History of Sochi
The area of the Russian city of Sochi was populated more than 100,000 years by ancient people of Asia Minor migrating through Colchis (olden Georgia).
Ancient Greeks sailed to the region via the Black Sea in the 5th–6th centuries BC and encountered the Maeotae, Sindi, Cercetae, Zygii and other local tribes.
They were the ancestors of the Abkhaz, Ubykh and Adyghe people who lived here until 1864; many toponyms in Sochi, including the city itself, originate from their languages.
It served as a rehabilitation center during World War II and, despite a decline following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, remains the major resort town of Russia.
The cave is protected by the UNESCO and contains human remains, early tools and bones of bears, deer and other animals indicating the hunting nature of the inhabitants.
They encountered the Aehi, Zygii and other people who were apparently keen for the luxury goods brought by Greeks and exchanged them for slaves.
[clarification needed] During this period, numerous stone monuments (dolmens) were built around Sochi, and at least fifty remain to the present day.
[3] Numerous bronze tools and trade objects, dated to 800–700 BC, were found near Sochi indicating active exchange with the nearby areas.
[2] In the Middle Ages, the region was mostly influenced by the Byzantine Empire and Christianity, as evidenced by the style of nine churches and eighteen fortresses dating from those times.
The native inhabitants of the region, who were the ubykhs, lived a free society ruled by princely clans until the end of the Caucasian war.
A detailed description of the coastal area around Sochi originated from the naval expedition of the Frenchman Frédéric Dubois de Montpéreux in 1833.
He mentions that in the Middle Ages, a Genoan city of Mamai stood on river Psakhe (modern Mamaika in Sochi), and some 60 north from it a German fortress and a monastery.
[4] Ottoman Turkey had much interest in the Black Sea coast as an outpost for its northern expansions, however, it had lost this area to Russia as a result of the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) and the Treaty of Adrianople.
The British ship Vixen loaded with weapons for the Circassians was captured and confiscated by the Russians at the port Sudzhuk-Kale (nowadays Novorossiysk).
[9] The Russian army then continued raiding and burning Circassian villages, destroying fields to prevent return, cutting down trees, and driving the people to the Black Sea coast.
The end of the war was proclaimed on 2 June 1864 at Qbaada (modern Krasnaya Polyana) by the manifesto of Emperor Alexander II read aloud by the Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich.
[15] Calculations including those taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures have estimated a loss of 80–97%[13][16][17][18] of the Circassian population in the process.
On 23 May 1896 it was named Sochi[5][7][19] and shortly after included into the newly formed Black Sea Governorate with the administrative center in Novorossiysk.
[5] On 10 February 1961, it was expanded by the inclusion of Adler and Lazarevskoye districts[5] and with an area of 3505 km2 and length of 145 km became one of the world's longest cities.
Koshman previously worked for a tea factory in Adjara, a place south to Sochi on the Black Sea coast.
In 1901, Koshman brought seeds of tea plants from Adjara to Sochi (Solokhaul settlement) and developed a brand which was not only resistant to cold but also had a rich taste.
[2][20][21][22] From the 14th to early 19th centuries, the area was mostly populated by the Georgians, who lived in small clay-wooden houses called "saklya" built on the mountain slopes.
[citation needed] The new settlers coming belonged to various nationalities (mostly Russians, but also Ukrainians, Georgians, Moldovans, Belarusians, Estonians, Letts and Germans) and religious groups, such as Catholics, Lutherans, Gregorian Armenians, Sunni and other Muslims, but the predominant part was Orthodox Christians.
Its construction was promoted by the Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich aiming to commemorate the Russian victory in the Caucasian War and sponsored by Savva Mamontov and Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston, among others.
[23] It is a compound made up from the Ubykh words "шъуа" shua (sea) and "ча" cha (side) and roughly translates to "Seaside/coast".
[5] In 1902, a wooden bath complex was raised on the territory of modern Matsesta springs, and a joint venture regulating its operation was set up in 1912 led by the merchant M. M. Zensinov and doctor V. F. Podgursky.
These measures were met with resistance and in April–October 1919, the local peasants had formed 30 partisan units (named the "Green Army") with the total force of 3,000 people.
A crucial step was introduction in 1925 of the fish Gambusia affinis (mosquitofish), which feeds on the aquatic larval and pupal stages of mosquitoes.
It occupies about 2,633 km2 (1,017 sq mi)[19] and preserves some 85 m-high specimens of the Nordmann Fir (Abies nordmanniana), thought to be the tallest trees in Europe, and a unique forest formed by English Yew (Taxus baccata) and European Box (Buxus sempervirens).
[2] The development of Sochi was promoted by Joseph Stalin who had his favorite dacha built in the city – a tradition followed by most succeeding Soviet and Russian leaders.
