Digital Archive

"Someone out there is surely writing the history of my city today. But who could write it better than those who remember its very first day? January 1961. Gusty cold winds from the Kama River piled deep snowdrifts across the fields. Tractors dragged wagons through the endless frozen expanse, followed by tired people. They were paving the road to the future Garden City."

— Zinaida Zlatkovskaya, one of the first builders of Nizhnekamsk.

Together with the Kazan documentary center Gorizont Films, we created a large-scale digital archive dedicated to the first decades (1960s-1970s) of the young city’s life, in which industry, architecture, and nature have remained inseparably connected. All photographs were digitized in the Nizhnekamsk City Archive.

Digital Archive

Together with the Kazan documentary center Gorizont Films, we created a large-scale digital archive dedicated to the first decades (1960s-1970s) of the young city’s life, in which industry, architecture, and nature have remained inseparably connected. All photographs were digitized in the Nizhnekamsk City Archive.

"Someone out there is surely writing the history of my city today. But who could write it better than those who remember its very first day? January 1961. Gusty cold winds from the Kama River piled deep snowdrifts across the fields. Tractors dragged wagons through the endless frozen expanse, followed by tired people. They were paving the road to the future Garden City."

— Zinaida Zlatkovskaya, one of the first builders of Nizhnekamsk.

The Beginning

Life in the Garden City

Growth

Point of Convergence

Garden City

Chapter 1. The Beginning
"We Knew the City Would Be"

«For an outsider, it looked more than unexpected: there was nothing — just an empty expanse that was supposed to become the bottom of another reservoir — and suddenly, a city and a factory appeared. They weren’t going to vanish like a mirage. This was a modern Kitezh-grad»,

— from the memoirs of Nizhnekamsk residents and builders.

Today, Nizhnekamsk is one of Tatarstan’s largest industrial centers, continuing to grow on the foundation of industry that defined it in the 1960s.

Laying the foundation of the first production building — mechanical workshop block

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The story of Nizhnekamsk began with oil. In the late 1950s, Tatarstan became the USSR’s leading oil-producing region. But oil is not only fuel — along with it comes associated gas, vital for large-scale chemical production. In 1958, it was decided to build oil-refining plants, and the choice fell on the Lower Kama area — close to oil fields, transportation routes, and future energy hubs.

Chapter 1. The Beginning
"We Knew the City Would Be"

The story of Nizhnekamsk began with oil. In the late 1950s, Tatarstan became the USSR’s leading oil-producing region. But oil is not only fuel — along with it comes associated gas, vital for large-scale chemical production. In 1958, it was decided to build oil-refining plants, and the choice fell on the Lower Kama area — close to oil fields, transportation routes, and future energy hubs.

«For an outsider, it looked more than unexpected: there was nothing — just an empty expanse that was supposed to become the bottom of another reservoir — and suddenly, a city and a factory appeared. They weren’t going to vanish like a mirage. This was a modern Kitezh-grad»,

— from the memoirs of Nizhnekamsk residents and builders.

Laying the foundation of the first production building — mechanical workshop block

Today, Nizhnekamsk is one of Tatarstan’s largest industrial centers, continuing to grow on the foundation of industry that defined it in the 1960s.

View the archive

Yekaterina Kolyadkina

Archive Specialist, Gorizont Films

When our team began searching for materials, the main goal was to find photographs taken as early as possible – during the construction of Nizhnekamsk and the first years of its life. We focused on frames that had never appeared online before, so that local residents could discover them for the first time.

Chapter 2. Point of Convergence
All-Union Construction and the VDNH Gold Medal

"And then came March 24, 1961 — the day of the official laying of the first house of the new city. We held a small meeting, cut the traditional ribbon, and Dmitry Bulavkin’s excavator began biting into the frozen ground. Then a concrete block symbolizing the beginning of the work was lowered into the pit. And that was it. Although the management and guests went to the canteen afterward and celebrated the great event with 200 grams."

— from the diary of Karim Valiullin, head of the first builders’ team.

At the exhibition of new city district models

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On April 19, 1961, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Tatar ASSR, a new settlement was officially registered and given the name Nizhnekamsky. Its population was around 500 people. By 1966, according to the recollections of first builder Karim Valiullin, the city "already had a population of 30,000", with an average age of 28.

In 1960, the master plan for Nizhnekamsk, developed by the GiproGor Institute, received a First Degree Diploma and a Gold Medal of the USSR at the All-Union competition of new city projects. Nizhnekamsk became a kind of experimental site for testing fundamentally new principles of planning and development. Its layout was based on a clear zoning scheme: industrial area — residential area — recreational area.

Chapter 2. Point of Convergence
All-Union Construction and the VDNH Gold Medal

On April 19, 1961, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Tatar ASSR, a new settlement was officially registered and given the name Nizhnekamsky. Its population was around 500 people. By 1966, according to the recollections of first builder Karim Valiullin, the city "already had a population of 30,000", with an average age of 28.

In 1960, the master plan for Nizhnekamsk, developed by the GiproGor Institute, received a First Degree Diploma and a Gold Medal of the USSR at the All-Union competition of new city projects. Nizhnekamsk became a kind of experimental site for testing fundamentally new principles of planning and development. Its layout was based on a clear zoning scheme: industrial area — residential area — recreational area.

At the exhibition of new city district models

"And then came March 24, 1961 — the day of the official laying of the first house of the new city. We held a small meeting, cut the traditional ribbon, and Dmitry Bulavkin’s excavator began biting into the frozen ground. Then a concrete block symbolizing the beginning of the work was lowered into the pit. And that was it. Although the management and guests went to the canteen afterward and celebrated the great event with 200 grams."

— from the diary of Karim Valiullin, head of the first builders’ team.

