The Most Depressing City On Earth
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ม.ค. 2017
- Just gonna do a little damage control here and add that the video is purely opinion. I did very little intense research, and depression is a mental illness not a characteristic of a city. I based my argument on some facts, but I'm sure you can argue that war torn cities like Damascus could be more 'depressing'. Sorry if the video came off as if I was spouting the gospel.
If you think you have found a more depressing city, comment. Just do not comment Detroit. Please.
Full Script:
It was my goal when making this video to decide which city is the most depressing (which in this situation is a synonym for depressing). This is obviously just an opinion, but I did put some research into this and I think that my answer is very reasonable.
Before we get into this, let’s take a look at the rules. I decided that a city cannot have fewer than 50,000 people I know that that isnt the official definition, but This takes a lot of remote settlements in places like Greenland out of the mix.
I decided to look at what factors cause unhappiness. I found this list, and while some factors have no relation to geography, two do: Inability to sleep or excessive sleeping, and Social isolation.
In order for a city to make it hard to sleep, it has to be very far north, or very far south. Cities inside the arctic circle experience the polar night, where the sun simply does not come up for days at a time. This has been known to cause insomnia.
In order for a city to cause social isolation, it needs to have a hostile environment. Luckily, most cities in the Arctic Circle check that box. It also has to be isolated from other cities, and inaccessible.
There are many scandinavian cities that have hostile environments, but these cities, such as Tromso (traum-suh) are tourist destinations and generally good places to live. They have high standards of living.
Next, we have to turn to Russia. Two cities caught my eye immediately: the coal mining town of Vorkuta and remote port Murmansk. However, coal mining has become unprofitable in vorcuteuh, so people are moving out at alarming rates. Plus, just look at this picture and tell me that does not look jolly. And being a port city, Murmansk naturally has contact with new ideas and people.
However, there is one city that I have left out.
(Papers please theme)
Norilsk. The Nickel mining city of 170 something thousand people is so hostile it seems like something out of 1984. No roads lead to Norilsk, and it is one of three large cities in the continuous permafrost zone that means that the land is unfarmable. There is one freight railway that leads to the city, but the only way out is an airport or a port 40 miles away that freezes over in the winter.
Norilsk enters continuous darkness for 45 days each year, and when people leave the city, they say that they are going to “the mainland”. the polar night syndrome is common in residents, you can probably figure out why.
It is also one of the most polluted cities on earth. Here’s a quick list of facts about norilsk’s pollution:
1 percent of global emissions of sulfur dioxide comes from Norilsk nickel mines
. It is so polluted that some people mine the soil for soot because it contains precious minerals.
In September 2016, the nearby river turned red.
The life expectancy of a worker in Norilsk is 10 years lower.
A study done by Boris Revich showed that blood illnesses were 44% higher, nervous system illnesses 38% higher, and bone and muscle system illnesses 28% higher among children in Norilsk WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER CHILDREN IN SIBERA.
In any other city, people might protest these terrible, polluted conditions. But in Norilsk, the income for nearly everybody comes from one company: Norilsk Nickel. Any protestors would be fired, because even if you do not work in the mines, Norilsk Nickel also owns nearly all businesses in town. And the Russian Government has no plans to step in, because this company is a cash cow. Norilsk Nickel is 2% of the Russian GDP. In comparison, the entire city of San Francisco is 2% of the US GDP.
The city has a depressing past as well: it was built by 500,000 gulag prisoners working under starving conditions throughout the month long days and nights. Of which eighteen thousand died. The most obvious relic of this era can be found all over the city: the stalinist, utilitarian architecture of nearly every building in the city.
But hey, they painted the city bright colors so it can’t be that bad right? - บันเทิง
The narrator sounds more depressed than the city's citizens.
agree
😆😆
underrated comment.
🤣
Shit bro 🤣
thats where im from
Life of Boris lol, hi
Gopnik factory
oh shoot its a surprise visit from comrade Boris! i have been blessed
Hey blyat
You said you were from pripyat
As a Russian, I didn't even need to watch the vid to know it's going to be about Norilsk
Agree
Me neither, German fellow here. Somehow these places are fascinating
Я тоже при первых кадрах понял, что это - Норильск.
А я вот думал, что видео про Челябинск.
@@Cypher-sn3bt Челяба - это курорт по сравнению с Норильском.
Detroit: *I'm the most depressing city in the world-*
Norilsk: *Hold my vodka*
Vodka is kinda a light drug in Norilsk. I remember how I saw a ton of coke on a table and my first thought was "ow, that's a book I read recently"
Detroit was never even remotely close to being the most depressing city in the world, it doesn't even strike in top 100. Literally 90% of Eastern European cities are ten times worse then Detroit, not to mention Latin America, Africa and most of Asia.
@@gamesuarx agree
Glasgow: Hold my Super Tennants
@@tonyhancock3912 Ah, yes, every 3rd world and 2nd world country shakes at the thought of how depressing Glasgow is.
I really hope you're joking.
Having extensively researched Norilsk during the 2000s, I was watching this video all like: "He'll mention Norilsk any second now..."
Okay, I would laugh at that, but after learning about it, it would just be too rude to do so.
