Country Russia Administratively subordinated to City of Sochi Founded 1869 | Federal subject Krasnodar Krai Urban okrug Sochi Urban Okrug | |
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Settlement okrug Krasnopolyansky Settlement Okrug Administrative center of Krasnopolyansky Settlement Okrug | ||
Krasnaya Polyana (Russian: Кра́сная Поля́на; [ˈkrasnəjə pɐˈlʲanə]; Abkhaz: Гәбаадәы, Gwbaadwy; Adyghe: Ӏаткъуадж, ‘atquaj) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Krasnopolyansky Settlement Okrug, which is under the administrative jurisdiction of Adlersky City District of the City of Sochi in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Population: 4,598 (2010 Census); 3,969 (2002 Census); 3,300 (1989 Census).
Contents
- Map of Krasnaya Polyana Krasnodarskiy Kray Russia 354392
- Etymology
- History
- Location and facilities
- Structures
- 2014 Olympics venues
- References
Map of Krasnaya Polyana, Krasnodarskiy Kray, Russia, 354392
Located in the Western Caucasus, it is home to the new Rosa Khutor alpine ski resort, with a base elevation of 560 meters (1,840 ft) along the Mzymta River, 39 kilometers (24 mi) from its influx into the Black Sea in Adlersky City District of Sochi. The lift-served summit climbs to 2,320 meters (7,610 ft), giving a vertical drop of over a mile at 1,760 meters (5,770 ft). The resort hosted the Alpine and Nordic events of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, having previously hosted World Cup alpine events from February 2012, two years earlier.
Etymology
The name "Krasnaya Polyana" (lit. Red Glade) was given by the Greek settlers in 1878 because of the thick overgrowth of fern, the leaves of which had a reddish-brown color in fall. A hostile historian says it was named from the blood of the Ubykhs who died here in 1864.
History
Although the vicinity is rich in prehistoric dolmens and contains ruins of about twenty medieval forts, the settlement first appears in recorded history in 1835, when a Russian spy, Baron Fyodor Tornau, visited the Sadz Abkhazian village of Artquaj in the guise of a Circassian mountaineer. Having spent several days in the village, he recorded his observations in a journal. Among other things, Tornau noted that the village was famous for its honey which was exported by the Sadz people to the Ottoman Empire.
By the 1860s, the village was known as Kbaade and became populated with the Akhchipsou branch of the Sadz. In 1864, the area was the scene, significant in Circassian history, of the last battles of the Russian–Circassian War. The area was conquered by four main Russian armies and the end of the prolonged Caucasian War declared (on June 2, 1864). The area became a part of the Russian Empire and those residents who did not swear allegiance to the Empire were removed to the Ottoman Empire. The abandoned aul was replaced with the new settlement of Krasnaya Polyana in 1869. The new settlers were ethnically diverse, including not only Russians, but also Greeks from Stavropol and Estonians, who colonized Estosadok, now a ski resort 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) upstream on the Mzymta.
On June 19, 1899, Krasnaya Polyana was visited by an official commission under Nikolay Abaza, with a view to transforming it into Tsarskaya Polyana, Nicholas II's hunting ground in the Western Caucasus. A royal hunting lodge was erected in 1901, followed by the chalets of Counts Sheremetev and Bobrinsky, among other nobles and high-placed dignitaries. Although it was never visited by the Tsar, the village was renamed Romanovsk (Романовск), after the ruling imperial dynasty. A winding mountain road to Adler was inaugurated in 1898.
Following the October Revolution of 1917, the exclusive retreat reverted to its former name and status and gradually dwindled into obscurity. The proximity to Sochi, the "summer capital" of Russia, eventually revived its fortunes in the last quarter of the 20th century, when it achieved a modicum of popularity across the former Soviet Union, despite limited hotel capabilities and installations, and difficulty of access through narrow mountain passes.
The loss of ski areas in South Caucasus and Tian Shan after the dissolution of the Soviet Union increased Krasnaya Polyana's prestige and importance for Russia's elites. By the 21st century, the locality had emerged as one of the most sought after ski resorts in the country. This is the favorite skiing area of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who can easily reach Krasnaya Polyana by helicopter from his country residence of Bocharov Ruchey near Dagomys.
Location and facilities
Krasnaya Polyana is sited against the scenic backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains, which exceed 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) in elevation, at a distance of 67 kilometers (42 mi) from the center of Sochi by road and 40 kilometers (25 mi) from the Adler-Sochi International Airport. The settlement has been plagued by transport problems: in order to improve this for the 2014 Winter Olympics, a railway line was built, connecting the area with the airport, Sochi Olympic Village, and central Sochi.
Krasnaya Polyana today offers many chalets, hotels, and restaurants. Its reputation owes a lot to the development of heliskiing in the middle of the 1990s, which provides access to an important skiing domain. Amateurs can ski downhill through a not-too-dense birch forest, with a vertical drop of 1,760 meters (5,770 ft). The station at Rosa Khutor has four chairlifts (lowest station at 560 meters (1,840 ft) and upper station at 2,320 meters (7,610 ft)) and 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) of delimited tracks. As of 2006, the Alpika Service was being developed by the Gazprom.