Sochi

Sochi (English) Сочи (Russian)
—  City  —
View of Sochi and the Black Sea
Sochi
Coordinates:
City Day	May 1
Administrative status
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Krasnodar Krai
Municipal status
Urban okrug	Sochi Urban Okrug
Head	Anatoly Pakhomov (acting)
Representative body	City Assembly
Statistics
Area	3,502 km2 (1,352 sq mi)
Population (2002 Census)	328,809 inhabitants[1]
- Rank	55th
- Density	94 /km2 (240 /sq mi)[2]
Time zone	MSK/MSD (UTC+3/+4)
Founded	1838
Previous names	Chatsha Adyghe: (Шъачэ) (until 1864 (The fall of Circassia)),[3] Alexandria (until 1839), Navaginsky (until 1864), Dakhovsky (until 1896)
Postal code(s)	354000-354999
Dialing code(s)	+7 8622
[sochiadm.ru Official website]

Sochi (Russian: Сочи, pronounced [ˈsotɕɪ]) is a resort city, situated in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, just north of the border of the disputed territory of Abkhazia (largely recognised as part of the Republic of Georgia), and the southern Russian border fronting the Black Sea. It sprawls along the shores of the Black Sea and against the background of the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. At 145 km (90 mi), Greater Sochi claims to be the longest city in Europe.^[4] As of the 2002 Census, it had a population of 328,809,^[1] down from 336,514 recorded in the 1989 Census. In 2006, the population was estimated to be 395,012.^[5] The city has been selected to be the host of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014.^[6] Sochi enjoys a humid subtropical climate-Mediterranean-type.^[7][8]

History

The "Kavkazskaya Riviera" resort, Sochi, around 1909

The Zygii people lived in the area in antiquity. From the 6th to the 11th centuries, the area successively belonged to the kingdoms of Egrisi and Abkhazia who built a dozen churches within the city boundaries. From the 11th to the middle of the 15th century it was a part of the Georgian Kingdom. The Christian settlements along the coast were destroyed by the invading Gokturks, Khazars, and other nomadic empires whose control of the region was slight. The northern wall of an 11th-century Byzantinesque basilica still stands in Loo Microdistrict.

From the 15th century onward, the area, known as Ubykhia was part of historical Circassia, and was controlled by the native people of the local mountaineer clans of the north-west Caucasus, nominally under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, which was their principal trading partner in the Muslim world. The coastline was ceded to Russia in 1829 as a result of a Caucasian War and Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829.

The Russians had no detailed knowledge of the area until Baron Feodor Tornau secretly investigated the coastal route from Gelendzhik to Gagra, and across the mountains to Kabarda, in the 1830s.

In 1838, the fort of Alexandria, renamed Navaginsky a year later, was founded at the mouth of the Sochi River as part of the Black Sea Coastal Line, a chain of fortifications set up to protect the area from recurring Circassian Resistance. At the outbreak of the Crimean War, the garrison was evacuated from Navaginsky in order to prevent its capture by the Turks, who effected a landing on Cape Adler soon after.

Karte des Kaukasischen Isthmus. Entworfen und gezeichnet von J. Grassl, 1856.

The last battle of the Caucasian War took place at the Godlikh river on 18 March 1864 O.S., where the ubykhs were defeated by the Dakhovsky regiment of the Russian Army. On 25 March 1864 the Dakhovsky fort was established on the site of the Navaginsky fort. The end of Caucasian War was proclaimed at Kbaade tract (modern Krasnaya Polyana) on 2 June 1864 (21 May O.S.) 1864, by the manifesto of Emperor Alexander II of Russia read aloud by Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia.

After the end of Caucasian War (during the period of 1864-1870) almost all Ubykhs and a major part of the Shapsugs, who lived on the territory of modern Sochi, were either killed in the Circassian Genocide or expelled to the Ottoman Empire (see Muhajir). Starting in 1866 the coast was actively colonized by Russians, Armenians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Greeks, Estonians, Germans, Moldavians, Georgians and other people from inner Russia.

In 1874-1891 the first russian Orthodox church, St. Michael's Church, was constructed and the Dakhovsky settlement was renamed Dakhovsky Posad on 13 April 1874 (O.S.). In February 1890 the Sochi Lighthouse was constructed. In 1896, the Dakhovsky Posad was renamed Sochi Posad (after the name of local river) and incorporated into the newly formed Black Sea Governorate. In 1900-1910 Sochi burgeoned into a sea resort. The first resort, "Kavkazskaya Riviera", opened on 14 June 1909 (O.S.). Sochi was granted municipal rights in 1917.

