26 Chapter 1
the southern and western shores; other hotels and resorts belonged to vari-
ous state or economic agencies, and these existed side by side with private
enterprises such as the Hotel Dragonigo in Sevastopol' and fi fty-fi ve private
pansions in Yalta. Sevastopol' and Yalta served as centers of sightseeing and
excursions. Patients and vacationers alike could journey from here to visit
the Crimean War battlefi elds at Balaklava or the Crimean khan’s palace at
Bakhchisarai. During the course of the fi rst fi ve-year plan from 1928 to 1932,
all remaining private accommodations were nationalized and attached to ex-
isting sanatoria or converted to state-run pansions and rest homes. By 1936,
a fully socialist Crimea could advertise the availability of 30,000 beds in 168
health establishments.^38
The Caucasus Mineral Waters consisted of four spa towns located in shel-
tered valleys on the north slopes of the Caucasus mountain range. More than
sixty mineral springs fl owed in the vicinity. Like watering places in West-
ern Europe, life in each of the towns centered around the culture of mineral
water, with elaborate bathhouses, drinking stations, and cultivated parks to
serve patients and provide them with tranquillity during their cures. Soviet
medical offi cials proudly compared the district to the best European alpine
spas of Davos and Montreux. The picturesque town of Piatigorsk (at an eleva-
tion of 500 meters above sea level) served as the administrative center of the
district. The soldier-poet Mikhail Lermontov engaged in his fatal duel here
in 1841, and a monument on the site attracted a constant stream of visitors.
As perhaps befi tting a spa that originated as a military cure station, Piatigorsk
was famous for the treatment of syphilis, but it offered all the usual balneo-
logical therapies as well.^39 Essentuki and Zheleznovodsk, at 600 meters in
elevation, developed later than Piatigorsk, but by the middle of the nine-
teenth century they too attracted a well-to-do clientele. Kislovodsk, located
thirty-seven kilometers from Piatigorsk and situated at an elevation of 850
meters, had become the largest of the spa towns in early Soviet times. As in
the other towns, the elaborate park served as the center of resort life. With the
impressive imperial-era Grand Hotel at one end, the park extended through
rows of tree-lined alleys connected to various drinking water stations. During
the season, orchestras performed in the park twice a day. The entire central
zone of the town had been closed to automobiles and carriages in 1929, and
its compact size allowed patients to stroll leisurely as they took their cures.
Easy excursions to nearby waterfalls, grottoes, and scenic views of Mount
Elbrus added touristic variety to the mineral waters cure.- Gol'dfail' and Iakhnin, Kurorty, sanatorii i doma otdykha , 197, 202, 210, 221; Kurorty.
Entsiklopedicheskii slovar', 196. A 1934 publication listed 45,562 beds as of June 1934.
Kurorty SSSR (1936), 164. My calculation based on the capacities given for each institution
in this guidebook comes to 29,855 beds. But government offi cials acknowledged that they
lacked administrative knowledge of the facilities under their control. GARF, f. 9228, op. 1,
d. 24, l. 44. - Kurorty SSSR (1936); GARF, f. 9493, op. 1, d. 8, ll. 32, 107.