Halloween, the scariest day of the year at the end of October, comes to a huge part of the world. In Russia, this holiday is perceived as a funny day rather than a scary day, it is even marked as a Pumpkin Day on the calendar. In addition, the Russians have their own, so to speak, ‘domestic’ ghosts. It is not difficult to ‘see’ them, one just need to come to Sochi. The correspondent of EcoTourism EXPERT tells the readers where to look for ghosts in the resort city. They look scary, but cute ...
To relax in the afterlife ...
Both Sochi residents and tourists visiting the resort city like to relax sitting on a bench in a small quiet park near the Sochi Seaport. But they do not even realize that they are relaxing in a place that used to be a cemetery ...
In the very center of the park, there is an unusual monument called Stone Anchor. Only two dates are indicated on it ‘1838 - 1988’. Is this strange? We will tell you the story. On April 13, 1838, a Russian naval assault party was landed at the mouth of the Sochi River. A sanguinary battle with local tribes, the Adyghes, began. Officer Ivan Zmiyev and 13 Russian soldiers were killed. They were buried in a common grave - the bed of honor - in the forest glade near Fort Alexandria. Over time, this place became a square close to a nearby market.
After the Russian revolution of October 1917, many pages of the Russian history telling people about the heroism and courage of the Russian soldiers - the ‘tsarist army’, as they said at that time - were thrown out. It was gradually forgotten that there was a mass burial ground in one of Sochi’s central parks, and a flower bed was laid out in its place.
However, in the mid-20th century, it became popular to celebrate the anniversaries of the Russian cities. As for Sochi, an idea arose in 1988 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the resort city, from the day of the Russian naval assault party’s landing. Local historians had doubts as to the celebration of the anniversary because it could cause protests of the descendants of the Adyghes, but their opinions were ignored. A Stone Anchor with the dates ‘1838 - 1988’ on it appeared in the park near the Sochi Seaport.
The indignation of the descendants of the Adyghes knew no bounds. The Sochi authorities had to officially apologize for the unjustified celebration of the City Day. So, it turned out that at first, the Russian soldiers were forgotten, then the Sochi authorities neglected the feelings of the indigenous communities. But the park near the Stone Anchor and the monument remained. So, both Sochi residents and tourists relax in the picturesque park that is at the place where a cemetery was. When you know history, you don’t want to do this.
Haunted House
When any taxi driver in Sochi is asked where the haunted house is, he will definitely take his passengers to an old dacha (holiday house) in the Red Storm (Krasny Shturm in Russian) area. It was named after its owner, the tsarist army Colonel Andrey V. Kvitko. In 1900, he purchased a plot of land in the Maly Akhun area of Sochi. It contained areas of primeval laurel forest. On a high hill slope overlooking the sea, a magnificent building resembling a medieval castle was built. It was made of gray stone and decorated with balconies and crenellated towers, and a garden with 150 olive trees was laid out around it. The dacha in Sochi was a favorite place of the Colonel’s wife, Vera. In the castle by the sea, she hosted balls and parties attended by celebrities, including famous singers, and Feodor Chaliapin (Russian opera and chamber singer, basso cantante) was among them. One of the entertainments was taking part in spiritualistic sessions; the house even had a secret staircase, the Colonel cast ‘fear’ in the hearts of the guests while descending it.
During the Russian revolution of 1917, Colonel Andrey Kvitko and his wife left Russia. Their dacha in Sochi was nationalized and a health resort was set up there. Later on, it was given to the People’s Commissariat of Education to house the Lunacharsky Children’s Colony. In some years, the Red Storm health resort for 60 people was opened in this building. The name reflected the events of the Civil War when a battle between the ‘Red Army’ and ‘White Army’ took place on the territory of the dacha. Later on, the building was given to the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs’ (NKVD in Russian) health resort, which was also visited by Lavrenty Beria (a statesman who was in Stalin’s inner circle). There are rumors that treasure trove was hidden at Kvitko’s dacha. They say that the former owner of the house even returned to Sochi during the Soviet days. But he was never able to take the treasures because secret service agents (Chekists) were vacationing at the health resort.
But where did the ghosts come from? The secret was revealed by local historian Igor Sizov. “It was the 1990s, editorial offices were closing, journalists were trying to make both ends meet. I suddenly got a call from NTV (TV company) and was asked to tell them about the Haunted House. The film crew and I arrived at Kvitko’s dacha and I told them that about 10 years ago, the dacha area was swarming with snakes and to keep the children from going there, the parents invented a story about ghosts. They looked at me in surprise and asked me to tell the story in more detail and vividly. Then I got carried away! A story about an NKVD health resort was made up especially for the people from television, where Lavrenty Beria, who was famous for his passion to schoolgirls, raped one of them. And she could not stand the shame and committed suicide. The story was filmed, and I forgot about it. The story was later shown on TV several times. But imagine my surprise when a couple of months later, I saw famous singer Alla Pugacheva on TV. She said she was looking for a plot of land for her dacha in Sochi and as soon as she entered Kvitko’s dacha, she ‘was dazzled’. Later on, the singing star found out that Beria had been there, raped a schoolgirl who put an end to her life and became a ghost. As you know, a lie repeated by someone becomes very convincing. That’s how the ghost appeared at Kvitko’s dacha.
