NARVA: TOMORROW
What was Narva like in the past?
What is Narva today?
What will Narva be like in the future?
What is Narva today?
What will Narva be like in the future?
Here are the answers to these questions from the people of different generations living in Narva. We collected them via questionnaires in September 2021. Each line is a statement from one person. The answers in Russian contain their original spelling and grammar, we tried to preserve the style in translation.
We asked the people of Narva to respond to the questionnaires during the five-day public programme Narva: Tomorrow, which took place ahead Russia: Today world premiere in Narva.
Past
Narva was a rather well-developed city during the Soviet times thanks to its industries that were really important for the economy of our country back then.
A flourishing trading hub. Something bright and forward-looking.
A hamlet.
Don’t know.
Narva was a simple, plain city, and a city of gangs in the ’90s.
Narva was a peaceful city. It had a lot of conscientious working people.
One of Estonia’s first cities.
One of the major trading hubs and crossroads in past century Europe.
One of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
A small, forgotten city, hated by ethnic Estonians. The music video by Nublu has unleashed a flood of stereotypes about Narva. There was no ’life’ in Narva: no activities nor improvements in any area.
Narva was a boring small town with few places to go. Few events for the people.
Narva has changed. At some point after WWII it was completely in ruins. Afterwards it was rebuilt and
it became a beautiful city with a rich history.
it became a beautiful city with a rich history.
A developing city with jobs. There was a point in living here, therefore people didn’t leave.
Russia’s gateway to Europe.
My childhood, my youth, the place where I used to live and work. Best of times!
The Kreenholm, energy industries, people living and working, hoping for a better life for themselves
and their kids.
and their kids.
A quiet, peaceful city.
A republic of the USSR.
1939: A glorious city where Europe’s most stylish and cultural sashayed down the avenues wearing the finest clothing, eating bonbons and admiring the grand architecture.
Narva was a city no-one in „Estonia“ had been to.
A developing industrial city with a sound economy. A sufficiently educated population.
A growing industrial city. A lot of young people. A lot of schools, vocational colleges, kindergartens.
A beautiful old city.
A little Switzerland.
An armored train at the intersection of European and world affairs.
A flaming volcano whose colours and workings affected many nations living in the vicinity.
A large, bustling anthill, full of movement, with everybody inside it busy.
The pearl of the Baltic Sea during the Swedish era. And industrial juggernaut during the Soviet times.
A kind of Soviet Riviera on the East-West border.
A kind of Soviet Riviera on the East-West border.
During the medieval times, a crossroads on the trading routes. During the Soviet times, a rapidly
developing industrial city that became a new home for many migrants.
developing industrial city that became a new home for many migrants.
A beautiful industrial city making dynamic progress, growing steadily.
An industrial city.
A happy city where many young people had creative opportunities: the puppet theatre, the children’s
club at the Gerassimov Culture Palace, cinema, theatre, concerts, dancing. Employment provided the
energy for pastimes.
club at the Gerassimov Culture Palace, cinema, theatre, concerts, dancing. Employment provided the
energy for pastimes.
A well-developed industrial centre.
A blossoming city with its own colour palette, with people and industries. With its own history.
A rapidly developing city where ever more fascinating things were happening.
A big industrial city with a population of 80,000 or more, with major factories and industrial plants, culture palaces, kindergartens, schools, young people.
An industrial city that had hopes for the future, where they built houses and had culture and theatre.
A cosy city with nice people.
A settlement on the bank of the river Narva.
Narva was the most industrialized city in Estonia. Back then, the Kreenholm mill was the largest in the world.
An armored train at the intersection of Europe’s affairs.
Narva, like everything else in this world, was just a cloud of atoms.
Don’t know.
A beautiful, quiet, functioning city. The city of my childhood.
Present
A gateway to Europe.
A train on the sidetracks.
Narva today, even though a depressive place, has become quite a successful city in the last 2-3 years. Lately our city has built the Academy of Security Sciences, the Vaba Lava performing arts centre, and a new stadium next to one of the high schools. It is excellent and lovely that new buildings
are appearing in our city.
are appearing in our city.
