“The city of Berezniki is sinking into the earth”, claims the press about an industrial town built on top of salt mines. The sinkholes caused by the mining industry are now filled by water, hidden behind fences – a background noise to be controlled, overcome and forgotten. While the image of this “sinking town” has become a symbol of environmental collapse for outsiders, the inhabitants go about their daily lives, in a city whose local culture is dependent on industries.