I was waiting since I remember looking at Norilsk on Google Maps once :P
Spoilers
Way to be 1st comment
Norilsk in 2000s can never be the same as now.. i have never even been there before.. but i have been to some cities that have changed alot since the past 20yrs
This city is exactly how Americans imagine Russia looks like
and the grand irony is that this is actually how american cities look. america has way more cities that look like norilsk than russia does. detroit, baltimore, st. louis, and dozens more come to mind
@@kardsufur2966 trust me those cities might have bad parts but at least they arent polluted to the point where you can barely breathe outside. Also there are also nice parts in those cities
@@deeremies2266 yeah, no. flint michigan doesn't even have clean water dude. and there's many cities in u.s. like that. have you ever been to flint? People literally have to have bottled water bussed in, you cannot drink or even take a shower. it's a dystopian nightmare
@@kardsufur2966 the local government in Flint never spent the millions in federal aid given to them to fix the public water issue. That being said, Flint has modern highways, an established diversified economy (given mostly industry), education... there is literally no comparison to Norilsk. I'm not even trying to glorify the bad (but not soviet era gulag) conditions some parts of the mid west have.
@@SINcitySEAL lmfao flint has education and Norilsk doesn't? Hey dumbass I will bet you my life the average citizen of Norilsk is ten times more educated than FLint. The hell you talkin bout you sounding real goofy right now. It's no comparison you right, Flint is waaaay worse
As someone from Norilsk (was born and lived there until 2012) I find the video is quite interesting! I think that all things mentioned are correct (like weather is bad, ecological situation is bad, isolation is bad etc) but there are still some interesting points left:
* For some reason the polar night didn't affect me that much and kinda seems cool. I guess it was just a trait of being a child/teenager
* Pollution was extremely bad. I think it's slightly better now as some factory was closed/renovated iirc but I don't think it's good enough even now
* In some aspects the city is not that bad actually. Like comparing to the city Borovichi (Novgorodskaya oblast) it kinda just have more things to do: there are some clubs, rock concerts, anime/cosplay fests, ways to learn how do dance/do music etc. There is even a theater! (I think it's most northern theater in the world but I might be wrong on that). In Borovichi you didn't have that much stuff to do. You kinda have an option to go to Moscow or Saint Petersburg though but that assumes that you have some amount of spare money which isn't really the case. But at least the internet cost is much better in Borovichi comparing to Norilsk :D
And yes, of course all of that activities is nothing comparing to better cities like Moscow/Saint Petersburg but I still kinda think that's impressive for the small and isolated city.
* At least it's a good anecdote potential like telling people from warm countries about snowfalls in June :)
Its just so hard to imagine a town of sibirian nickel miners, factory workers and train conductors in the middle of the inhabitable abandoned taiga with like 2000 weebs in it running around in cosplay
I dont think that living in wilderness and isolation in cities in russia, canada, bolivia or whatever is that bad.
I am actually more scared of crowded cities, where there is too many people where you trully feel your self lost
Think about it, would not be scary to live lets say in New York, in some poor crimanaly plagued neighbourhood where all you can hear is tragic stories of "people doing wrong"
@@alex_jellymath has somebody yet made a horror movie about norilsk? I mean polar night, lots of rain lots of fog lots of ice a f*ck ton of crude buildings and empty streets, and no way to escape
@@Lawrance_of_Albania Crowded is really not that bad. It's all just a matter of perspective. Little distant cities close to nature are nice for like rest and stuff, but i'd never prefer that to a megapolis. There's something about it, idk i guess the sense of life going on. You ever stopped in a crowded place and looked at everyone and realised that each one of thousands and millions lives a life just like your own? There's nothing bad about it imo. Just might not be everyone's cup of tea. I would probably bore to death living in a forest.
Ну у нас на ЯМАЛе тоже снег в июне падать любит)
I spent my entire childhood there and I felt that everything okay. Now I understand what the place was and how on earth people can live there?
Unreal
I'm not religious but do you know that story in the the Bible with Adam and Eve tasting the forbidden fruit? when you were a child you had not had the taste of the forbidden fruit that is why you were happy where you were. The fact that you don't live there anymore it's a good thing but just imagine you would go back there and have no option to ever leave that place. It would be 10 times more depressing. There are many interpretations for the story in the Bible however Christianity chose to interpret it literally which is plain dumb. The actual meaning of the decadence from grace of Adam and Eve is that there is no good and evil. Good and evil (or bad) are just perceptions that are generated by your drive for survival. In order to go back to the garden of Eden man must overcome his ego and with it his perception of good and evil in order to live in pure divine bliss. Children are naturally closer to that state than adults due to not being culturalised and indoctrinated with concepts and beliefs this is why no matter how poor the environment you were brought up in, when you are a child it's just natural and there's no negative attachment to it.
@Morgus Schmorgus That could be said for a lot of Russian cities, but it probably seems a lot more bizarre from the outside. Not to say Norilsk isn't depressing. Our previous neighbor's 13-year-old daughter hanged herself in the stairwell 4 years ago.
This is true about any town in Russia. We did not know how miserable we were because we did not know any better. Until we started seeing the world. Thank you for the truth, Sergey.
@@inessa5923 jesus fuckin christ
Norilsk, Russia just made Detroit look like Tokyo in comparison
Detroit is bad due to people abandoning it and companies crashing.
There was a time when it was actually a good place. Norilsk is shitty despite there's still money and industry there.
Detroit ain’t even that bad tbh, it’s getting way better but I’m probably just saying that since I’m from there.
@@CallOnDutyBlackCops Nah Detroit is really bad, at least compared to some other nice cities. Its kinda like how Baltimore and Chicago are shitty. Still better than some other places.
