Where and how they rested in the USSR. how it was. Organized recreation of the Soviet era (photo and video)

The well-known maxim says "Every Soviet person must have rested at least once in his life on the Black Sea." This phrase in the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" is moralized by the main character Ekaterina Tikhomirova. This phrase always annoyed me, because it did not even closely correlate with the surrounding reality. Among my relatives (I mean uncles / aunts, brothers / sisters) on the Black Sea (and, by the way, on the Azov and Caspian) were far from all. Among my classmates (and, accordingly, their parents), too, not all of them have been to the sea. When I served in the army, especially already in Siberia, in my opinion, almost none of my colleagues were at sea.

There was a guy in our unit nicknamed "Odessa" - that's the only one who (except me) was at sea. One of my colleagues (called Mendel by us for the deep abyss of mind) even ideologically despised the Black Sea. "Why do I need your Black Sea, if I have a great rest on our sea" - he meant the artificial reservoir near Novosibirsk, where he was from. And another colleague, originally from Bratsk (there, by the way, there is also a reservoir quite hoo, though cold), did not understand at all what kind of rest it was - to wallow on the ground near water bodies, and at any opportunity defended hunting in the taiga as the best pastime.

Nor am I saying that every Soviet patriot who opens his mouth about "the whole Soviet people”, forgets for some reason that Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and likewise Turkmens, etc. nationalities were also Soviet people, but for the most part they did not go to the sea. So this is Sovpatov's "all Soviet people" - this is usually about residents of large cities, and mainly the western part of the USSR.

That is why this completely false phrase about "every Soviet person at least once rested on the Black Sea" annoys me. However, and it is foolish to argue with this, if not every Soviet person, then at least a fair number of Soviet citizens were drawn to the Black Sea resorts in the summer. As it was stated in the Soviet editorials of that time - "every summer, millions of Soviet citizens relax in resorts and health resorts." On this occasion, today I am sending on the air another fraction of memories about the Soviet era.

To begin with, some official Soviet statistics to remove, so to speak, all questions. Namely - how many people rested annually in sanatoriums, dispensaries and recreation centers. To answer this question, we pick up vol. 24, part II of the TSB for 1977, open page 275 with the article “ Sanitary-resort treatment". Reading:

The number of round-the-clock sanatoriums increased in 1975 compared to 1913 by 39 times, the number of beds in them - by 168 times.

By the way, who claimed that in the 70s, Soviet statistics no longer compared the achievements of the USSR with 1913? Here you are - Russian in white in TSB is compared precisely with 1913. And the comparison is really impressive - the number of beds has increased by 168 times. In general, by the way, this comparison by “beds” is touching. You know, in my training in the barracks, there were immediately a lot of 160 beds - for the entire training company. Why am I doing this? Moreover, a bed in a suite and a bed in a barracks are not the same thing. But that's just a passing thought. Another passing thought - it’s interesting, but how many times by 1975 did the number of different kind beds in holiday destinations in the US, or let's say in France? It would be interesting to see such statistics. However, read on.

On January 1, 1976, it was approx. 400 resorts, 2.4 thousand sanatoriums and boarding houses with treatment for 504 thousand places, 6203 houses and recreation centers and boarding houses for 828 thousand places

The total, therefore, is approximately 1.33 million beds. If we assume that on average a person rested in such a sanatorium or boarding house for 20 days, i.e. 3 weeks (although it could have been 30 days), then for the summer period (from June 1 to September 10), i.e. in 100 days, all these sanatoriums and boarding houses could receive about 6 million people. Of course, not everyone is a Soviet person (in 1976, 255.5 million people lived in the USSR), but also a very impressive figure. There is indeed some "nuance" here.

The fact is that not all of these sanatoriums and boarding houses were concentrated in the Black Sea region. In addition to the Black Sea, resorts in the USSR were considered: Riga seaside, Caucasian Mineralnye Vody, Borjomi, Belokurikha (Altai), Truskavets (Lvov region), etc. In addition, there was great amount rest houses and sanatoriums located near the cities. These houses and recreation centers are also included in the TSB statistics. In other words, these 1.33 million beds were distributed throughout the entire territory of the USSR, and were not concentrated exclusively on the Black Sea coast. A typical country holiday home is such a former estate or a house built in the same style, in which the bulk of the workers rested.