–
Today, Narva is my home.
Narva is a struggle between two forces, the old versus the new, a desire to change versus inertia.
A city-like hamlet.
Something halfway between a village and a city.
A small-sized town with a growing number of start-ups.
My birthplace where my family, I and my friends live. A city where there is plenty of entertainment for
the youth.
the youth.
A little bit behind in urban development.
Narva is a quiet Estonian city.
Active youth work, developing tourism, ever growing participation in local politics, discotheques and fun events. BUT few jobs dash; nowhere to return after college.
A hotbed of youth movement (at least there’s a number of different youth projects going on).
A small, tranquil and beautiful Estonian city. There something new in our city every day projects launched, buildings renovated, new places built, old buildings restored.
Narva is a small Estonian town. Narva becomes more up-and-coming every year. New venues are appearing. They are building places that contribute to he development of the city.
Today’s Narva is a most ordinary, unremarkable experience. It is still rich in history but its
presentability leaves much to desire. They say „you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover“ but I don’t
think this is true about a city. After all, the first thing that people notice is the appearance of a city.
presentability leaves much to desire. They say „you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover“ but I don’t
think this is true about a city. After all, the first thing that people notice is the appearance of a city.
Employers are closing down, people are made redundant, the young are leaving to study and work in other cities. There are fewer and fewer people left.
Unfortunately meaningless for both Russia and Estonia.
I live here, retired.
Narva is shutting down, grandkids are leaving. In 15 years, 15,000 people have left.
Narva looks are improving.
A country in the EU.
2021: A dying city where outsiders frequently come to impose their visions. My documentary film title:
In Search of Helen Sildna& Narva.
In Search of Helen Sildna& Narva.
A city that wants to change, without loving itself.
A degenerating city with a massive exodus of young people.
Lacking everything mentioned above.
A city of postwar buildings (mainly), massive industrial ruins and the abandoned Kreenholm.
A province of Europe. But has a lot of potential thanks to its people and location on the border with
Russia.
Russia.
A train full of interesting people, standing still on the sidetracks, ready to go, to make new voyages, to
bring opportunities to new places.
bring opportunities to new places.
A dormant volcano after the last rumblings. People have again started to cultivate its slopes.
An anthill roughly trodden on, with damage to its internal networks and looks.
A city at the point of transformation. A city looking for a new identity. A city, commanding like never
before, the attention of the whole nation.
before, the attention of the whole nation.
A collective identity still searching for its direction (its purpose).
Present
A city growing old, with young people leaving. A declining population.
A city of old-age pensioners and unemployed people.
A comfy but rather sad city.
Shopping malls are emerging like mushrooms. The largest commercial floorspace per person.
A city of elderly people. All the young are leaving for other cities and countries. That’s our potential
lost.
lost.
An ordinary, mid-size city where new stuff is appearing for the benefit of the locals. But there aren’t that many opportunities in today’s Narva, say, for the young people.
Don’t understand.
20,000 fewer inhabitants, fewer kindergartens, fewer young people, few jobs.
Braking pedal floored.
Grey, in the doldrums, but also a place of opportunities. Bad roads, monstrous Soviet buildings, a progressive present alongside with a sad past.
Future
A well-lit and welcoming station on the border between Europe and Asia, for creative-minded people.
Narva in the future: a dynamically growing city with many construction sites for the community benefit, with a developed road network, with salaries on par with the national average, all in all, a city where people want to live.
A city must always be a place where you want to spend your time. A place of maximum comfort and
happiness for the locals. I wish there were more parks and public spaces in our city in the future, I can
visualize them already. People complain about the roads here. That is one of the main problems of
our city. Our Narva should be a place where people want to live. The city is in
perpetual motion and
growth.
happiness for the locals. I wish there were more parks and public spaces in our city in the future, I can
visualize them already. People complain about the roads here. That is one of the main problems of
our city. Our Narva should be a place where people want to live. The city is in
perpetual motion and
growth.
