Russian Spas II

Author: Maria Kolesnikova
Website: RL Online
Department:
Page: 0   ( 0) pages

Summary: Who goes to Russian spas, and why?

Mineral Springs of South Russia (Part 2)

There are just 135,000 residents in the four Russian spa cities... but they are visited by some 440 thousand tourists each year. The people opting for such a long stay in a single place (with a highly structured schedule), fall into four major groups, most of them middle-aged, upper middle-class Russians.

First, there are many couples, with wives accompanying husbands recovering from a cardiac attack - quite common among Russian men get in their early fifties. Such couples are especially common in Kislovodsk, which specializes in treatment of heart diseases. These people are usually overly serious about the medical part of the stay, ardently following their prescriptions, devotedly lining up for mineral baths, and taking regular walks of recommended length and difficulty. They then make repeated yearly visits, to keep the husband's heart in good shape.

A second group consists of middle-aged women, either alone or accompanied by a friend, who come to get their annual holiday from the family and the cooking. They prefer the massages, swimming pools, mineral baths and sitting in the park with a good book.

Third, there are overworked 30-somethings, mainly female, who come to get away from the stresses of their everyday life. They would rather either sleep or roam the hilly parks, perhaps opting for a massage, or sitting down with a book. But overall, treatment is not their priority.

Lastly, there is a much smaller group of younger couples, lured in by curiosity or on someone's recommendation. They often end up bored in a few days, and kill time going on day-long excursions to neighboring areas.

All the visitors reside in resort centers built in the 1980s (or earlier), and which are still run by the same rules: "No one is accountable." The interiors are distinctly Soviet, with surveillance cameras and automatic doors in the hallways the only sign of modern life.

Upon arrival, everyone submits to a round of medical visits and gets prescriptions. And then, during their three-week stay, everyone in the resort center leads an amazingly organized life, structured around meals and mineral waters, be it drinking them or bathing in them.

Ideally, visitors wake up around seven in the morning, just in time for a quick shower before the ritual walk to buvette, the pump-room where the mineral springs spurt out. (The word is a hold over from the times of the French-speaking aristocracy.) About an hour before mealtime, the pump-rooms get crowded, as everyone is supposed to have a glass of fresh narzan - local mineral water - before breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then they are off for the meal, which is only administered for an hour, so it's important not to be late.

Mornings are usually spent between mineral baths, massages, inhalations, and other treatments. Afterwards, there is another glass of mineral water and lunch, followed by a siesta. Walks in the parks or tours to neighboring towns take up the rest of the afternoon, with only the street names reminding one of the times of unrest: Porokhovaya (Gunpowder Street), Artelliriyskaya (Artillery Street), Krepostnaya (Fortress Street). And if there is no concert by a touring Russian celebrity in the evening, people curl up with a book and fall asleep around 10 p.m.

In three week's time, they all head home, recovered and rested, if a trifle bored.