Remember the 1956 film "Crazy Day" with Igor Ilyinsky in leading role? Here the action develops in a typical country holiday home. In 1956, such holiday homes probably looked something like in the movie (i.e., they were already quite new), by 1976 they were already very dilapidated. But of course they were included in the statistics.

And how many sanatoriums, boarding houses and other houses and recreation centers were there on the Black Sea? Here BES is silent. It seems that if we divide the original figure by 10, we will not make much mistake. But all the same, even 133,000 beds in the sea area, well, even 200,000 beds, is about a million people who could stay there every summer.

By the way, to make it clear how people got to these sanatoriums, I will quote the TSB once again:

Vouchers to sanatoriums are distributed by professional organizations, indications for treatment in them are determined by medical and preventive institutions; more than 50% of vouchers are issued to workers and employees at the expense of social insurance funds with payment of 30% of the cost or at the expense of the healthcare budget free of charge.

Here it is, the word so beloved by Soviet patriots - for free! It’s true that it’s not said here exactly how many of these “more than 50%” are “with payment of 30% of the cost”, and how many are “at the expense of the healthcare budget for free”, but still the fact itself caresses the heart of every Soviet patriot. The question is really open - what is better for the end user, the so-called. free ticket(the cost of which he himself earned, but did not receive in his hands) to a Soviet holiday home or the full cost of a good separate room near the sea, provided that the person receives everything that he has earned. But this is a rhetorical question, of course.

Now another question. Someone, especially from the younger generation, immediately imagines a “free ticket”, which opens the door of a separate room with a separate shower / bathroom, or even a bath, Split system, TV and everything in the same spirit to the owner? Alas, Soviet reality was somewhat different. Separate rooms were only in sanatoriums for "white people", i.e. for the highest party and state dignitaries. And a typical room in a sanatorium or rest home for "workers and employees" was a room with 2-4 beds (namely beds), next to each bedside table, in the middle, usually a table, a couple of chairs, on the floor a typical state-owned rug, a common closet. Everything. "Conveniences" were not always in the room, more often - on the floor, and not rarely and generally on the street. In the movie "His Name Was Robert" they showed something like this:

True, there is quite good - only for two people and a washbasin in the room. More often than not, they were worse.

We lived in such a room from 2 to 4 people (there were more). Those. a voucher (at least paid, at least at the expense of the healthcare budget) entitles a person not to a separate room, but to a bed in a dormitory room.

Remember, in the film “Stoves and Benches”, Vanya (played by Vasily Shukshin), having received a ticket, brought his wife to the sanatorium, confident that he was entitled to a separate room where he could put a cot for his wife, and the well-fed chief doctor explained to him: “Bunk you are entitled to." Bunk! And on the other beds in this room completely strangers will spend the night. So the wife there - no way. And his wife Nyura had to rent a room from some cleaner from the sanatorium. Here is such a "free ticket".

However, in fact, people were happy about this and “getting” a ticket to the Black Sea sanatorium or rest house in the summer - it was a huge success. Needless to say, in the Soviet system, this kind of service also had a very specific “black price list”. It is also clear that activists were fed with such vouchers - that is, those non-party prostitutes who jumped up from their seats at every meeting and glorified the communist government. Those. Vouchers in the Soviet system were a very powerful carrot for cultivating a correct perception of reality, as the party teaches. You don’t like something and you are building a truth-lover out of yourself? Well, then you won't get a ticket.

But not everyone had the opportunity to get a ticket. Therefore, the bulk of vacationers on the Black Sea went there as "savages", i.e. without any vouchers, in the hope of renting a corner from some local mistress. And this kind of business in the Black Sea settlements flourished. What was the cost of one bed from a private trader?

In "Almost" funny story"In the hairdresser's, a casual acquaintance of the main character complains:" Crimea has risen in price this year. A bunk already costs a ruble and a half.” It's just 1977. That is, if a bed is one and a half rubles, then for a vacation (let's say 30 days) - this came out to about 45 rubles per bed per person. And for two - as much as 90 rubles just to spend the night. 60 rubles is 2/3 of the monthly salary of a novice Soviet engineer, or more than half of the average salary in the country (in 1977, the average salary was 160 rubles).

