Inta is a city in the Komi Republic of the Russian Federation. The city was founded in 1932 on the site of large deposits of energy coals discovered at the beginning of the last century on the territory of the current Inta region. The field was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by the coal mine Ivan Nikolaevich Sorvachev with the support of the full member of the Russian Geographical Society P. P. Mataftina. Since 1940, the industrial development of the Inta coal deposit, which is part of the Pechora coal basin, began, at the same time the village Inta was formed as the base of a complex expedition to design mines. The name is given by location on the bank Big Inta. The hydronym, in turn, is supposedly from Nenets language "a place that is abundant in water, an overmoistened place."
Founded in 1940 as the base of a complex mine design expedition; since 1954 - the city of Inta. The name comes from the hydronym of the river Inta. The hydronym is presumably from the Nenets i'(d)ta - "a place abundant in water, waterlogged place".
Foundation of the city
The city was founded in 1932 on the site of
large deposits of thermal coal discovered at the beginning of the 20th
century on the territory of the current Inta district. The deposit was
discovered by the coal miner Ivan Nikolaevich Sorvachev with the support
of P.P. Mataftin, a full member of the Russian Geographical Society.
Since 1940, the industrial development of the Inta coal deposit, which
is part of the Pechora coal basin, began, at the same time the village
of Inta was formed as the base for a complex expedition to design mines.
The name is given by the location on the banks of the river. Big Inta.
The hydronym, in turn, is presumably from the Nenets: "a place abundant
in water, waterlogged place."
On November 25, 1942, the
settlement of Inta, Kosyuvomsky village council, Kozhvinsky district,
was transformed into an urban-type settlement. For the first four years,
Intastroy was engaged in the exploration of new coal deposits, the
construction of mines, and also created an energy and mechanical repair
base. Initially, the mines and the railway were built by the prisoners
of the Gulag camps (Inta and Mineral ITL). The Mineralny ITL contained
up to 34.5 thousand prisoners at a time. Coal mining began in 1943, and
in the same year the first train with Inta coal was sent to the besieged
Leningrad.
On January 1, 1954, the Inta district, with its center
in the village of Verkhnyaya Inta, was withdrawn from the Kozhvinsky
district, and on October 4, 1954, it received the status of a city. In
1955 Inta became the center of the Inta region. September 28, 1957 Inta
received the status of a city of republican subordination.
Modern
period
The collapse of the USSR led to a sharp reduction in the
production of coal, the economy of Inta fell into decay, not a single
one of the six mines remained. This led to a reduction in jobs and a
massive exodus of residents from the city.
The historical part of Inta (“Old Town”) was built in the middle of
the 20th century and is represented by both two-story wooden houses, the
design of which includes a large number of non-standard solutions
inspired by folk architecture, and the variety of the Stalinist Empire
style with colonnades, arches, stucco molding and crowning this period
of characteristic type of water tower. The construction of the tower,
the main attraction of Inta, lasted from 1953 to 1954. The architect of
the tower was the Swedish political prisoner Artur Tamvelius, who
considered the previous design appearance of the building to be “dull”.
Currently, the water tower has been decommissioned, and a museum of the
history of political repressions has been opened in it.
Behind
the Old Town there is an island on which a recreation park is organized.
Pedestrian access to the island is mainly via a suspension bridge, which
is currently in disrepair due to the annual spring floods that flood the
river above the bridge. There is also a road bridge with a passage width
of about 5 m and fenced pedestrian sidewalks on both sides.
Brick
houses and most of the population are concentrated in another part of
the city, in the so-called. New city. Brick houses are also not without
individuality, each house has its own unique ornament, made mainly of
red brick on golden.