Detroit is bad because you can get jumped at any time and the super high crime rate but it isn’t a miserable city. This city literally kills you for living in it by super bad pollution and causes insomnia because of the facts stated.
YeeterOfWorlds Chicago has some crime issues no doubt, but it’s actually a really great city... IMO there is no comparison to be made there, it’s still full of business, people, life, entertainment, etc... and I’m not even from there, I just enjoy visiting!
me, a russian, before clicking on this video: it’s in russia isn’t it
ahah, not a single doubt
I was sure it was gonna be something in the arse or mother russia
I have never been to russia
But its cities seem comepletely fine to me?
Have i not seen enough
@@thespacebaryonyx6007 cities are fine.
but you know, most of the people outside big cities are rarely can earn more that 300-400$ per month. aaaand government bureaucracy, cops lawlessness, poor weather half of the year.
since many people are poor, there are a lot of one's who want to rob you (like virtually) . so people become suspicious and lose trust.
don't know. you better live several months to understand it better. it doesn't come like you're outside and immediately being attacked. probably not. buut the anxiety - it's god damn strong.
you cannot trust almost no one (government, doctors), need to check everything yourself.
Yeah same here. India and Russia popped up in my head.
@царь царь царь No no, India and Russia came up before i clicked the video.
The giant industrial block lettering/numbering on the sides of the buildings also give it that nice tonka tough dystopia feel.
It’s to find your home at evening during snowstorm. Blocks are unified, digit helps.
@@kirillxsobolev you know what also helps? Having actual neighborhoods. Or apartment buildings designed by talented architects. Or creative cul de sac street planning. Or
@@gladitsnotme All of that is highly inefficient. The city was purpose-built, no beauty needed.
@@gladitsnotmeCoul-de-sac street planning, so like an American suburb? The worst kind of city planning ON EARTH?
I heard people complain about winds inside blocks. Wind literally blows people away.
Btw, huge digits on homes help to find your block because all of them are unified and hard to understand which one is your during snowstorm.
sand storm, snow storm or both? 😅
@@joostdriesens3984 snow
If your building has a large "17" painted on a concrete block you know it can't be a good place to live.
Oh no...
"...You have chosen, or been chosen to relocate to one of our best urban centres..."
"Welcome, Welcome...."
"It's safe here."
@@vinny-is-here every such building in Russia has a number, guys. For example, I live in a building number 40. They all look the same, how else would you navigate?
@@vinny-is-here yes, glad I helped:)
I like his criteria for finding the city:
1. Hard to sleep.
2. Isolated.
3. Stressful environment.
4. Far north or south.
5. Russia.
@Furry Police A nice country with a horrible government (if you can call it that).
@Furry Police Well, if you support communism, then you should hate the current government, which is capitalistic (the fact that it's capitalistic is the only good thing I can say about it).
You should also hate it because inequality is massive when it comes to almost every human difference imaginable: sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, etc. There is a law in Russia that makes "propaganda of homosexuality" illegal, which in practice makes any public display of homosexuality (even as insignificant as holding hands) punishable by law. Immigrants from Central Asia are systematically discriminated against both on a social and a juridical level, and the government does nothing about it. Arguably more importantly, if you don't have any connections to Putin or one of his friends, you have pretty much no career opportunities or hope in life, with an average salary of £800 per month, unless you move abroad, all the while if you do have the right connections, it only takes a couple of bribes to make as much as and more than you'd ever need. There is no middle class in Russia, and the income inequality is immeasurable.
But inequality is not even the biggest issue: the government not only does not do anything to boost the Russian economy, but it actively undermines it, with "most" (aka all) government projects being completely corrupted by officials, and the quality of the projects is so bad that it not only does not improve the existing infrastructure, but it outright makes it worse. This way, the government budget is spent almost entirely on filling Putin's friends' and their acquaintances' pockets and on actively damaging the state of the country.
You may think I'm making stuff up, but there's literally a video on TH-cam with 40 million views which exposes all of these shenanigans in detail (He Is Not Dimon to You), and most people just take it for granted and move on, because there is nothing we can do about it with an insurmountably authoritarian regime bearing down upon us.
@Furry Police It's one thing if your government is authoritarian because it genuinely believes no one will advance the country as much as they will, like in China. It's a completely different thing if your government is authoritarian because it wants to build palaces for itself.
Furry Police communism never works
Geiles buddy, ever heard of the Great Leap Foreward and Tianmen square?
That's fine!....We probably feature as the most depressing planet in the universe right now in alien social media.
@Abdul Basit What's Dehli ? The name of your pimp?
@Abdul Basit It's Delhi..not Dehli...I know you do not care....your intelligence is as bad as your spelling.....if you want to insult Indian cities so badly...at least get the spelling right...
@Abdul Basit not Pakistanis getting pressed at Indian's just breathing LMAO. I live in suburban Delhi and its the most convenient thing ever, order food, comes in like 30 mins, hangout cafes and blocks for teens for after school. You're just mad.
@Abdul Basit Don't use the "It's the internet" excuse to justify yourself. You are basically a fool with an internet connection.
"I type fast" - Great! But why are you telling me that? What do you want? A job?
"First...second....third"- You know how to count? I'm surprised!. Congratulations!!
Listen......get off your dad's laptop...go drink your milk and go to bed.
Why are people salty down here lmfao?
me searching "how it is to live in Russia"
youtube shows: "the most depressing city on earth" ...hm, 'key.
