Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi, Krasnodar Krai

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.[8] Walter Richmond, a historian of the Circassian genocide notes that Krasnaya Polyana was named after the last stand by the Circassian Ubykhs, of whom many died there in 1864.[9]

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.

Vladimir Putin at the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort in 2008

Ski slope in Krasnaya Polyana

Bottom station Alpika Service

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.

• An electricity pylon looking like a snow leopard .

The economic activity in the village is based on serving tourists and visitors in winter and summer. Krasnaya Polyana is a popular skiing and snowboarding center with the reputation of being the most "respectable" in Russia. The ski slopes around the village are known for good snow cover thanks to the humid air. The terrain provides good opportunities for off-piste skiing. The best time to visit Krasnaya Polyana as a ski resort is from December to March. Sometimes the season starts as early as November and ends in early May.

The gambling zone is Krasnaya Polyana was created in August 2016. Ite is located in the Sochi mountain cluster on land plots with an area of 165 thousand square meters, previously provided for the location of Olympic facilities, financing and construction of which was carried out not at the expense of budget funds or funds of the state corporation Olympstroy, but by private investors.

Rosa Khutor ski resort near Sochi, is in the valley at center, and the runs are visible on the shadowed slopes on the left-hand side of the valley. (NASA ASTER image)

• Sanki Sliding Center, luge, bobsled, and skeleton (moved to Rzhanaya Polyana in May 2009)
• Laura Cross-Country ski and Biathlon Center, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and Nordic combined
• Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort, alpine skiing
• Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, freestyle skiing, snowboarding
• RusSki Gorki Jumping Center, ski jumping and Nordic combined

[10]

• (in Russian) History of Krasnaya Polyana on the Alpika Service website
• (in Russian) Article about Krasnaya Polyana in the Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti

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  Cable car
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  Gorki Gorod and Gornaya Karusel
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  Ski-biathlon complex Laura on the Psekhako Ridge
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  Sledge-bobsleigh track
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  Summer at Krasnaya Polyana

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Krasnaya Polyana.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Krasnaya Polyana.

• (in German) Krasnaya Polyana
• (in Russian) Красная Поляна
• (in Swedish) Krasnaya Polyana photos
• (in French and English) Krasnaya Polyana tourist information