Abstract: In the early 1950s, Joseph Stalin ordered the construction of a railway line in the Far North known as the Polar
Mainline or Project 501–503. Its purpose was to connect Tchum to Igarka, spanning 1400 km of tundra and crossing the
Ural Mountains. The construction of the railway also required the establishment of camps to house the inmates and guards
responsible for their custody. Over 200 camps were planned along the railway track. In 2019, a Russo-Swiss expedition set
out to study one of these camps in the Yamal Province, the Lagpounkt 93, known as Chtchoutchi.
This article discusses the historic and geographic context of the Chtchoutchi camp before describing its architectural features.
Based on the preserved remains, the construction technique of the buildings is presented in detail. The characteristic use of
modular and partially prefabricated elements allowed the mass production of the main components (walls, doors, windows)
off-site and accelerated the on-site construction, which was mainly limited to the assemblage of normed pieces. Nevertheless,
a close comparison of archaeological remains and archival documents suggests that despite the numerous similarities, every
camp was unique.