@@mcmacshalfilya you too
People who done bad go to hell after death. Demons who done bad go to Russia.
@@Crazmuss There are a lot of good cities to live in Russia lol
@@plantasaur you don't know what you talking about. Im 1874 Nekrasov wrote poem "Who is happy in Russia?" meaning that noone is. And since then things not get any better. Even rich people prefer to live somewhere else as much as they can.
Watch Yeah Russia on TH-cam she kind of shows how far eastern Russia is .
Place looks like a CoD map.
Aryeh East ikr
Aryeh East lolol
Its The War
That actually looks like a good layout for a zombies map
Clash of dicks?
Detroit: “at least we’re not Norilsk”
god dammit
The question is then, can you at least have shit in Norilsk? Because everybody knows you can't have shit in Detroit.
We're not Norilsk!
I definitely thought I might be Detroit
@@alexharrelson5476 I was hoping someone commented that 😂
I have family tapes from Norilsk which shows people fishing and skiing and taking field trips for fun. My family lived there for twenty years or so.
That's so cool!
I'm currently trying to write a short story about hopelessness, and I needed several factories, ports, and apartment blocks, and Murmansk felt like a perfect pick.
Murmansk is not that depressing. The nature is absolutely beatiful (you don't even have to leave the city to experience it), you get to see aurora borealis very often, and the crime rate is low. As a bonus, it's not polluted, unlike Norilsk.
I live in Norilsk, an amazing place!
Help
Wait you do? How good is the internet
Really?
@@alexisgeovann There is good connection in big cities (pop. of Norilsk is 170 000)
dude you have to get out
VERNOR держись, брат
I was born in Norilsk and it's not that bad. Actually, when snow covers the surface, the city turns into a huge sparkling playground without any depressing sights. Anyway, transportation is still a problem
I am GLAD that You give a different perspective of the city. If You were born there and Survived and have internet Access and have friends and a Life there, than things aren't that bad after all.
@@jenniferlorence1950 I haven't been there for 12 years. :) But decision to move out wasn't mine, but parents'.
@@user-bt4jl4tr7n Maybe it was Difficult for them.
@@user-bt4jl4tr7n Sad, but Maybe they did it for a Good Reason.
Are you using google translate to write this, or you know how to speak (or write) english with a little bit of fluency? Извини for the question
Fun fact, all trees are dead in a 15 km radius of norilsk because of the gasses
That's a sad fact
@@eksdee2170 oh damn, why on earth would i call it a fun fact
@@lordnicoo3250 Idk, it made me cry, pls delete!
@@eksdee2170 i can just edit lol
Norilsk looks depressing as hell but I think literally any city in North Korea is definitely a condender
Deep down, I think we all knew Russia has a real District 12 somewhere.
2:10 District 17
@@MrVannspreder damn underrated comment
Wow !! Trueee
It's not somewhere it's about everywhere.
Stalks12
I have a friend from Norilsk and she told me once that they have invisible polluted clouds with no air that just skimming through the city. You can simply go outside and suddenly there is no more air to breathe. You have a choice to move forward or backward but you need to know that such cloud is moving and you don’t know in what direction. The most creepy thing is this occasion feels pretty common for natives and they don’t really care - she spoke about it with humor and that’s it.
Ok now I kinda wanna visit Norilsk. The place sounds like something out of a post-apocalyptic game
@@ThePhatWabbit forget it, that's a closed city, foreigners need a special entry permit on top of visas and some other stuff. Getting it is nearly impossible, unless you have metric shittone of DETERMINATION!
What????
a n o m a l y
@@IkkebottExpirson I feel like if I contacted the company mentioned in the video and explained to them that I would be willing to pay money to see the city; and that I wasn't some "bleeding heart" journalist there to stir things up, that something could be worked out.
This must have been an inspiration for the Metro series.
When I am depressed I watch this and immediately feel better.
Me, a Russian, seeing the title of the video:
“It's Norilsk”
Me, a swede "Let it be Norilsk" lol
@@gryyta9617 you people are racist hate from India.
@@mauritiusboy7952 India are hate, racist from you people.
@@codenamecordon Woah We are Not Racist
@@mauritiusboy7952 hate from Sweden since That wasnt racist
Norilsk really looking like a Modern Warfare Map
Grazna raid
@@Alex365x I feel like it’s 1 step away from becoming grazna raid
I wonder if PUBG's erangel somehow imspired by some russian city
Imagine an open world game set in this city.
@@VirtualBliss888 kinda reminds me of division. That game really died off
I went to Belize City ten years ago. That was probably not as depressing as Norilsk, but pretty up there. Life is hard economically, Belize has to import most goods so things are expensive and money isn't plentiful. It's a melting pot of Latinos, Afro-Caribbeans, Indians (from India), indigenous people, Chinese and other groups but it feels tense and unwelcoming. The crime is so bad that, at least as a foreigner, you can't go to most of the city during the day and everyone bolts their roller doors down at 6pm as if it were the purge. I've been through Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Bolivia and other countries (pretty much all of Latin America, really) and this was the most depressing place I've been to.
Not to knock the country, it's full of natural wonders, good food and the people are generally nice. But it's a tough place, I don't think the economy is kind to the locals. I hope things get better soon.
That just sounds like a normal poverty stricken city. Those are everywhere. True depression comes from seeing every child in your family get leukemia from the place you work at.