Accommodations? Well, on this score there are good almost documentary shots in the films “Sportloto-82”, “Be my husband”, etc. That is, for single people, as a rule, there are also several beds in one room, and for families, a separate room or shed. I remember when my mother and I arrived in Anapa in 1974, we lived together just in some shed in the backyard of a private house. In our shed there was only one iron bed, close to it something in between a bedside table and tables, one chair and a small locker. All of this is up close. But even then, thank God, they found it, because the whole private sector(including the hostess's house) was packed with vacationers.

And you also need to eat. And the owners often did not like vacationers to eat in the house. That is, the general approach was this - you pay for an overnight stay, and in the morning let's run away to the sea. Of course, you could have a bite to eat at a table in the yard, but this is not a full meal. What about a complete one? Again, along the same Anapa - in 1974 there were several canteens - huge, but still not satisfying the demand. And no matter how you walk by, there are always huge queues from there. The food was - for my picky taste of course - often disgusting. But most gobbled up only the crackling behind the ears stood. And where to go?

But in principle, of course, for those who came to rest, the main thing was not an overnight stay and food, but the sea. Of course, I have not been everywhere, but in many places, but for some reason I remember a high-quality equipped beach only in Odessa. Most often there were some semi-equipped ones - with a certain number of wooden trestle beds. Trestle beds were free and there were not many of them (compared to the mass of people on the beach). Therefore, they usually got to those who came to the beach before everyone else. Many came to occupy the trestle bed almost with the first rays of the sun. There were also many wild beaches - that is, just a sandy or rocky shore without any amenities, even without changing rooms.

Of the entertainment on the beach - in addition to the sea itself - of course, corn sellers and photographers. Along many beaches, there were various wolves from Nu Pogodi with hares, near which one could take pictures. Photos - color, but of poor quality - were usually taken for several days. Some places sold cotton candy, but it was just murder behind it. In some places already in the 70s they began to sell Pepsi-Cola, but the queues for it were no less wild. Many men in groups drank beer and ate caught mussels, which were cooked on a fire right on the beach. In the evenings, dancing, if in rest homes, then there were often all sorts of quizzes. In general, for all the squalor of this holiday, in Soviet realities it was very, very zergut to relax at sea.

About the road, by the way. Sometimes you have to read memoirs in the style of “but ten of us with brothers and sisters lived with one mother, who worked as a laboratory assistant, but at the same time she still drove our entire herd to the sea every year, and even by plane back and forth.” Well, I do not want to discuss such nonsense. But I will say a few words. The plane - no matter how much Soviet patriots fantasize today - although it was accessible, it was still so expensive on a Soviet scale that most people traveled to the sea and back on the train, and more often in a reserved seat car. My mother and I usually flew to the sea by plane, but we always returned by train - traveling to the sea and back both ways by plane was a very big luxury.

Citizens usually left the sea with suitcases and boxes, full of fruit- to eat fruits in their cities. Because the Soviet trade was unable to provide people with normal fruits even in summer.

One more moment. Today, former Soviet children often talk about “high Soviet salaries”, which they say were so huge that they allowed entire families of several people to be transported to the sea, even as “savages”. In fact, the mechanism was this. A Soviet person, when he went on vacation, received all the money, including vacation pay, as if he had quit. That was the law. I am telling you this as a person who began to automate the "Accounting for labor and wages' back in Soviet times. And it turned out the following: a person received in his hands the entire amount for the last month (minus the advance payment already received), plus for the days that he worked in the month in which he went on vacation (if he did not leave on the 1st), plus holiday pay. Vacation pay was calculated according to a complex formula, taking into account the length of service and in some cases was equal to almost 100% of his salary, while vacation pay was paid for the entire vacation period (usually 24 days). Plus, there could be additional accruals for overtime work, etc. So in reality it looked like this.