In a very distant future, Narva will slowly begin to rise from its knees, Narva will become a shelter for many in a happy sense, more welcoming, with growing tourism, valuable culturally and historically.
We strongly believe that it will change for the better!
A city of start-ups, of innovation, multiple different cultures.
A city.
Hopefully, Narva will have more parks, jobs and entertainment.
Narva will be a hi-tech city, not much will change over time.
In the future, Narva will become even better. Prominent persons will come, and there will be more places to visit and spend time with your friends.
Larger in territory. A bigger population. Universities will appear. New jobs.
Narva will remain a quiet city with an advanced IT-industry.
After local elections, I hope everything will start changing for the better: jobs will appear for young people, the Kreenholm cultural centre will open, the grey nine-storey apartment blocks will be turned
into charming and tastefully decorated buildings.
into charming and tastefully decorated buildings.
Despite the government dislike of Russians, I think Narva will be a rather popular and successful
city with its own vibe.
city with its own vibe.
Narva will remain small and will open up to face its people again. There will be daily events for the young and the old alike. Narva wont be starved of attention. Tallinn, Tartu and Narva will all be developing equally.
In the future, children will be able to study at a consolidated school. There will be more things to do.
I hope that tomorrow Narva will keep its history but that it will look a lot better. There will be more places where to spend time and more places for cultural education.
If the government will not do anything to aid local development, the city will cease to exist. If they will begin to improve the city, to build new entertainment venues, create jobs, etc, all will be good.
A friendly city for everyone, I hope.
I think it will be a very beautiful, modern city. But will the young people want to be here too...?
A city of old timers if nothing changes.
A musical city, attracting tourists.
?
40,000 residents, most working in factories owned by foreigners? But despite this, a certain amount of
pride is present in the city.
pride is present in the city.
A city not just in Estonia, a city in Europe.
I hope for the third era of growth.
A border town with no future.
I hope for the restoration of the Old Town and the Kreenholm; it will be a tourist attraction and a clean, beautiful city.
If the attitudes towards it change, and the local government also changes, it will be a wonderful city.
A welcoming station hall, a place (a hub) to visit for its enticing atmosphere (which is actually there)
by people from all corners of the world.
by people from all corners of the world.
An extinct volcano with a plentiful infrastructure surrounding it, visited by lots of people from various
countries, in search of historical knowledge and pleasant emotions from a positive place, with good
vibes.
countries, in search of historical knowledge and pleasant emotions from a positive place, with good
vibes.
A large, bustling anthill with endless streams of ants traveling back and forth between other anthills
large and small.
large and small.
A quiet, peaceful and cosy city where different cultures intermingle. A city with rapidly developing
tourism and industries.
tourism and industries.
Most probably an even more provincial Estonian city with a lot of unsolved problems, and a tourist
attraction.
attraction.
In the best scenario, a place of enjoyment for tourists, a bit like Las Vegas or Monte Carlo.
A border town of tourists. There is no future for Narva.
Hard to say.
Difficult to tell.
A provincial town with very few young people unless industries pick up.
In the future, Narva will be a city everyone is leaving, going to other cities and possibly other countries
with more opportunities.
with more opportunities.
I hope for the best, for the culture to thrive.
I doubt that it will change.
Hopefully, an „advanced“ city with good infrastructure and culture.where people want to live.
It has to become a city where everyone wants to live in, whether young or old, and be pleased and
happy.
happy.
VOICES
Inspired by the Narva: Tomorrow project, we recorded a short podcast with the residents of the city. Thanks to the participants for sharing their opinions and taking part in the project.
Aleksandra Ivanova, Kreenholm Club
Anastassia Volkova, photographer
Deniss Polubojarov, city artist of Narva
Jana Budkovskaja founder of OBJEKT creative hub, Narva
Svetlana Zaytseva journalist
Valentina Smolokurova, Kreenholm Club
Anastassia Volkova, photographer
Deniss Polubojarov, city artist of Narva
Jana Budkovskaja founder of OBJEKT creative hub, Narva
Svetlana Zaytseva journalist
Valentina Smolokurova, Kreenholm Club
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