I watched a documentary on Belize and I know exactly what you are saying. Places like these seem to amaze me .god bless you Brother
@@gladitsnotme it largely is. I think the tension in the air and abundance of crime made it worse. I felt less bad for the people living in Potosi, Bolivia, because they at least had a sense of community, despite the horrific working conditions for abysmal pay. But yes, seeing your family and friends die or just suffer from medical conditions that we just don't have to seriously worry about makes this comparison seem almost trivial, both situations are horrible and unfair.
I like on how you immediately put the papers please theme on the background and says that it looks like 1984, when you know that shizz is about to go down in Norilsk.
When someone says “Soviet Russia” this is what I imagine
@@marekkelin1181 my guy its a joke
Yeah, there is also famines, he forgot to mention that
And don't forget the genocides and Gulags !
@@MrTruth-ib5ce shit, I forgot the secret police too
Using late stage capitalism to dunk on the commies, you're a parody of yourself
"The most Depressing City"
Me: *Looks outside*
Ikr lol
Basicly any place right now is beyond depressing
Stupid virus
@@Goregreet*Laughs in farmboy*
@@Goregreet yes blame the virus
@@Goregreet comparing not being able to go INTO the Burger King to get your nuggets to the conditions in the city he is talking about is beyond ignorant. Idk if it was supposed to be a joke but it’s tone deaf either way.
@@Userfulpo im not comparing anything what do you mean
I like on how you put the Papers Please main theme on the start on where you mentioned Norilsk lmao
I wish you went on for 10 more minutes that was so good
I've been once in Norilsk. I had an impression that it's not a city, it's a huge fortress. It defends people from harsh boreal evironment
If anything, I'd imagine it would be very cosy going from all the harshness on the outside to a nice, warm, modern home on the inside.
Max Khovanski if only they actually had modern homes there
@@maxkho00 except most of the people live in brutalist concrete commieblocks built in the 50's by prisoners and slaves
Sounds like that village in Alaska that's mostly contained in 1 single building complex so that it's residents don't have to go out in the cold to travel within it (e.g. between home & the school/shops/government office etc.)
@@FoxhoundVIX did you just pulled this out of your ass? Judging by the street views most of the Norilsk is Stalinamp neo-classicism while concrete commiblocks occupy less space than modern buildings obviously constructed in the past 20 years. There wasn't even such a thing as brutalism or concrete buildings in the 50's.
I'm russian. You can pick almost any city as depressing.
god...
@二屄 吃屎 牛屄 let me correct. Lots of Russia's cities and towns might be depressing for sure, but I'm glad I live in the good one (it's not capital or smth tho)
Nah, Moscow is awesome
@二屄 吃屎 牛屄 We dont think about live in Europe, because we dont have money for go away from Russia xD
America is just as bad. Blame government for your lack of freedom.
1:46 I never understood what he meant by 1984 until my English teacher told me about it and how it was a dystopian novel, now rewatching it, it makes sense.
i keep coming back to see this video by my own choice every month ... why??
Me being russian:"it's going to be russia"
Video:
Russia:😥😥😥
SAME HAHA
Bro don't get me wrong but Russia looks really deppressing and boring.
@@sadboylocoese4835 yes. Except moscow.
But I live this kind of style. I look at our park, that looks like post apocalypse, at our broken highways, and I feel like I live in a country with post apocalypse mood. But nit like africa, we have a good internet there, even more cheap than in Europe, and.
@@somnvm37 i'm from Istanbul bro, we have also a lot of russian tourists here :D
@@sadboylocoese4835 yeah we know about that. When we talk about where to go on holidays, it's usually turkey. Even two my classmates were there.
Him: Most depressing city
Me: Adds to travel list
Norilsk is a strategic city for Russia. Nobody, even Russians, can go there without a special authorisation. If you just want to visit the city as a tourist, your appication will certainly be denied. Visiting Pyongyang is much easier in comparison.
It's not at all depressing. Search for it on TH-cam. There are actual videos from people living there and it is not even 1% as depressing as they show.
@@italixgaming915
This is not true, there are restrictions only for foreigners, Russians can visit Norilsk whenever they like, just like any other city.
I can get even more depressive? Damn
@@italixgaming915 i guess they have industrial secrets to protect?
Loved the vid! Subscribed!
thanks for including the transcript bro
The Virgin: "All roads lead to Rome"
Vs
The Chad : "NO roads lead to Norilsk"
lel
Wdym
Lol
The fuck is this incel bullshit
@@left4deadlover123 its a meme format chill
Russian people don't get depressed, in Russia depression gets russian-peopled.
Not true I'm Russian and I'm very depressed most of the time especially in summer coz the sun is sunny
Thought thats why they drink
@@1HoneHeke1 I mean sun can't be moony !
Or can it ?
you are so clever and original
@@roqfortt If you got a problem take it up with my butt cause he's the only one who gives a crap.
i was hoping for footage? maybe a walking tour? Llol.. didn't you go there? more pictures?
still, coming from Wales, very interesting! 🙂 x
I was born and lived for 30 years there. I had some good time. But ecology situation finally forced me to flee
16 year old tiktokers be like* thats my astetic *
15 year old redditors be like
@@Giovanni-mj9uj ???
Aesthetic
@@typing...4881 ok?
@@typing...4881 the misspell makes it funnier lol
Your voice is more depressing than Norilsk
LOL
Pmsl
He liked your comment 😂
Sri Hari Gokul Lmfaaao no chill
I agree. +He can't be bothered to say the cities name properly each time (I had to read the text, to know what the name actually is).