During the Russian Civil War, the littoral area saw sporadic armed clashes involving the Red Army, White movement forces, and the Democratic Republic of Georgia. In 1923 Sochi acquired one of its most distinctive features, a railway which runs from Tuapse to Abkhazia within a kilometre or two of the coastline. Although this branch of the Northern Caucasus Railway may appear somewhat incongruous in the setting of beaches and sanatoriums, it is still operational and vital to the region's transportation infrastructure.

Sochi was established as a fashionable resort area under Joseph Stalin, who had his favourite dacha built in the city; Stalin's study, complete with a wax statue of the leader, is now open to the public.^[9] During Stalin's reign the coast became dotted with imposing Neoclassical buildings, exemplified by the opulent Rodina and Ordzhonikidze sanatoriums. The centrepiece of this early period is Shchusev's Constructivist Institute of Rheumatology (1927–31). The area was continuously developed until the demise of the Soviet Union.

Following Russia's loss of the traditionally popular resorts of the Crimean peninsula (transferred away from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev), Sochi emerged as the unofficial summer capital of the country. During Vladimir Putin's term in office, the city witnessed a significant increase in investment, although many Russian holidaymakers still flock to the cheaper resorts of neighbouring Abkhazia, Ukraine, or to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

Additionally, Sochi has also served as the location for the signing of many treaties, especially those between the Georgian, Abkhazian, and South Ossetian governing authorities.

Sochi is scheduled to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Population

Geography

Climate

Sochi has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen climate classification Cfa)^[7] - Mediterranean-type, at the lower elevations. Its average annual temperature is 14 °C (57 °F): 18.2 °C (64.8 °F) during the day and 10.8 °C (51.4 °F) at night. In the coldest month - January - the average temperature is about 9 °C (48 °F) during the day, the average sea temperature is about 9 °C (48 °F). In the warmest months - July and August - the temperature typically ranges from 25 to 29 °C (77 to 84 °F) during the day, about 20 °C (68 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is about 23–24 °C (73–75 °F). Yearly sunshine hours is about 2,200. Generally - the summer season lasting to 6 months (from May to October). December, January, February and March is the coldest months, with average temperature (of these four months) 10.6 °C (51.1 °F) during the day and 4.1 °C (39.4 °F) at night. Average annual precipitation is about 1,500 mm.^[12][13][14] Sochi lies at 8b/9a hardiness zone, so the city supports different types of palm trees. Sochi is situated on the same latitude as Nice but strong cold winds from Asia makes winter less warm. In fact, temperatures drop below zero every winter for one or two days.

Layout and landmarks

Sochi is almost unique among larger Russian cities as having some aspects of a subtropical resort. Apart from the scenic Caucasus Mountains, pebble and sand beaches, the city attracts vacation-goers with its subtropical vegetation, numerous parks, monuments, and extravagant Stalinist architecture. About two million people visit Greater Sochi each summer,^[17] when the city is home to the annual film festival "Kinotavr" and a getaway for Russia's elite.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 2,957 square kilometres (731,000 acres) Caucasian Biosphere Reserve, lies just north from the city.^[18] Sochi also has Europe's most northerly tea plantations. It is served by the Adler-Sochi International Airport. The Sochi Light Metro is under construction, projected to be complete by 2014.

Sochi Maritime Terminal

Sochi rail station

Sochi proper

Central City District, or Sochi proper, covers an area of 32 square kilometers (12.4 sq mi) and, as of 2002 Census has a population of 133,935. The highlights include:

