Sochi

{{Infobox Russian city |en_name=Sochi |ru_name=Сочи |other_name= |image_skyline=Sochi view.jpg |image_caption=View of Sochi and the Black Sea |latd=43 |latm=35 |lats=07 |longd=39 |longm=43 |longs=13 |image_map= |map_caption= |map_label_position= |image_coa=Coat of Arms of Sochi (Krasnodar krai).png |coa_caption= |image_flag=Flag of Sochi (Krasnodar krai).png |flag_caption= |federal_subject=Krasnodar Krai |federal_subject_ref= |adm_data_as_of= |adm_district_jur= |adm_district_jur_ref= |adm_ctr_of= |adm_ctr_of_ref= |inhabloc_cat=City |inhabloc_cat_ref= |pop_census=328809 |pop_census_rank=55th |pop_density= |pop_density_as_of= |pop_density_ref= |pop_latest=341902 |pop_latest_date=2010 |pop_latest_ref= |established_date=1838 |established_title= |established_date_ref= |dialing_codes=8622 |dialing_codes_ref= As of the 2002 Census, it had a population of 328,809,

The city has been selected to be the host of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014, as well as the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix from 2014 until at least 2020. It is also one of the host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Sochi enjoys a humid subtropical climate-Mediterranean-type, Provision of weapons and ammunition from abroad to the Circassians caused a diplomatic conflict between the Russian Empire and Great Britain that occurred in 1836 and was named the Mission of Vixen.

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 17 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. 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. 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. |}

Religion

Before 1864 Sochi was a Muslim town dominated by the native people of the local mountaineer of Ubykhia clans and the north of Sochi was dominated by the Shapsugs who are a part of the Adyghe nation. Currently, Sochi is a predominantly Christian city, though there are thought to be around 20,000 muslims living there (the majority are from Adyghe) plus other eastern caucasians, Turks, Tatars, and other smaller muslim groups. Despite this fact, there is no mosque in the city of Sochi, the nearest being around 60 km away in the north from the city center

Geography

Climate

Sochi has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen climate classification Cfa) 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, when the city is home to the annual film festival "Kinotavr" and a getaway for Russia's elite.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve, lies just north from the city. 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 proper

Central City District, or Sochi proper, covers an area of and, as of 2002 Census has a population of 133,935. The highlights include:

Michael Archangel Cathedral, a diminutive church built in 1873–1891 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 Neoclassical design is by 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 (1934–1937) 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 it conducts 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 Station (1952) is one of the most remarkable buildings of Sochi.

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

's squadron at Subashi, as depicted in 1839 by Ivan Aivazovsky, an eyewitness to the event]]

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 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.

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. To get the city ready for the Olympics, the Russian government has committed to a $12 billion investment package, shared 60-40 between the government and private sector. By some estimates, the investments necessary to bring the location up to Olympic standards may exceed that of any previous Olympic games. Putin had apparently chided construction firms working round-the-clock to get Sochi up to ready, the St. Petersburg Times reported. "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 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

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. 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 Silk way Rally which is part of Dakkar series took place in Sochi in 2010 for the last stage between the Capital of the Adygheya Republic Maikop to the city of Sochi through Pseshwap. The Bandy World Championships 2014 will be held in the city at the same time as the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has reportedly reached a deal with Bernie Ecclestone for the city to host the Formula One Russian Grand Prix from 2014.

Sochi Olympic Stadium will also be used to host 2018 World Cup matches.

Notable people from Sochi

Yuri Nikolaevich Denisyuk – physicist, one of the founders of holography

Andre Geim – physicist, inventor of graphene and Nobel Prize winner (Physics, 2010)

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: Cheltenham, England, United Kingdom (from 1959) Menton, France (from 1966) Rimini, Italy (from 1977) Espoo, Finland (from 1989) Long Beach, California, United States (from 1990) Kerch, Ukraine (from 2005) Trabzon, Turkey (from 1991) Pärnu, Estonia (from 1994)

Gallery

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

Category:History of Kuban Category:History of the Caucasus Category:Populated coastal places in Russia Category:Spa towns in Russia Category:Populated places established in 1838 Category:Host cities of the Winter Olympic Games Category:Seaside resorts in Russia