The mountains nearby to Norlisk are absolutely beautiful though. Just wish they were a little more accessible.
Ever been to Bradford UK? Seriously though I could never live in Reykjavik in Iceland, despite it being a trendy holiday destination. Not enough hot weather, lack of trees, the winter darkness and restricted food produce.
Vorkuta is my hometown, so I'm glad you didn't give it the title of "the most depressing city". It's cool that you've found a picture with our New Year's decorations cause the citizens try really hard to cheer each other up during the winter. But most of the time it can certainly feel depressing as it's cold and dark outside, and Vorkuta's remote location also adds to the feeling of being lost and depressed.
We have a very cool rock song about your town. Greetings from Slovakia!
is this... sarcasm?
@@hyunsoo_zx2747 nah, I'm dead serious. Search for "Váňa z Vorkuty | BijouTerrier | Official Music Video" on youtube.
I heard Vorkuta is worse than Norilsk just because the economic situation is so terrible, and a ton of the buildings have become abandoned - is that true?
@@jacobharding3920 yes
Read the title and imagined Norilsk. Here in Russia we all are afraid of Norilsk
Go to the street views - it's Vorkuta you should fear of.
Seems like this city is notorious among Russians too right?
@@cianakril yeah Vorkuta is scary as well
Vorkuta, Norilsk, Magadan, and almost every city far away from Moscow is hell
Looking at those cities you think that apocalypse or nuclear war has already happened
My mom used to live in Norilsk when she was a kid. She told me that sometimes the air was stinky due to the polution, and in the winter sometimes they were exempt from classes because of the freezing temperatures
I've been watching a lot of TH-cam videos lately about the Kensington area of Philadelphia lately . That's the most depressing urban area that I've ever seen .
I'm from Murmansk and it's basically just like any other Russian provincial city (terrible anyway), not post apocalyptic 1984 hell like Norilsk
I would like to visit murmansk and smell the human atmosphere there. How is life there?
There is some beautiful nature just outside Murmansk as well, it's not all been killed by pollution
Glory to Arstotzka
Henry Asselin your papers please
glory greatest
You must be detained
I heard Obristan is nice this time of the year.
That must be Nirsk.
1:36 for all the people that are intrested in the music in this segment. its called Toxic LIfe by Szymon Mleczek
Love the “Papers Please” sound track
"They say they're going to the mainland, even though it isn't an island." Jesus christ.
Jesus Christ died for your sins
@@louisupton3740 lol
People in all cities in the north of russia say that. Anadyr, Vorkuta, kolyma, Petropavlovsk-Kamckatskiy, you name it
Jesus Christ died for your sins ahh yes he died for my useless sins not even god cares about
@@louisupton3740 Allahu Akbar, kid. The caliphate will be restored.
Its not Stalinist architecture. Stalinist architecture is grandiose, overthetop, romanesque. This is 1960+ architecture.
Is that known as brutality?
@@VinnieTheGreat you're thinking of brutalist. Neither stalinist nor Soviet prefab architecture are brutalist. Though brutalist architecture was popular in the USSR.
@@zuuzuuka yeah brutalist. Autocorrect was not doing me any favours haha. Thanks for letting me know that wasn't the architecture style you were talking about
Commieblock buildings made from same panels
such building blocks were called Khrushchyovkas, named after russian president at the time who ordered them to be built.
0:51
That’s good old fashion Montréal, where u could skate to work and easily break your head on any sidewalk in the winter
I looked at going to Norilsk one time. From what I read, it was -- at least at that time -- a closed city that foreigners could not stay in. Is this still true?
Everyone in the comments is joking but this just made me feel sad..... if someone out there is in Norilsk I wish you love and peace, carry on friend.
Fun fact: they don't have good enough internet to watch videos.
Edit: turns out I'm wrong. They got fiber-optic internet in 2017 and 4G in 2016. Sorry for the misinformation.
@@maksneto That's not true. I don't desagree that many Russian cities are depressing, but the internet in Russia is cheap and fast. For example, I live in a small city not so far from Norilsk and I have 100 Mbps for about 10-15 dollars per month. And I have friend from Norilsk and I know by her words that there is good internet too.
Oh damn, seems you're right. My info is a few years out of date, turns out they got fiber-optic internet in 2017 and 4G in 2016. Sorry for the misinformation.
Henrik When i was on an offroad trip in Russia i visited a city with allegedly the highest suicide rate in the country and it wasnt Norilsk.
Whats funny is its called Nikel.
Imagine your whole town being called after what you are mining. And though smaller, it looked depressing af.
Actually there were quite a few towns i found, built solely for the purpose of creating workers on the spot for an electric plant or a mine.
Check out Kirovsk. Middle of freakin mountains. Concrete on concrete, cold af, built just to mine apatite and nepheline
My friend lives in Norilsk and it's not as bad as described there. Just usual boreal city with -60c temperature at winter.
My father was sent there for two years of his obligatory army service, all the way from Chechnya. Heard many stories from him about the place. The winters are devastating, all the soldiers had to move in a line, all tied up to eachother, following cords to navigate. If you were to spit, the saliva would turn into ice before it reached the ground. He also saw the northern lights there!😁
Wow!!
Sounds like hell
"He also saw the northern lights there!" - There's a silver lining to everything.
