Anna Lavrentyeva
There is a theory that the imperial luxury of public places – metro stations, railway stations, sanatoriums – of the Soviet period was meant to reward the work class with the beauty in return for the grey usual life, and at least for some time let them feel like kings of the world and lords of the future. The ideal example of such pomposity is the sanatorium named after Ordzhonikidze, which in its best times was the dream of almost all Soviet people. Now the sanatorium is practically abandoned, but this neglect provides it with special charm. The palace complex that consists of several buildings with green arboretum and some architectural surprises like huge fountain (16 hectares – this is not a joke) is now at an easy pace being conquered by nature, showing what is meant by the phrase “decline of the empire”. The reason to visit this place is not to spend the night here, but to experience some esthetics: wander among the grim back alleys of the park, have a glance on the see, touch the coldness of the white marble and feel the fragility of any, even a grand, idea in front of the course of time.
