The city was originally established in 1667 as a winter settlement in order to collect tribute from the indigenous tribes in the region.
In 1935, however, renowned Soviet scientist and Arctic explorer Otto Schmidt advised that the settlement be expanded. In 1937, the Dudinka port facilities were built and in 1951 the settlement was officially granted town status.
Today Dudinka serves as the administrative center of Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Territory. The town is home to the northernmost ice arena in the world, and Dudinka's port is the only seaport in the world that gets flooded every year during the spring thaw.
It should be noted that while Dudinka is not technically considered a ‘closed city’, since 2001 foreign nationals haven't been allowed to visit without the permission of local authorities.