Suppose a person received 140 rubles (a very low salary), he went on vacation, say, on the 5th. In total, he was paid 84 rubles (salary minus 40% of the advance), minus income and some other taxes, for a total of 75-80 rubles. Plus, the salary for 5 days worked is about 30 rubles. minus taxes. Total already more than 100 rubles only salary. Plus lower, let's say in the amount of 70% of the salary. Total 98 rubles. minus taxes. In general, he went on vacation with about 200 rubles in his hands. Considering that at once he never received more than 80 rubles (56 rubles is an advance, and the pay is 140 minus the advance, minus taxes), having such a “lot of money” in his hands, he considered himself rich. If the whole family of engineers went on vacation, then they had about 400 rubles per circle. And here, in fact, it was possible to boo once a year - and pay for the private sector, ride in a compartment (or even on a one-way plane), and buy fruits and generally overspend. True, they usually came home on one pair and then shot chervonets until payday. And the nearest pay was small, given that before the vacation the person was paid everything to the penny. And after the holidays, most Soviet people tightened their belts (of course, their children were not informed about this). True, after a month or two they entered the usual rhythm.

What to say? For some, this Soviet vacation - with an overnight stay "on a bunk", with wild queues in canteens, with uncomfortable beaches and general life - seems to be the height of pleasure. In my childhood, of course, all household details were also up to the light bulb. I would at least sit in the sea from morning to night without getting out - nothing else interested me. But today it’s hard to call normal rest not in an equipped room, without all the relevant infrastructure in the city, without a bunch of eateries and cafes where visitors are begged to go, without various rented yachts, scuba gear, parachutes, catamarans and other such nonsense - I somehow find it difficult. In my opinion, in Soviet realities, a seaside vacation was just a fairy tale, and I didn’t expect anything like a trip to the sea. But today it looks like an AN-2 compared to a Boeing.

But there are people who don’t give anything, they will still yearn for Soviet squalor just because it is Soviet. But here to each his own. Basically, nothing can be done.

AT recent times a lot of walking on the network of all sorts of stories and reviews of tourists about the rest in the Crimea. And many of them are completely negative or somehow vague, but in general, they somehow do not cause any particular optimism and desire to relax in Crimea. For example, we read the story of a famous Russian blogger.

So I studied several of these reviews, looked at pictures and videos about this vacation and came to the sad conclusion that, in fact, since Soviet times, the format of this vacation and its quality have not changed much. Despite the turnover of all sorts of political events around the Crimea.

Therefore, I remembered an old story, how my friend and I rested in Kerch in 1991 in August. It was just at the time of very serious events for the USSR, namely, during the August putsch.

We were young and lived in big country under the name of the USSR under Gorbachev. So, a trip to the south then might not have been very expensive, but it was completely uncomfortable from today's point of view and very expensive in terms of the number of all sorts of actions that a tourist had to perform in order to get to the “cherished southern seas”.

Firstly, almost no one was allowed to go abroad just like that, there were “exit visas”, all kinds of permissions from the KGB, party committees, etc. Therefore, now there will be shocking information for the younger generation: it was possible to relax on the warm sea only in the Crimea, in Sochi or Tuapse, as well as in the Caucasus (in Georgia and Abkhazia). Of course, one could also relax on the Sea of ​​Azov, but there were such unimportant conditions for recreation in Soviet times, so there was no desire to go there.

And here is another surprising fact for a young “hipster” that with photos from this vacation I have “almost nothing”. Because there were no cool cameras for you, as well as smartphones, instagrams, selfie sticks, and other bells and whistles then. Any photographs were taken on a film camera, and the process of developing film and printing photographs was laborious, it required special skills and equipment. Therefore, all the photos for this post are modern, from the Internet, because there are no own photos, but only memories. And there will be no “pruflinks” familiar to a young reader, because where should I send you, to the past or something?

First, I'll tell you about the process of preparing for the rest. It's almost simple now, I monitored the Internet, called the tour. firms, read the reviews, bought vouchers and went, at least to the Crimea, at least flew to the Maldives. Particularly savvy travelers even organize their own vacation by booking villas, hotels and apartments on sites like Booking.com. Now imagine that you don't have any of that. Absolutely not. And there are no vouchers for free sale for the summer at all. Vouchers to an ordinary dispensary could only be obtained from the enterprise, and in a decent sanatorium (just like 2-3 stars now) there was generally an opportunity to go only to nomenclature workers. And for the majority of ordinary Soviet citizens, only poor tours were available. bases with wooden houses and with a toilet on the street or the private sector in the Crimea (i.e. grandmother's shed).

