life, as well on the colonization of this territory by Russians started in the 17th century.
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21- You see everywhere the same standard 9 floors commieblocks from the 1970's in Dudinka as in Norilsk :
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27- The orthodox church again (a little pause in all this ugliness):
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38- Dudinka cemetery, up on the hill. It seems that people die young here.
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43- Caution, falling ice.
44- The boat arrives :
45- Getting on it :
46- bye, bye Dudinka :
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Next step : along the Ienisseï.