View the archive

Chapter 3. Growth
Here Will Be a Garden City

From the very first years of Nizhnekamsk’s existence, special attention was given to greenery. Abundant vegetation served not only an aesthetic purpose but also helped improve the environmental conditions around the rapidly expanding industrial zone.

Since the city was literally built from scratch, on an empty field, greening initiatives became part of Nizhnekamsk’s everyday routine. Community clean-ups and collective tree-planting days were held regularly, and thousands of trees were planted. The city park — now one of Nizhnekamsk’s most beloved places — was once planted by the hands of its first residents.

"People of all ages took part in such events [collective planting of trees and flowerbeds], mostly not out of duty or obligation, but by their own will."

— from the memoirs of Nizhnekamsk residents and builders.

Urban greening

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Chapter 3. Growth
Here Will Be a Garden City

From the very first years of Nizhnekamsk’s existence, special attention was given to greenery. Abundant vegetation served not only an aesthetic purpose but also helped improve the environmental conditions around the rapidly expanding industrial zone.

Since the city was literally built from scratch, on an empty field, greening initiatives became part of Nizhnekamsk’s everyday routine. Community clean-ups and collective tree-planting days were held regularly, and thousands of trees were planted. The city park — now one of Nizhnekamsk’s most beloved places — was once planted by the hands of its first residents.

Urban greening

"People of all ages took part in such events [collective planting of trees and flowerbeds], mostly not out of duty or obligation, but by their own will."

— from the memoirs of Nizhnekamsk residents and builders.

View the archive

Chapter 4. Garden City
The Greenest City in Tatarstan

"Thousands of people who came to the construction site began their acquaintance with the Lower Kama from its jewel — the settlement of Krasny Klyuch. The virgin pine forest, the mighty full-flowing Kama River, and the abundance of forest gifts and fish played no small role in the fate of the romantically minded enthusiasts who were captivated by what they saw and decided to stay here forever."

Source: G. S. Sabirov, "We Knew the City Would Be!". Chronicles of Nizhnekamsk in the Materials of "Vasha Gazeta" ("Your Newspaper").

Although Nizhnekamsk is five times smaller than Kazan, it is home to seven landscaped parks, eleven natural springs, promenades, a riverside embankment, a beach, and even an amphitheater that can seat 12,000 people. Nizhnekamsk is often called a city without outskirts: instead of a central square or administrative buildings, its heart is a large park. This urban layout reflects the idea of the Garden City, where green space is not an addition but the very core of urban life.

City street

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Chapter 4. Garden City
The Greenest City in Tatarstan

Although Nizhnekamsk is five times smaller than Kazan, it is home to seven landscaped parks, eleven natural springs, promenades, a riverside embankment, a beach, and even an amphitheater that can seat 12,000 people. Nizhnekamsk is often called a city without outskirts: instead of a central square or administrative buildings, its heart is a large park. This urban layout reflects the idea of the Garden City, where green space is not an addition but the very core of urban life.

City street

"Thousands of people who came to the construction site began their acquaintance with the Lower Kama from its jewel — the settlement of Krasny Klyuch. The virgin pine forest, the mighty full-flowing Kama River, and the abundance of forest gifts and fish played no small role in the fate of the romantically minded enthusiasts who were captivated by what they saw and decided to stay here forever."

Source: G. S. Sabirov, "We Knew the City Would Be!". Chronicles of Nizhnekamsk in the Materials of "Vasha Gazeta" ("Your Newspaper").

View the archive

"Next to the first house, we planted the first birch tree. Among the upturned mounds of earth, it took root timidly, as if glancing around with every leaf. Its thin trunk stretched upward, growing stronger and straighter. In this living scroll lies a kind of chronicle of construction. What will you tell us, white-barked beauty?

Perhaps you’ll whisper with your leaves, stirred by the breeze of memory, about the young man in a canvas work suit who sat beside you one spring evening after his shift — the one whose hands raised the walls of the new house? Or will you recall the trucks pulling up to the concrete porch, bringing the simple belongings of Nizhnekamsk’s first settlers? Maybe you’ll remember the bride and groom who passed by you, the accordions playing at their wedding, and the dancing in the courtyard?

The birch has grown to the top floor and can now see the entire neighborhood beyond the roof. Beside nearby houses and along the avenues and streets, her sisters have grown. Filling the city blocks with the rustle of leaves, Nizhnekamsk has become alive with trees and shrubs — poplars and maples, firs and pines, lindens, rowans, oaks, apple trees, larches, thujas, and bird cherries."

From an interview with Farit Bagautdinov, Chairman of the City Executive Committee, 1976.

"A human being is born! What… the mother’s face is illuminated"

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Chapter 5. Life in the Garden City

"Next to the first house, we planted the first birch tree. Among the upturned mounds of earth, it took root timidly, as if glancing around with every leaf. Its thin trunk stretched upward, growing stronger and straighter. In this living scroll lies a kind of chronicle of construction. What will you tell us, white-barked beauty?

Perhaps you’ll whisper with your leaves, stirred by the breeze of memory, about the young man in a canvas work suit who sat beside you one spring evening after his shift — the one whose hands raised the walls of the new house? Or will you recall the trucks pulling up to the concrete porch, bringing the simple belongings of Nizhnekamsk’s first settlers? Maybe you’ll remember the bride and groom who passed by you, the accordions playing at their wedding, and the dancing in the courtyard?

The birch has grown to the top floor and can now see the entire neighborhood beyond the roof. Beside nearby houses and along the avenues and streets, her sisters have grown. Filling the city blocks with the rustle of leaves, Nizhnekamsk has become alive with trees and shrubs — poplars and maples, firs and pines, lindens, rowans, oaks, apple trees, larches, thujas, and bird cherries."

From an interview with Farit Bagautdinov, Chairman of the City Executive Committee, 1976.