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[SOVIET SANATORIUMS AFTER WWII] Sanatorii i doma otdykha [i.e. Sanatoriums and Rest Homes]

Samoylov, A.

Item #2866

Moscow: Izd-vo i tip. Izd-va Akad. arkhitektury SSSR, 1948. 32 pp., 46 full-page black and white ills. 21,4x16,2 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Very good. Professional restoration of the spine. Previous owner’s pencil inscription on the title page, dated 1951.

Scarce. First and only edition. Text in Russian. Edited by T. Selyavina. Wrapper design by the Soviet painter and poster designer Ivan Rerberg (1892-1957).

One of the most comprehensive Soviet studies on the architecture of sanatoriums and rest homes, compiled by Doctor of Architecture and corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Architecture Anatoly Samoylov in 1948.

After the October Revolution, health resorts in the USSR were nationalized, transforming exclusive, pre-revolutionary bourgeois destinations into state-run institutions accessible to the working class. Rapid expansion during the Stalinist five-year plans significantly grew the sector: by 1939 the Soviet Union had established 2,073 sanatoriums and 1,240 rest homes with a total capacity of over 126,000 beds. Following the immense devastation of the Great Patriotic War, the reconstruction of these health resorts became part of a broader ideological effort to restore and protect the physical well-being of the socialist workforce. As a result, massive post-war plans between 1946 and 1950 aimed to accommodate hundreds of thousands of workers, marking a major revitalization of the state’s medical and recreational infrastructure.

The edition opens with a historical overview of resort development, tracing its origins from Peter the Great’s 1761 decree concerning mineral springs through the mid-20th century. Interestingly, the author contrasts the Soviet system of resort-based medical treatment with that of pre-revolutionary Russia, arguing that: “Bourgeois-landowner Russia knew of no such institutions, just as none of the modern capitalist countries do, where the state system is based not on concern for working people, but on their exploitation.”
The main body of the book examines the classification and organization of Soviet resorts, providing detailed information on the capacity, seasonal operation, age composition of patients, and medical specialization of sanatoriums by the 1940s, including facilities dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological conditions. The discussion is framed by a strong critique of the pre-revolutionary Russian resort system, which the author portrays as having been shaped largely by the private interests of aristocrats, state officials, and other influential figures. In contrast, the book emphasizes the achievements of Soviet architecture and planning, with particular praise for Moisei Ginzburg, the former Constructivist architect, and his contribution to the reconstruction and development of the southern coast of Crimea.

Especially important is the chapter devoted to the architectural composition of Soviet sanatoriums and rest houses, which provides detailed architectural descriptions of major resort complexes of the period. This is followed by a remarkable section of 46 full-page black-and-white photographs documenting some of the most prominent Soviet sanatoriums and rest houses in Sochi, Tskaltubo, Gagra, Sokhumi, Zheleznovodsk, Yalta, Kislovodsk, etc. The images capture the early state of buildings that have since been destroyed, extensively altered, or substantially transformed. Among the examples are Sanatorium No. 7, Gornyi Vozdukh, Novaya Riviera, and Krasnaya Moskva in Sochi; Druzhba in Tskaltubo; Sinopi in Sokhumi; and Ukraine in Gagra. Other photos include views of Yalta’s Kharaks, Zheleznovodsk’s Udarnik, and Sochi’s Voroshilov Sanatorium — complexes that have survived with their architectural appearance relatively well preserved.

The book also includes an interesting section on the principles of master planning, outlining four principal schemes for the spatial organization of sanatorium and resort complexes. General plans of representative examples illustrate each approach, including the Istra Rest House, the Voroshilov Sanatorium in Sochi, and Krasnaya Moskva in Sochi.

Overall, a rare visual insight into Soviet resort architecture and planning.

Worldcat shows copies of the edition at the New York Public Library, the National Library of Medicine, the Library of Congress, and the Centre Canadien d'Architecture.

Price: $950.00