Add to this that under the Soviets was in almost all commodity groups and in the service sector, too, which intensified by the 90s, and even for simple everyday activities, it was necessary to have connections with the right people or “blat”, as the people called it. I am writing such a large introductory part for young readers. Those who are now over 40 years old know everything themselves.

Vacation preparation process It took me a very long time, more than 2 months.

Through some acquaintances, “seventh water on jelly” found connections in Kerch and we were promised to book a hotel from some factory, and then “allegedly allowed to buy tour tickets on the spot. base."

Kerch, Crimea

Keep in mind that in those days it was impossible to buy almost anything “for money” just like that, only “through pull” and through connections. Then the "problem with tickets" surfaced. The fact is that in Soviet times, tickets in the summer for resort destinations it was unrealistic to buy just like that, even in 45 days it was unrealistic. Only blat and connections. And now, through a huge pull, we got tickets to Simferopol on a plane. But it was still possible to get tickets back bigger problem, so here again, connections with the “right people” were involved and by some miracle they got plane tickets back. For a Soviet person, any such small “luck” (getting tickets, vouchers, agreeing to stay in a hotel, etc.) was morally perceived as a huge victory, well, it’s like if you now won a ticket to the Maldives for free . Therefore, people of the older generation often write in their memoirs about some kind of “everyday joys” of life in the USSR, well, about such “joys” were ...

The next problem is products. You won’t believe it, but they had to be ... taken with you on vacation. The fact is that at the beginning of the 80s, the system of soviet canteens and eateries in the south still somehow worked, although the people called them "vomiters". Indeed, people were often poisoned there, in contrast to closed canteens in factories, as well as in departments and ministries. But by 1991, all this "public catering" simply fell apart.

regular dining room

There was already a continuous shortage in stores, the card system was practically introduced in many regions of the USSR. People lived at the expense of grocery orders at enterprises or at the expense of “blank and connections”. Well, those who did not manage to live in such ways, stood in lines for days and loudly scolded the authorities. Yes, it was the communists who were scolded, and simple people and not agents of the West and the world bourgeoisie. So, in advance I had to get a shank (this is such a dry-cured pork), they brought it to me from the village and I dried it for a month, as well as several cans of stew and a stick of raw smoked sausage. My friend also took some supplies with her.

Summer clothes. You will not believe, but by 1991 a meager assortment women's clothing in Soviet stores shrunk to chintz dressing gowns and rubber boots. Therefore, speculators from Poland brought me something and sold it “under the counter”, something I had to sew in an atelier from pre-stored fabrics. All the shoes got through a huge connection with the "Soviet trade" or I had to free time hanging around in lines for 5 hours for shoes. Just imagine how long soviet woman spent on such a primitive life ...

Approximately such was the preparatory period for the rest. Finally, this happy day came when my friend and I boarded the plane and went to Simferopol.

The flight went well there we met other girls we knew, who also went to the Crimea. "Surprises" began immediately after landing. After we left the airport for the city, we went to the bus ticket offices to get tickets for Kerch. And here a big bummer was waiting for us, it turns out that the only bus a day to Kerch left a couple of hours ago, and the next ... is expected only tomorrow. Now young hipsters will poke me: - “Oh, like, it was impossible to plan a transfer to a place of rest in advance? Themselves suckers ... ". To which I answer them that now, guys, everything is possible, because there is the Internet with a bunch of various useful resources, but in 1991 only local residents had such information.

In general, my friend is in shock, almost in tears all over ... Well, I took a queue for tickets to Feodosia, because they were available. It takes 6 hours to get to Kerch from Simferopol by bus, but to Feodosia it takes only 4 hours. How to get from Feodosia to Kerch, I have already decided that I will figure it out on the spot. Moreover, not a single taxi driver wanted to take us from Simferopol to Kerch for any money;

So, 4 hours of a more or less calm trip in some kind of bus, well, of course, without air conditioning, but what did you think, and my friend and I ended up at a tiny bus station in Feodosia. It was here that my friend became despondent, because things were already going on in the evening, and we never got to Kerch. The station turned out to be completely “dead”, i.e. the ticket window was hopelessly closed. I offered to “catch a private trader”, because there were no taxi drivers on the horizon “from the word at all” ... My friend began to cry that they say this is a dangerous business, we will be killed and robbed. While we were arguing and arguing like this, the sun went down, and the dark southern night was approaching us. I took a critical look at the terrible bus station of this town and realized that here we would definitely be “robbed and killed”, so we urgently need to get out of here by any means and for any money. In general, this is not America for you guys with its cheap roadside motels, in the country of the Soviets, it was unrealistic to just stay overnight in an unfamiliar city. So, with little effort on my part, a private trader was found who was ready to take us quickly to Kerch in finished Zhiguli and expensively. My friend whined about “not enough money,” but I had enough money for this kind of vacation, so I didn’t care about such a question. There were also fellow travelers to Kerch, the same "poor fellows" as we are.

