Translated by Nikiforova Svetlana Gennadievna +7(8482) 680-950
The town of Stavropol had not been developing for a long time and even within a century and a half it still remained a principal town with the population of about 6 thousand inhabitants. Just in summer, the time when the health resort period started, the population increased at almost one thousand persons.
Those who had tuberculosis or consumption, as people used to call this serious disease earlier, visited these lands to take treatment. The sick were attracted by the abundance of fruits, green, strawberry, cheap fish and meat. From the advertisement of that time: “Koumiss of steppe, heather-grass steppes, eco-friendly locality, discounts to students”. Stavropol was regarded the cheapest climatic health resort. Besides, it was surrounded by splendid pine woods, and only a few plants – just 23. The people from different parts of Russia, even from abroad, especially Japanese and Turkish diplomatists, came here to get cure.
The visitors of the health resort (those who took koumiss- and air-cure) lived in summer-houses of the local inhabitants. To rent a house for a summer cost 25-33 rubles, and 5-7 for service. A small white-loaf with jam, vanilla, poppy cost 0,5 copeck; a glass of fresh milk was worth the same. Meat cost 20 copecks, butter – 40, cheese – 25. The wage of an ordinary worker was just 8-25 rubles; a qualified doctor earned nearly 125 rubles a month.
In 1910 a merchant Valentine Klimushin started in this place a sanatorium “Woody” that was well arranged and had flower-beds the embroidery of which was pleased to eyes. In hot summertime it was delightful to wander along sandy paths that ran by murmured fountains or to read sitting in the shade or in an arbour. The croquet playground was also in great demand among the rest-makers. In the evening the band played till one o’clock at night, the youth danced, and that atmosphere caused short-lasting resort romances.
The well-to-do clients enjoyed the rich diversity of vine collections in the local refreshment-bar, held unhurried conversations, played at cards and billiards. The traveling theatrical groups often came to the resort to entertain the visitors. At the sanatorium only modern methods of treatment were practiced; not far from the sanatorium, in the steppe, a subsidiary stud-farm on getting koumiss called “Koumisska” was set up. The sanatorium “Woody” was in such a great demand that the first koumiss-cure establishment in the world, which was started by Nikolay Postnikov in Samara in 1858 failed in rivalry and was closed. At the hygienic exhibition held in Saint-Petersburg our sanatorium has got a bronze medal and an honorable patent.
Museum of regional studies of Togliatti: Sergeeva Viktoria Mihaylovna phone: +7(8482) 481-070 e-mail:serjiov@rambler.ru