• Michael Archangel Cathedral, a diminutive church built in 1873-91 to Kaminsky's designs in order to commemorate the victorious conclusion of the Caucasian War.
• The red-granite Archangel Column, erected in 2006 in memory of the Russian soldiers fallen in Sochi during the Caucasian War. It is capped by a 7-metre bronze statue of Sochi's patron saint, Michael the Archangel.
• Sochi Art Museum occupies a large building with a four-columned portico, completed in 1939. The elegant Neoclassical design is considered to be the masterpiece of Ivan Zholtovsky.
• Arboretum, a large botanical garden with tropical trees from many countries and the Mayors Alley — the line of palm-trees planted by the mayors of different cities of the world.
• The Winter Theatre (1934–37) is another rigorously Neoclassical edifice, surrounded by 88 Corinthian columns, with a pediment bearing the statues of Terpsichore, Melpomene and Thalia, all three cast by Vera Mukhina.
• Hall of Organ and Chamber Music. Located centrally in the city of Sochi. Its wonderful acoustics allows conducting organ, symphony, chamber-ensemble, choral, vocal music concerts. All year round local actors of the city art groups, famous Russian and international performers, International Contests Winners and Laureates give concerts here.
• The Maritime Passenger Terminal (1955) is notable for its distinctive 71-metre-high steepled tower and four statues symbolizing the cardinal points.
• The Railway Terminal Station (1952) is probably Sochi's most familiar building, being the first landmark seen by visitors on approach to the city. It is a remarkable example of Stalinist architecture.
• The Riviera Park was established by Vasily Alexeevich Khludov in 1883 in the part of the city which later became known as Khludovskaya. The park is popular with tourists and local residents alike. It has a variety of attractions, including an outcrop of funny statues and a "glade of friendship" where magnolia trees were planted by every Soviet cosmonaut, among other notables.
• The Tree of Friendship is a lemon tree planted by Otto Schmidt in 1934. Multiple cultivars from foreign countries were grafted onto this tree as a token of friendship. The associated museum boasts a collection of 20,000 presents from all over the world.

Lazarevsky City District

The landing of Nikolay Raevsky's squadron at Subashi, as depicted in 1839 by Ivan Aivazovsky, an eyewitness to the event

The Summer Theatre

Lazarevsky City District lies to the north-west from the city centre and has a population of 63,239 people (2002 Census). It is the largest city district by area, covering some 1,744 square kilometers (673.4 sq mi) and comprising several microdistricts:

• Lazarevskoye, 59 km from the downtown core, contains a delphinarium, an old church (1903), and a new church (1999). The settlement was founded as a Russian military outpost in 1839 and was named after Admiral Mikhail Lazarev.
• Loo, 18 km from the city centre, was once owned by Princes Loov, a noble Abkhazian family claiming patrilineal descent from King Anos, whose royal title was sanctioned by Emperor Heraclius in 623 AD. The district contains the ruins of a medieval church, founded in the 8th century, rebuilt in the 11th century, and converted into a fortress in the Late Middle Ages.
• Dagomys, 18 km from the city centre, has been noted for its botanical garden, established by order of Nicholas II, as well as tea plantations and factories. A sprawling hotel complex was opened there in 1982. Dagomys adjoins Bocharov Ruchey, a dacha built for Kliment Voroshilov in the 1950s, but later upgraded into a country residence of the President of Russia, where he normally spends his vacations and often confers with leaders of other states.^[19]
• Golovinka is a historic location at the mouth of the Shakhe River. Formerly marking the border between the Ubykhs and the Shapsugs, the settlement was noted by Italian travellers of the 17th century as Abbasa. On 3 May 1838, it was the site of the Subashi landing of the Russians, who proceeded to construct Fort Golovinsky where many convicted Decembrists used to serve. The fort was intentionally destroyed by Russian forces at the beginning of the Crimean War, so as to avoid its capture by the enemy.
• Fort Godlik, of which little remains, had a turbulent history. It was built at the mouth of the Godlik River in the Byzantine period (5th to 8th centuries), was destroyed by the Khazars and revived by the Genoese in the High Middle Ages.

Khostinsky City District

Sochi Arboretum

Khostinsky City District, sprawling to the south-east from the city centre, occupies approximately 374 square kilometers (144.4 sq mi), with a population of 62,515 (2002 Census). The district is traversed by many rivulets which give their names to the sub-districts of Matsesta ("flame-coloured river"), Kudepsta, and Khosta ("the river of boars"):