Today's youth, and even older people today, do not experience a large shortage of entertainment or recreation. Now every city has a developed infrastructure, including various cafes, clubs, cinemas, exhibitions and much more, where everyone can organize leisure activities according to their interests. Foreign trips have also become more accessible, significantly expanding the possibilities of understanding the world. And the advent of the Internet allows you to organize a lot of entertainment without leaving your home.

In Soviet times, leisure was organized in a completely different way.

How was the weekend

Many former residents Soviet Union they remember how difficult it was to organize a pastime for young people, and for older people, visiting a cinema or an exhibition hall became a bright, memorable event. Middle-aged people were busy with work or household chores, and for them going to the cinema, theater or museum was a real holiday. Summer brought variety - it was possible to organize a vacation in the country, combining garden work with barbecue, or arrange a country trip on the weekend, taking tents, necessary camping equipment and, of course, a guitar. This was facilitated by the promotion of the romance of travel and the craving for nature, tired of the everyday life of the townspeople.

Young people were especially acutely aware of the lack of entertainment. Those who are over forty today remember going to the cinema or to the theater as a serious event, when you tune in advance to watch a picture or performance, and not to an ordinary event with the consumption of popcorn and Coca-Cola. But especially vivid impressions left visiting discos.

The disco in the USSR was one of the few places where young people could throw out their seething energy, chat, listen to the latest music. In those days, there was a severe struggle with bourgeois propaganda, vinyl records with foreign hits were purchased with great difficulty and at exorbitant prices. Many people remember how young people first gathered in the disco hall, where soft music flowed. Then the disco itself began - popular foreign or domestic hits sounded, interrupted to announce the name of the next musical compositions. It is significant that even today, more than 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the nostalgic boom of once popular melodies does not subside: modern discos of the 70s and 80s are adored not only older generation but also the youth. So, the dance music of the Soviet times was not so bad.

Vacation in the USSR - an event for which they have been preparing all year

Among wealthy citizens there were lovers to spend their holidays in the country, arranging for themselves a long comfortable rest. In those days, a good dacha with a well-equipped house in a prestigious place was considered a sign of prosperity. In the USSR, there was even a certain formula for material well-being: “Apartment-Car-Dacha”. But even poor people could afford good rest on the fresh air. In the USSR, each enterprise had its own recreation center outside the city, where in summer workers rented houses for vacations, and in winter they came there on weekends to go skiing, sledding or skating. Departmental recreation centers had excellent equipment: dishes, bed sheets, sports and tourist equipment - all this was given to vacationers upon arrival. In the evenings, discos were held, and popular films were played in open-air cinemas. In general, the rest at such bases was full, healthy and very interesting.

However, despite all the charms of local countryside recreation centers, many Soviet people dreamed of spending their holidays on the Black Sea or the Caspian coast, enjoying beach holiday and leisurely walks on warm southern evenings to the light chirping of cicadas. It was a completely different world, bright and fabulous, contrasted with hard working days. Peace, for which practically every Soviet family whole year they saved money for a summer trip to the sea, Black or Caspian. They went on vacation alone, and in pairs, and big company. A trip to the south could be either a “savage”, when the purchase of tickets, the search for housing and the organization of an entertainment program fell on the shoulders of the vacationers themselves, or on a ticket to a sanatorium or dispensary, which was allocated both in turn and for certain merits at work. By the way, in the USSR, half or even more of the cost of the ticket was paid by the trade union. Thatthe trade union also partially or fully paid for children's vouchers in the summerholiday camps, which in Soviet times were called pioneer. Now
such “generosity” is not to be dreamed of.

