Shift workers' New Year in mines: celebrations and thrashings

New Year is a family holiday, that«s the way it has always been and that»s how it is most often celebrated. But what about those who can«t be with their loved ones because of work, such as shift workers? How they manage, what they cook, and how they manage to get girls, fight and make up — in the 14.RU report.

No Traditions

The editorial board«s interlocutor Alexander worked for almost 10 years at gold mining sites in Yakutia, starting with clerical work, but after some time he became absorbed in the profession, trained as a mining engineer and began conquering the mines himself. He spoke about the nuances of the country»s main holiday in a purely male team and compared how it was before and how it is now.

The workers don«t have long vacations; usually they rested from noon on December 31, and by January 3 everyone had to be back at their posts. But these days were paid double, so there was no shortage of money.

«There were no common traditions, the guys didn»t decorate their rooms, didn«t put together any menu. Decorations and a Christmas tree were in common areas like the canteen or the hall. I»ve been to seven dormitories and it was like that everywhere; in fact, you could even get a thrashing for taking the initiative to decorate the room, for your own sweetness, so to speak. People worked mostly for six months at a time, it would have been physically difficult to get decorations, and no one wanted to think about what and how to decorate the rooms. But I still remember that time warmly, we worked a lot, usually there was only one day off a month, so we looked forward to New Year and enjoyed it during that period,« recalls Alexander.

The table was set with whatever was available. Sometimes they were given a double portion of the regular dinner, and a few years ago management would allocate a package of fruit, for example with apples and tangerines, and a half-liter of vodka for two.

«So, you had to choose a partner to share the alcohol with,» laughs Alexander. «It»s not like that now, alcohol is banned, at the checkpoint they might even taste what you brought in a bottle of, say, juice. But there always was, is, and will be the fact that checkpoint guards are different, and you can come to an agreement with some of them.«

A show program was not specially or pre-arranged; usually talents were found among the workers — they sang and played the guitar. Fights were inevitable, but not serious ones, at least it never came to a hospital bed.

«Everyone drank together, relaxed. By the way, they didn»t meet the chimes [midnight countdown], didn«t make wishes, just hung out. Yes, they fought, there were many showdowns because of gold theft, for example. Some guys were working old, abandoned mine tailings: one would dig, another would hide, the third would carry it out. This was very good money, so showdowns flared up because of this,» says Alexander.

Women were not absent; for New Year they managed to bring beauties from the nearest settlement to the party, sometimes female workers joined the celebration: geologists and cooks.

Now, according to him, everything is different — management is watching discipline and does not encourage loud parties.

How the shift work is generally organized

Ten years ago, the shift work was mainly done by visitors — people from Ukraine, residents of central Russia and Caucasians. There were practically no Yakuts.

«Armenians were there long ago, then in the 2000s Ingush came. 70% of workers used to have juvenile detention records, so prison code concepts reigned on the shift. Everyone understood why they came here and went towards the goal. And contrary to expectations, it was this contingent that was calm, because if you got a reprimand — it wouldn»t be sweet. The «homebodies» [those without prison experience] were capricious and scandalous,« he says.

There was a lot of money, enough even for call girls; once the men disappeared for four days. They didn«t show up for work, but spent a pleasant time with girls. They were brought from Yakutsk and Magadan.

«The money was good, but many had problems with financial literacy. For example, they set themselves the goal of spending every last ruble earned on entertainment. Once they came to pick up one miner, and he was lying on the floor surrounded by banknotes... There are plenty of stories. I heard they even used money instead of toilet paper. Very different people meet there,» laughs Alexander.

Often people came to work on shift in pairs: he as a miner, she in the kitchen or other staff. But love rarely withstood such conditions, all because the woman was the focus of attention of all the workers.

«A couple, for example, came from Novosibirsk or Irkutsk, there the girl was really such a pleasant one, but they lasted, I think, a month and a half. She left for another guy. There are hundreds of guys there. Can you imagine how much love energy there is every day? Not every woman can withstand such pressure of courtship,» says our interlocutor.

Men on shift long for women, even if someone of the female sex just came for work, they all shaved, washed, did everything to appear in the best light.