Polish photographer filmed how Soviet sanatoriums look and work now

In the 1920s, the construction of various sanatoriums began in the most "resort" corners of the Soviet Union. Their main mission was to restore strength and support the health of ordinary working people. From the point of view of the Soviet government, once a year a person who was engaged in heavy physical labor (in particular, this concerned miners and other representatives of debilitating professions) should be sent to a special health resort. Here, under the strict supervision of medical workers, a Soviet citizen put his body in order and "recharged batteries" for further high-quality and effective work for the good of the fatherland.

Such recreational facilities continued to be erected in various regions of the USSR throughout the entire existence of the state. Amazingly, some of them still exist and even function, 26 years after the collapse of the Union. The British publication FUEL became interested in such resorts. His editorial team selected several photographers from around the world who specialized in such filming and could make exciting photo series about Soviet health resorts working today.

One of these photographers was Michal Solarski, who, as part of the project, visited several sanatoriums in Tajikistan and the Crimea. The photographer admitted that not all institutions wanted to open their doors for him. But the fact that he managed to photograph where he was nevertheless allowed to look very bizarre and unusual for a Westerner. Let’s look at the pictures that foreigners look with such genuine interest!