From the southern shores of the Crimea and the Caucasus, people brought a lot of natural souvenirs: beautiful sea shells, pebbles polished by the sea and, of course, entire albums of photographs. In general, a vacation at sea each time left a lot of the most wonderful impressions. Many comedy films were made on the theme of resort adventures - “Three plus two”, “We met somewhere”, “Be my husband”, “Sportloto-82” and many others.

Today, only memories remain, shrouded in a nostalgic halo of beauty. Sometimes we lack that regularity and calmness that accompanied the rest of the Soviet people. In a world of breakneck speeds, vacation flies too quickly, leaving no lasting mark on the soul. Often we remember him only when we flip through vacation photos. Yes, and traditional photo albums are also becoming a thing of the past, being replaced by computer disks, flash drives and pages on social networks.

Soviet people worked hard, and therefore had the right to rest. They did not fly to the Maldives for the sun or Hawaii for the waves, but spent their holidays in resorts that, due to people's love for them, can be called iconic.

Gagra

The most famous Soviet resort can be called Gagra. Everyone remembers the scene from the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession” with the commemorative: “Lyalya? You will not believe! Director Yakin left his kikimora, and today we are leaving with him for Gagra!

It should be noted that the play by Mikhail Bulgakov, which became the basis for the script for Gaidai's masterpiece, also deals with Gagra, and the play was written back in the 1930s. Even then, Gagra was called the "Soviet Monte Carlo."

Not every Soviet citizen could go to Gagra, holidays here were considered quite fashionable, so the entire elite of the Soviet Union rested at this resort.

The ideal climate of Gagra, where the swimming season begins in May and ends in November, alleys of tropical plants, magnificent colonnades and embankments, the legendary Gargripsh boarding house, rest houses and sanatoriums, healing hydropathic clinics and the first medical beaches in the Union - all this made Gagra cherished the dream of every Soviet person. Half a million people come here every year.

By the way, the resort was founded not by anyone, but by the Prince of Oldenburg himself, a relative of the last Russian emperor and grandson of Paul the First. The prince's castle remains one of the main attractions of the iconic resort today.

Jurmala

Soviet citizens, who did not like the heat of the subtropics, preferred to relax in places with a milder climate. The best choice was Jurmala - a resort city on the Riga coast. Up to half a million tourists from all over the USSR came here every summer.

In Jurmala one could have a good rest and improve one's health. The creative intelligentsia especially loved Jurmala, since the Baltic states were considered the “European showcase of the Soviet Union”, and Jurmala was the most European resort in the USSR.

Many came to Jurmala by car. Comfortable campsites and places for tents for lovers of "wild" recreation were equipped here.
Since 1986, after the Jurmala festival began to be held in the Dzintari concert hall, the resort became a favorite place for Soviet bohemia. The winners of the song contest immediately became stars of national importance.

Truskavets

The medical resorts of Truskavets were popular even before it became one of the all-Union health resorts of the Soviet Union, and even before it became Polish in 1921. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, it was already considered one of the most famous health resorts of European importance; in 1913, Truskavets was even awarded the Big Gold Medal for its developed infrastructure.

Truskavets became Soviet only in 1939, when the western regions of the Ukrainian SSR became part of the Soviet Union. Its development continued, the resort was improved, new sanatoriums were built. Having recovered after a devastating war, Truskavets eventually became a resort of allied significance. Here they practiced balzeo-water-and-heat treatment.

In terms of its popularity, it was comparable to the German Baden-Baden, the Czech Karlovy Vary and the French Vichy resort, but unlike the European resorts, it was accessible to ordinary Soviet citizens.

Bakuriani

Bakuriani was one of the favorite vacation spots royal family, in Soviet times it became ski resort union value. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a training base for the Soviet skiers' team here. Major competitions in biathlon, ski jumping, slalom and bobsleigh were held here.
The famous Borjomi springs originate from the tops of the Bakurian mountains, so not only Soviet fans of alpine skiing came here, but also ordinary citizens, who were helped by the mild warm winter climate and hydrotherapy to relax after labor exploits.

Unlike many Soviet resorts, which, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, either ceased to exist or withered, Bakuriani remains today one of the most famous and hospitable ski, balneological and climatic resorts in Georgia.

