Magnitka - a Polluted Pride

Magnitogorsk – an industrial mill town of 400,000 people in the Urals also known by its short and affectionate name Magnitka – has come a long way from a Communist myth to one of the most polluted places on Earth. Founded in 1929 at the behest of Stalin, the Magnitogorsk steel mill and the town itself were originally to be modeled after US steel cities Gary and Pittsburgh. In a haste to start producing steel, people and environment were often neglected. However, Magnitka has become the showpiece and pride of Soviet industrialisation and one of the largest steel mills in the world. It has also played a significant role in supplying the Red Army with steel and armour during WWII. Today, the mill found itself in the hands of a tiny group of owners who, through holding a major stake in the mill, also tightly control the city politically and economically. Thousands of whole families, just as it has always been the case here, work for the mill as it is extremely difficult to find work outside of it or run an independent business. Although efforts did take place in the last few years to improve the mill’s environmental record, the city is still subjected to harmful effects of pollution and disease. Poor safety causes accidents which are skillfully concealed while air pollutants such as heavy metals, sulfur dioxide and lead made almost the entire population a hostage of the mill. According to local statistics, only 1% of children here are healthy. Just a few months ago, the company boasted its billions-worth of investment and improvement programmes but the global economic downturn and a dramatic decrease in demand for steel put these plans into serious jeopardy. Magnitka is a bright example of Russia's non-diversified economy and overdependence on commodity prices: when they are high, everything goes well, when they suddenly drop, economy in such mill towns as Magnitka begins to crumble leaving thousands without work and any prospects. -- 2008

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