Now, Kvitko’s dacha is one of the most attractive abandoned places in Sochi, but, unfortunately, it is closed to visitors. In 2023, the Yunost (Youth) health resort restricted access there, although tourists previously liked to come to this mystical place.
Stalin’s ghost wanders the resort city...
In 2023, James Barney from England published a guide to hotels where travelers could see ghosts. Along with the Ostrich Inn in London with its owner who unscrupulously murdered his wealthy guests in a boiling vat of ale (positioned under the bed in the kitchen one floor down) in the 14th century, as well as the French Fort Royal on Sainte Marguerite Island where the secret prisoner - the Man in the Iron Mask - was kept for several years, and the Romanian Dracula’s castle, where the Easter feast ended with murdering all the invited guests in 1459, the list also included Joseph Stalin’s Green Grove dacha in Sochi. So, is the ghost of the Soviet leader really wandering the house in the resort city?
The Green Grove dacha was built in 1936, and Joseph Stalin spent his vacation there every year in early autumn. Stalin always kept on working during his vacations, and important and - sometimes even cruel - decisions were taken at this dacha. Thus, in September 1936, an encrypted telegram was sent from Stalin’s Green Grove dacha to Moscow, “We consider the appointment of Comrade Yezhov to the post of the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs to be an absolutely necessary and urgent matter. Yagoda (former People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs) was clearly not able to fulfil the task of revealing the Trotsky-Zinoviev bloc. (signed by) Stalin, Zhdanov.” Nikolai Yezhov became the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR. And the year 1937 (of mass political repressions) came to the country. Later, researchers cited two figures. In 1936, there were 1,023 death sentences passed in the Soviet Union. In 1937, their number was 350,000, and the number of people got executed & gulagged (sent to prisons) exceeded one million.
Joseph Stalin did not come to Sochi for fun. The leader ‘of all nations’ was an elderly man and came to this resort city to improve his health because the Matsesta mineral water baths helped him a lot. One of them turned out to be ‘poisonous’. Here is what Alexander Kosolapov, veteran of the Matsesta resort, recalled about a terrible incident. “That day, I had to fill the mineral water bath for Joseph Stalin. Suddenly, a tiny chip ‘jumped out’ of the tap. The thing is that the sulfur water pipelines consisted of wooden pipes at that time. Stalin allowed the water to be changed, but General Vlasik (head of Stalin’s Security Service) was very unpleased. He warned me that if one more wooden chip floated up, I would spend the rest of my life making chips in a forced-labor logging camp.”
Of course, many workers at the Matsesta resort learnt that something had gotten into Joseph Stalin’s bathtub. They told this to their relatives and friends, adding some more details, and as a result, a legend appeared that someone wanted to poison the leader by adding something into his bathtub.
It is believed that the ghost of the Soviet dictator in a white jacket still appears at his dacha in Sochi - in his office, personal movie theater, or billiard room. But everything is very simple. You can really see the Soviet ‘leader’ at Stalin’s dacha. Now, his wax figure ‘sits’ at his desk.
Dead Bride
Mount Akhun in Sochi is, as they say, a must-see place. The visitors can enjoy and admire a stunning and beautiful view of the city from the viewing tower located there. At an altitude of 666 meters above sea level, there is also a ‘cursed’ restaurant inhabited by ghosts.
Built in 1937, it was a grand and majestic building at that time that could host several dozen visitors. The restaurant was luxurious. Huge snow-white columns decorated the main entrance, the hall was of an unusual round shape. High-ranking guests were among the visitors, they say that Joseph Stalin also visited it. However, the restaurant worked only one season, and it was closed for 20 years. But the restaurant did not work for long when the second attempt was made to start it.
So, all sorts of legends and rumors appeared. The first ones were about a fire, where many people burned alive. And the rumors are that the ghosts of famous political figures who visited this place wander the restaurant. But the legend of the ghost bride is more popular. Once, a big wedding party was at a restaurant on Mount Akhun. On the way back after the celebration, the newlyweds’ car ended up in a ditch. The young 18-year-old wife died not only on her wedding day, but it was also her birthday.
Soon, drivers began to notice a girl’s silhouette in the fog near the road sign ‘Restaurant. Akhun Tower’. Psychic mediators were invited here, who said that the place for a restaurant was completely unsuitable. And archaeologists discovered that the restaurant was built on the ruins of a Byzantine temple. As you understand, this place is not the best option.