• Matsesta has been a spa since 1902. A 1,316-metre long tunnel, constructed between 1996 and 2000, connects it to Khosta and Sochi proper. The area does not retain many marks of antiquity, although the eponymous river was noted as Masaitica as early as 137 AD, in a letter from Arrian to Emperor Hadrian.
• Kudepsta is another seashore resort, notable for the Vorontsov Caves, stretching for some four kilometers away from the shore. There are fourteen entrances to the caves. The largest hall has a length of twenty meters.
• Khosta is an old village, attested in medieval documents as Casto and Khamysh. It contains the ruins of a medieval church, going back to the 14th century, and the comparatively modern Transfiguration Church, consecrated in 1914. Khosta has an array of tourist attractions:
  • Khosta Fortress, or rather the ruins thereof, perched on the top of a 100-metre high cliff within six kilometers from the sea coast.
  • The fortress stands on the grounds of an ancient grove of yews and boxwood, which may be up to 30 mya old. The largest yews attain a height of 50 meters; some are estimated to be 2,000 years old. The grove covers an area of 301 ha and has been affiliated with the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve since 1931.
  • The Akhun massif comprises Greater Akhun Mtn. (663 m), Lesser Akhun Mtn. (501 m), and Eagle Bluff (380 m). Greater Akhun is crowned by a Neo-Romanesque limestone tower (1936) that offers glimpses of Pitsunda and Gagra across the border in Abkhazia. There is also a chain of twenty karst caves in the massif.
  • The Sochi Arboretum, which goes back to 1889, possesses the most comprehensive collection of subtropical flora in Russia, including 76 species of pine, 80 species of oak, and 24 species of palm.
  • The Summer Theatre is a rather ordinary Neoclassical structure, erected in 1937 and extensively renovated in 2001.

Adlersky City District

A trout farm in Adler.

Adlersky City District, with an area of 1,352 square kilometers (522.0 sq mi) and a population of 69,120 people (2002 Census), is the southernmost district of the city, located just north of the border with Abkhazia. Until the establishment of Greater Sochi in 1961, it was administered as a separate town, which had its origin in an ancient Sadz village and a medieval Genoese trading post.

Among the natural wonders of the district is the Akhshtyr Gorge with a 160-meter-long cave that contains traces of human habitation from about 30,000 years ago. The upland part of the district includes a network of remote mountain villages (auls), the Estonian colony at Estosadok, and the ski resort of Krasnaya Polyana which will host the events (Alpine and Nordic) of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Also located here are the largest trout fishery in Russia (founded in 1964) and a breeding nursery for great apes.

Sports facilities

Sochi is also known for its sport facilities: a local tennis school spawned the careers of such notable players as Grand Slam champions Maria Sharapova and Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Kafelnikov spent much of his childhood here, while Sharapova relocated to Florida at the age of 7). In late 2005, the Russian Football Union announced that it was planning to establish a year-round training centre for the country's national teams in Sochi. The city's warm climate was cited as one of the main incentives. And it's home of FC Zhemchuzhina who play in the Russian First Division.

2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics

In June 2006, the International Olympic Committee announced that Sochi had been selected as a finalist city to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 Winter Paralympics. On 4 July 2007, Sochi was announced as the host city of the 2014 Winter Games, edging out Pyeongchang, South Korea and Salzburg, Austria.^[20]

This will be the Russian Federation's first time to host the Winter Olympic Games, and the first time to host the Paralympic Games. The site of a training centre for aspiring Olympic athletes, as of 2008, the city has no world-class level athletic facilities fit for international competition.^[21] To get the city ready for the Olympics, the Russian government has committed to a $12 billion investment package,^[22] shared 60-40 between the government and private sector.^[23] By some estimates, the investments necessary to bring the location up to Olympic standards may exceed that of any previous Olympic games.^[21]

Sochi Olympics 2014 Site: Controversies

Environmental impact

"Sadly, the Olympic bid is being used as a way for construction companies simply to get their hands on the most valuable land," Greenpeace Russia’s Mikhail Kreindlin said. "The last time the Russian government looked at this issue, which was in January, 2007 they made no mention of the Olympic bid. They simply said that the land could be used for social infrastructure, whereas it was patently obvious that it would be snapped up by elite resorts and golf clubs [with] nothing to do with the Olympics."^[19] Putin had apparently chided construction firms working round-the-clock to get Sochi up to ready, the St. Petersburg Times reported.^[24] "It would be a huge mistake not to take into account what the environmental organizations think", said Putin. "We are going to make sure that builders maintain contact with" environmentalists, who had voiced concerns about the work’s impact on the Sochi National Park, in Western Caucasus.

Greenpeace Russia had told the US-funded Radio Liberty^[25] on 12 September 2006 that it wanted to prevent construction work inside a national park, which it said would break Russia's environmental protection laws.

