Soviet Recreational Policy and Everyday Life of Mineral Water Resorts in Caucasus during 1920s and 1930s
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-2-341-358
Abstract
This article reconstructs the everyday life at mineral water resorts in the Caucasus region during the first two decades of Soviet rule. The primary source base consists largely of documents from two regional archives — the State Archive of Stavropol Krai and the State Archive of Recent History of Stavropol Krai. Many unpublished sources are introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time. The study examines how Bolsheviks organized resort activities under their regime. A novelty of this research lies in its focus on a specific type of daily life within narrow territorial and chronological boundaries. It concludes that the new authorities pursued purely utilitarian goals by stripping these resorts of bourgeois glamour and swiftly transforming them into health factories for Soviet workers. Attention is given to processes shaping new social realities and emerging leisure practices among visitors. Contrasts between pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary clientele are highlighted. Additionally, various perspectives on the daily experience of Soviet resorts are presented, including material infrastructure, social composition of guests, living conditions, entertainment options, and therapeutic treatments.
Keywords
history of everyday life,
new local history,
Caucasian Mineral Waters,
spa town history,
Soviet society,
recreational policy
Supporting agencies: The study is supported by Russian Science Foundation, project number 24-18-20073, https://rscf.ru/project/24-18-20073/
About the Authors
K. R. Ambartsumyan
North-Caucasus Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Karine R. Ambartsumyan, PhD in History, Associate Professor, Department of World Politics and Foreign Regional Studies
Stavropol
T. A. Bulygina
North-Caucasus Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tamara A. Bulygina, Doctor of History, Professor, Department of Russian History
Stavropol
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Review
For citations:
Ambartsumyan K.R., Bulygina T.A. Soviet Recreational Policy and Everyday Life of Mineral Water Resorts in Caucasus during 1920s and 1930s. Nauchnyi dialog. 2026;15(2):341-358. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-2-341-358
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