@@channelsixtysix066 In the winters there's no sunlight for a couple of months and in the summer there's barely any darkness as the sun sets itself on the horizon and doesn't fully go down. With winds counting from 20-30 meters/second, literally blowing people away. You would make sure you're at least holding the belt from the person in front of you. Couple of soldiers also drowned whilst swimming in the lakes at summertime. They died due to hypothermia & cramps. The water is warm on the surface but it has eternal frost a few meters down. Indeed, in the most devastating places on Earth you will find beauty that you wouldn't find elsewhere.
@@excusemeforbeingsorry OK, I concede it's a very thin lining under the circumstances for your father, and posted such a long way from your home. Borealis must be spectacular, photos could never do it justice. I have never actually seen aurora. Too near the equator, unfortunately. The closest ones for me would be Australis and that can be seen from southern Tasmania.
3:45 This is not Stalinist architecture. Stalinist architecture was a subspecies of neoclassicism and was similar to the architecture of Mussolini and Hitler. You can read about it even in Wikipedia. The buildings from the video were a fashion for Le Corbusier's architecture and were built after Stalin. In the time of Stalin, Norilsk was a low-rise town
wow
Le Corbusier? I've lived in a city Le Corbusier designed in India. Its one of the best cities in India.
@@death_parade Did I say that Le Corbusier personally designed Norilsk?
Le Corbusier is one of the most awful architects ever. So dreadful.
In the UK a city can only be classified as a city if it has a cathedral, the only exception is if it gets granted "city status" by the ruling monarch, the smallest city in the UK is in Wales, it's called St David's and has a population of just 1600
The river turning red was actually because of a huge spill of Diesel fuel by.... Norilsk Nickel
Nope
It was red even before that happened
Im from Norilsk i know it better than you
@@user-em3kl7nr8c Oh well congrats... or condolences for living there
@@user-em3kl7nr8c Сочувствую
@@user-em3kl7nr8c Rip
It's written in the Bible, Revelations prophecy
I hope all souls in Norilsk are doing good.
Нет, не в порядке (No, we don't)
@@technodumpsterinc why? Is it bad to live there?
@@lukacurcic5403 Look at the name of the video and ask again) But serious it's pretty damn tough to live her indeed
@@technodumpsterinc Why don't you move from that place
@@lukacurcic5403 Huh... Talk with me personally on Facebook then. It'll be much easier
That ”papers please” soundtrack fits perfectly for this video
2:10 that picture gave me chills
Him: “There is one city I did not mention.”
Music: plays
Me: “...Arstotzka?”
Kvf 29 That’s why I was confused. Also because Arstotzka best *country*
Glory greatest country
Arstotzka so great, passport not required, right?
Hail to Aяstotzka!
@@technodumpsterinc арстоцка
This video feels like you did this for a school project.
Rip N Dip i felt those vibes too lol
well thats alright, too. its pretty quick and to the point, and doesnt try to be more than what it is, or claim to know more than he does. i clicked and i got what i wanted, a super depressing town, 9/10 video
Gafafahahahahahahahaha
And got a D
D for Depressing af
The music from "Papers please" nailed it!
Great video, that place looks depressing! Wait.... why hasn't Bald & Bankrupt been there?
What is for people depressing: Social isolation.. oh dear people in 2017 you don't know what's waiting for you.
Lol we had it good 2017
LoL
@@trolololololololololololol6124 the economy was great and everyone was still complaining. We didn't know how good we had it.
@@blllllllllllllllllllrlrlrl7059 you never appreciate what we have until it’s gone. Who knows 2021 could be the best year of the 20’s in retrospect
I don’t actually mind quarantine tbh I like it more than having to go out
The "Papers, please" music just adds to the atmosphere...
Glory to Arstotzka.
Stereotypical bullshit.
How guys know that stupid game! Hahah holy fuck that’s wasted a lot of time
there are no any stereotypical bullshit.
i literally hear this music in my head when wake up хD (p.s. -i live in moscow and it`s not that bad, but it still depressing.)
@@seezymount2320 That's what I meant, it's depressing. Especially when you hear someone from another country say that your country is depressing.
When the song from papers please started playing, I knew this was going to be tough
The buildings are not Stalinist-era. If that were the case they would be in the neo-classical style. What you have mainly in Norlisk are "Khrushchyovka", which are low and medium rise panel buildings built during the time of Khrushchev and Brezhnev. The image at 3:48 does have one Stalin era building in the bottom right which is yellow. There are also more of these "Stalinka" in the centre of town.
The fact that the guy who made and published the video is still liking the comments. Nice
Detroit was the first thing that popped in my head
Dan Rustle Cleveland
same
Dan Rustle Fuck you Bitch, not depressed, Motown, DeeeTroit Basketball Pistons, Redwings Stanley Cups home.
Suburban Detroit is vastly wealthy and filled with beautiful fresh water lakes and excellent parks. Only a small percentage of the areas 5 million residents live in the city
It’s not depressing it’s just dangerous
cant believe u put the clip of Buses in Montréal clashing in winters for the phrase "Hostile environment" 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Reasonable criteria and explanation, well made video, kept short. I like it. And by seeing the title I thought "ih it is anything other than Norilsk...". Well yeah, the s-hole Norilsk is already well-known.
Most depressing city in the world.
Pyongyang : that's cute.
Ah yes the city North Korea 😐
@@dbshamza4255 He probably means Pyongyang.