Evpatoria

Let's go back to summer. In sunny Evpatoria. The history of this Crimean city, named after the Pontic king Mithridates VI Evpator, has more than 25 centuries. Comfortable dry climate, many beaches for every taste, medicinal waters low, medium and high mineralization, healing salts and mud from the surrounding lakes - all these factors led to the fact that Evpatoria was one of the most popular resorts of the Soviet people.

Evpatoria was also one of the cult children's health resorts of the USSR; children from all over the Union came here. Evpatoria was also considered the most youthful resort in the USSR. There was a special atmosphere of freedom and fun, often leading to holiday romances.

As now, during the Soviet era, many Soviet citizens preferred to use their legal holidays by traveling to the sea.

During the years of the USSR, people practically did not go abroad, in the bulk of course. The chosen ones also traveled to Bulgaria and a number of other countries of the social camp on vouchers, but it was very difficult to "get" vouchers. The bulk of Soviet workers, and this is many, many millions, rested in their resorts, the so-called Soviet health resorts, and in practice it was the top of all dreams.

But to realize this cherished dream was not so easy. As you know, in Soviet times, no one needed anything, as they say, from each according to his specialty, to each according to his work, but His Majesty "Deficit", although it was not officially mentioned anywhere, dominated almost all consumer haloes. Did not bypass the "Deficit" party and the organization summer holiday, since everything had to be "gotten", vouchers to sanatoriums, train or plane tickets, etc.

Those who could not "get" vouchers were expected by the unenviable fate of "savages", although why consider, many even preferred the private sector to sanatoriums, one bed at a price of 1 ruble per day, but complete freedom plus a minimum of amenities. Of course, it was more difficult with tickets, they were quite inexpensive, including the air mode of transport, but in the summer months in the south it was very difficult to "get" them. Why the word “get” is mentioned again and again, it is not by chance that it is “get” through familiar cashiers or other “channels”, and not just buy. Often I had to take tickets with many transfers or in common (hard, without a bed) carriages. In general, as we approach summer period Soviet workers started the battle not for the harvest, but for a decent rest.

Of course, legal vacation could be spent in different ways. Here are three options for an alternative to the sea of ​​rest, which many people used at will or were forced to use in Soviet times, and perhaps even now these types of recreation have not lost popularity.

For example, in the 1970s southern regions countries, it was possible to swim and sunbathe on numerous river beaches, so that near large cities they were sufficiently equipped, and the water in the rivers was clean enough.

There was also the option to wave, without looking, at one of the many tourist bases located along the coast big rivers- these are plywood type "nuf-nuf - nyf-nyaf" houses near the water, rental boats, watching movies in a summer cinema and the like.

The easiest way to relax was to go to your parents in the village (unless, of course, it was a city dweller or a resident of the north of the country), so to speak, to help with the housework, visit friends of youth, and it is useful for children to eat plenty of fruits, fresh milk.

All recreation options, no doubt, had their own attractive features, but still the rest at sea was aerobatics, and it's hard to argue with that.

These were Soviet resorts on the coast of the Azov and Black Seas. The Black Sea coast was adapted for mass recreation, probably better than the Azov one, and Crimea was, of course, among the leaders of the Black Sea resorts.

But the Caucasus was also not far from the Crimea (in terms of quality), probably, it was even almost on an equal footing. But the Caucasian resorts were much further than the Crimea, and it was whole hour longer, and the rest itself was more expensive. And yet, not all vacationers were suitable for the humid climate of the Caucasus.

The third place in popularity was Odessa. Unfortunately, in the 70s, it lost its former attractiveness, the city gradually decayed, increasingly "straining" holidaymakers with problems with water and regular "breakthroughs" of sewage systems that polluted nearby water areas.

Crimea, on the contrary, was actively developing, the state invested huge funds in the "all-Union health resort". In the Crimea, new sanatoriums and boarding houses were built at a "Stakhanovite" pace, issues were resolved on fresh water. It is no coincidence that Secretary General Leonid, starting in 1971, received the leaders of "fraternal countries and their communist parties" in Crimea. About 12 state dachas were built on the peninsula. In a word, the popularity of the peninsula grew every year, and it is not surprising that everyone loved Crimea, because this is a region with a rich history and beautiful nature. The peninsula has Black Sea coast, and mountains, and steppe regions, there are ancient cities and beautiful palaces.