During most of the 20th century, Yalta was the principal holiday resort of the Soviet Union. In 1920 started the transformation of the city and the entire region from a fairly exclusive resort area into a recreation facility for tired proletarians, all of that by the decree “On the Use of Crimea for the Medical Treatment of the Working People”, which was issued by Vladimir Lenin. Numerous workers’ sanatoria were constructed in Yalta and around the surrounding district. #yalta #soviet #union #resort #crimea #sanatoria #district

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There were just a few other places that Soviet citizens could come for a seaside holiday, because foreign travel was forbidden to all, except for a handful of people. The Soviet elite also came to Yalta; the Soviet premier Joseph Stalin used none the less, but the Massandra Palace as his summer residence. During the second world war Yalta was occupied by the German Army from 9 November 1941 to 16 April 1944. #yalta #soviet äholiday #travel

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After the decay of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yalta has struggled economically. Many of the newly-enriched people of the ex-Soviet Union began going to other European holiday resorts, now that they had the freedom and money to travel. At the same time, the impoverishment of many ex-Soviet citizens meant that they could no longer afford to go to Yalta. The town’s transport links have been reduced so much that almost all passenger traffic by sea ended completely. One of the traffic curiosities is that the longest trolleybus line in Europe still goes from the train station in Simferopol to Yalta.

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In modern times Yalta is crowded in the vacation season (July–August) and prices for accommodation are very high. Most of the tourists are from countries of the former Soviet Union; but from 2013 in which the number of Western tourists was about 12%, the number of Western tourists is rising. Most of them come by more than 200 cruise ships that sail into Yalta every year. #yalta #tourist #soviet #union

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Yalta has a beautiful seafront promenade along the Black Sea. It is a wonderful place for strolling during all seasons of the year, and it also serves as a place to gather and talk, to see and be seen. There are several beaches to the east and west of the promenade. The town has quite a few movie theaters, a drama theater, plenty of restaurants, and several open-air markets. Two beaches in Yalta are Blue Flag beaches since May 2010, these were the first beaches (with two beaches in Yevpatoria) to be awarded a Blue Flag in a CIS member state. #yalta #seafront #promenade #blacksea #beach

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