@ThoseWhoWouldBurnBooks WouldBurnPeople their all depressing
@ThoseWhoWouldBurnBooks WouldBurnPeople If you get to live in Pyongyang, you should consider yourself lucky because you are the top 1% in North Korea. Only government officials and star citizens get to live there.
Actually Pyongyang is apparently only for the high officials so they live a relatively better life
“Hostile environment that keeps people inside.”
2020: let’s make that a rule for the whole world
@cristi dules That is short sighted. Some countries had less cases than others since the dynamics of people living everywhere is just so different and travels also play a huge part. But in general, it is a virus that in the beginning was not understood at all (also considering that it was and is mutating all the time, similar to the flu, but causes more damage than the average flu) and is deadly to people that have health issues (but also has shown to be deadly to otherwise completely healthy people in some cases). Not doing anything about increasing numbers of cases is costing lifes. Also, there was a study that showed that the countries that took actions early on and that had the hardest lockdowns suffered less from economical loss than those who didn't, on average. It is however hard to tell where it goes from now on since people still travelled as if nothing happened and spread the disease over and over again.
There also have been reports from people who face lasting health issues after an infection that haven't had any health concerns before which is especially worrying. I know someone myself who just barely made it. I know two past cases in fact, one "it's just a cold" case and that one that didn't really go away. There is also increasing evidence that it also works like a flu in terms of vaccines - since there are mutations, people can get infected multiple times by different subtypes of the virus. There might not be a working vaccine. It might just be impossible. And the (affordable and available) treatments are also highly ineffective. It can go anywhere from here and we would have saved us lots of chaos if the spreading would have stopped right when the virus had been found, but the acts came too late when it was already everywhere. It is too late to cry about losing someone or your health when they are already gone.
It's called COVID-*19* for a reason
Lololololol
@ryubaks he is
Hahaha that's funny, sad but true
Was the picture/video of the town in the first few seconds of this video chosen randomly or is that a depressing city too? Because I live there haha
I mean, Lincoln is better
Well, if you live there, it must not be too depressing. Because your presence is uplifting😀
You can feel the dread emanating from that city
LMAO as a Russian, I'm not surprised that 3 most depressed cities in your list were Russian cities)))
write rusia with a small letter and go drink vodka...
Shig8 hater
probably because of how big the fucking country and how small its population is
Sandwich because they have the big bad no freedom
murmansk honestly shouldnt be here, its not that bad.
Most depressing city? North Korea has those. All of them.
This place makes look Pyongyang look like Disneyland
Ironicly Disney could probably afford to buy all of North Korea and turn it into a giant Disneyland.
if you take pyongyang for example though, it isnt necessarily as bad as this. the only people who live in pyongyang are the rich and wealthy, who can afford tropical fruit, electronics and internet access. sure , it may be limited . but the living state of this city and pyongyang are incredibly difficult - also considering that pyongyang is incredibly modern.
@@hoseokssprite5758Pyongyang is amazing actually. Been there two times and it's an awesome city... Not everything looks like people or media says.
Disagree.
The papers please soundtrack just about sums up the atmosphere of Norilsk
Actually that city really has that Papers Please vibe. Good choice of music.
So it's true what they say: "your luck in this world depends where you are born and from who"
100%
No its not. You can (almost) always work hard enough to raise to the level of life that you actually want.
But of course it is a lot easier for wealthier kids than not.
@@Stepanthecrab yeah..
@@Stepanthecrab they said luck depends on it and if you're born in a rich family you're definitely lucky. The rest of the life depends on you obviously
Tell that to the losers born in the US. All the opportunity in the world, nothing but whining.
Are you not going to mention that Norilsk is a closed city, so that foreigners can't even visit it as tourists without special permission? Talk about isolation.
It's not closed city since it can at least be visited by other Russian citizens. There actual closed cities like Sarov can't be visited even by an average Russian without a special permit.
whats going on in sarov that needs such privacy?
Such towns are usually related to military or to scientific research (read: on nuclear power).
Closed cities are certainly less depressing, because they were and remain privilleged when it comes to state funding. Closed cities (actual ones, not Norilsk) were always much cleaner and orderly than any rank-and-file town. Street crime is almost non-existent. Locals are guaranteed to be more sophisticated. These are often compact, closely knit communities in their best sense. If anything, closed cities were enclaves of utopia in mismanaged Soviet Union, permanently pestered by shortages, and definitely during the ruin of 90's.
To sum up, closed cities were and still remain on top of the least depressing places to live in Russia.
there going Japanese on that part!
lol the scene with the bus crashing into each other is in Montreal, it happens pretty much every winter lol.
before this video begins, i must say, did you contemplate Pyongang?
Just learning this city exists makes me feel a little depressed.
Well according to my mom who was born there its isn't that bad there
same
A close runner up would have to be beautiful downtown Chernobyl.
Nobody lives in Chernobyl so it doesn't count.
or Pyongyang in North Korea
You probably mean Prypiat near Chernobyl and Kyiv. It's abandoned - and no, Norilsk is still more depressing
Fuck-O-Shima was worse.
one man lives in chernobyl to this day
@kard sufur _"...trust me those cities might have bad parts but at least they arent polluted to the point where you can barely breathe outside..."_
That would be Newark in New Jersey.
Fun fact: A yugoslav writer (ethnicaly austrian) who was sent to soviet contencration camps spend half of his 17 years in norilsk and half his book is just saying how little people there were, how poor conditions were when he arrived and then in 6 years there were nickel mining factories everywhere