Images of Industrial Cities of Tatarstan in the Vision of the Leaders of Urban Communities and Ordinary Residents

The article examines the verbally recorded dominants of the vision and construction of images of non-capital industrial cities of Tatarstan by their leading actors, accepted and described in their own way by ordinary citizens. They are supplemented by the author’s personal observations and analysis of the meanings embedded in urban symbols and toponymy, monumental propaganda and works of art. Conducted in 2021–2022 in Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhnekamsk, Almetyevsk, and Zelenodolsk, expert interviews and problem-oriented interviews with families showed that their industrial specialization (and, accordingly, the designation as a city of mechanical engineers, chemists, oil workers, shipbuilders), as well as the associated features of the mentality of the residents, continued to determine their images. Moreover, the plant becomes a kind of invisible “partner” for every city dweller, setting the rhythm and style of life, key moments of historical memory. At the same time, the individuality of settlements is influenced by the peculiarities of the formation of their population, sociocultural spaces and urban culture, including ethnocultural specifics.