Construction work

Ski resort of Krasnaya Polyana

The state-controlled RAO UES announced in July 2007 that it might spend 30 billion roubles (about US$1.2billion) on upgrading the electrical power system in the Sochi area by 2014.^[26] The power generating companies Inter RAO UES and RusHydro would have to build or modernize four thermal power plants and four hydroelectric plants — and the federal grid company FGC UES has to replace the Central-Shepsi electricity transmission line, which reportedly often fails in bad weather. The new power line would run partly on power towers and partly across the bottom of the Black Sea. By 2011, the power supply of the resort area would increase by 1129 MW — of which 300 MW would be used for Olympic sports facilities “The cost of the work is estimated at 83.6 billion roubles (about US $3.26 billion), of which 50 billion roubles (about US$2 billion dollars) will go to investments in the electricity grid,” power company announced. They did not say how much of the bill the state would foot. In February 2007, when UES had planned to spend 48.8 billion roubles (about US$1.9 billion) on the Sochi area, the share the state had been ready to pay 38 billion roubles (about US$1.48 billion) of that.

The coming of 2014 Olympics also urges the construction of a medium capacity rapid transit system, the Sochi Light Metro. The current alignment would connect the Sochi Olympic Village, Sochi International Airport, two major railway stations of Northern Caucasus Railway, the downtown of Sochi, and the Alpine skiing area Krasnaya Polyana.

Other sports events

The Bandy World Championships 2014 will be held in the city at the same time as the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Notable people from Sochi

• Yuri Nikolaevich Denisyuk - Physicist, one of the founders of holography
• Andre Geim - Physicist, inventor of graphene
• Yevgeny Kafelnikov - tennis player
• Grigory Leps - singer-songwriter, musician
• Slava Metreveli - Soviet football player, Sochi's central stadium is named after him.
• Boris Nemtsov - former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
• Mordechai Spiegler - 1970s Russian-Israeli football player and manager.
• Vladimir Tkachenko - basketball player
• Alexey Voevoda - bobsledder and professional armwrestler

International relations

Sister cities

Sochi has been twinned with the following cities:

See also

• Tuapse and Gelendzhik - Russian coast towns immediately to the north
• Gagra and Pitsunda - adjacent resorts in Abkhazia
• Sochi International Airport

References

• Journal of a residence in Circassia during the years 1837, 1838, and 1839 - Bell, James Stanislaus (English)

External links

• Official site of administration of resort city Sochi

Territorial divisions of Sochi Tsentralny City District - Khostinsky City District Baranovsky Rural Okrug · Razdolsky Rural Okrug Lazarevsky City District Verkhneloosky Rural Okrug · Kirovsky Rural Okrug · Kichmaysky Rural Okrug · Lygotkhsky Rural Okrug · Solokhaulsky Rural Okrug · Volkovsky Rural Okrug Adlersky City District Krasnopolyansky Settlement Okrug · Kudepstinsky Rural Okrug · Moldovsky Rural Okrug · Nizhneshilovsky Rural Okrug

Administrative divisions of Krasnodar Krai Administrative center: Krasnodar Cities and towns Abinsk · Anapa · Apsheronsk · Armavir · Belorechensk · Gelendzhik · Goryachy Klyuch · Gulkevichi · Khadyzhensk · Korenovsk · Kropotkin · Krymsk · Kurganinsk · Labinsk · Novokubansk · Novorossiysk · Primorsko-Akhtarsk · Slavyansk-na-Kubani · Sochi · Temryuk · Tikhoretsk · Timashyovsk · Tuapse · Ust-Labinsk · Yeysk Districts Abinsky · Anapsky · Apsheronsky · Beloglinsky · Belorechensky · Bryukhovetsky · Dinskoy · Gulkevichsky · Kalininsky · Kanevskoy · Kavkazsky · Korenovsky · Krasnoarmeysky · Krylovsky · Krymsky · Kurganinsky · Kushchyovsky · Labinsky · Leningradsky · Mostovsky · Novokubansky · Novopokrovsky · Otradnensky · Pavlovsky · Primorsko-Akhtarsky · Seversky · Shcherbinovsky · Slavyansky · Starominsky · Tbilissky · Temryuksky · Tikhoretsky · Timashyovsky · Tuapsinsky · Uspensky · Ust-Labinsky · Vyselkovsky · Yeysky