Stalin's lost city: Inside the crumbling remains of once

Release time：2024-05-22 02:40:37 Source：International Identities news portal

Crumbling buildings, lavish architecture, empty baths and the odd elderly resident rambling around: This is what a sprawling spa resort once beloved by Joseph Stalin looks like now.

The team behind the YouTube channel Yes Theory ventured to Tskaltubo in west-central Georgia, to explore what the once-booming vacation spot looks like following its abandonment in the 1990s.

They start by meeting with a young man called Lucas who grew up very close to the crumbling city and he reveals that many of the grandiose buildings were built by German prisoners of war who were captured by the Soviet Union during World War II.

Once the city of Tskaltubo was established, it served as a spa town with a variety of therapeutic treatments on offer. 

During Soviet rule, which ran from 1936 to 1991, Georgians were only allowed two vacations a year and they were sent to state-sponsored complexes, with Tskaltubo being one of these. 

The team behind the YouTube channel Yes Theory ventured to Tskaltubo in west-central Georgia, to explore what the once-booming vacation spot looks like following its abandonment in the 1990s

Many of the grandiose buildings were built by German prisoners of war who were captured by the Soviet Union during World War II 

Once the city of Tskaltubo was established, it served as a spa town with a variety of therapeutic treatments on offer

During Soviet rule, which ran from 1936 to 1991, Georgians were only allowed two vacations a year and they were sent to state-sponsored complexes, with Tskaltubo being one of these

More than 120,000 visitors would check into the city's spas and bathhouses each year

Lucas explains in the video that his grandmother worked in the city when it was in full swing, and more than 120,000 visitors would check into its spas and bathhouses each year.

Vintage footage shown in the documentary show holidaymakers enjoying the convivial surroundings of the resort city and bathing in the mineral-rich spring waters.  

However, as Lucas was born in 2000, he said he never saw Tskaltubo in its heyday and instead he would explore the derelict buildings with friends. 

As the film crew wanders around the sprawling site, they remark at how eerie it feels. 

In one scene, they get access to one building, which appears completely preserved. 

One of the team says: 'It feels very haunted when a place hasn't moved in decades.

'The bed is still made and the lamps are still in the position that they used to be.'

In another part of the documentary, the YouTube creators enter a bathhouse that was built specifically for Stalin.

Vintage footage shown in the documentary show holidaymakers enjoying the convivial surroundings of the resort city and bathing in the mineral-rich spring waters

A private bath that was built for Stalin, which he only used once before his death in 1953 

As the film crew wanders around the sprawling site, they remark at how eerie it feels

Delving further into Tskaltubo's interior, the Yes Theory team meet a woman who has been living in the abandoned city for 33 years. She explains that she ended up there after being displaced due to the war in the region of Abkhazia 

The only signs of life seen from outside her apartment is steam coming from a vent and laundry hanging from a balcony

This is among several buildings in Tskaltubo which is still in use, including a spa hotel where the Yes Theory team stay.

As they enter the bathhouse, Lucas explains that 4,000 extra workers were hired to build it as 'they had a deadline of Stalin coming here.'

The building included a private bath for the murderous dictator - which he only used once before his death in 1953 - and as they look at the mosaicked room, one of the film crew says that it makes him feel 'a little bit disgusted.'

Delving further into Tskaltubo's interior, the Yes Theory team meet a woman who has been living in the abandoned city for 33 years.

The only signs of life from her apartment from the outside is steam coming from a vent and laundry hanging from a balcony. 

She explains that she ended up there after being displaced due to the war in the region of Abkhazia where she was from.

Her husband was shot and she fled to Tskaltubo alone.

The filmmakers reveal that after the spa complexes closed down, the buildings were used to rehome internally displaced people from war-torn areas. 

The lady reveals that she never intended to be in Tskaltubo for so long, and she still dreams of returning home one day.

After spending a couple of days exploring the ghost city, the Yes Theory team deem it a memorable experience. 

They conclude: 'As we arrived with a very limited understanding of this country's history, we were able to faintly open that door into the past through this semi-abandoned Soviet City and paint a clearer picture of what those challenging times were like for Georgia.

'We think that studying our past is imperative to not repeat the same mistakes tomorrow and so we hope that we, as the next generation, will listen to these stories and choose more wisely a future of peace once and for all.'

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