>>Flags/National Symbols of Europe<<
About the EHL/The Staff/Contact Us
Submit Articles & Content
Online Language Translation
Join our Mailing List
Donate to the EHL
Bookmark the EHL to Favourites!   

In English Auf Deutsch In heet Nederlands En Francais In Italiano Em Português  En Español Russkij Ellenika
Click a Flag to Translate



• History of Christianization of Europe
• Soviet Union, Communist influence
• Map of European ethnic groups
• Map of Fascism in Europe (1922-75)
• History of Islamic conquest in Europe
• Religions & ethnic groups in Russia

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--



• Muhammad cartoon crisis in pictures
• Stalin's private summer home
• Ravenna: capital of Gothic empire
• Czar Nicholas II's Ukrainian palace
• European traditional costumes/dress
• Inside the Vatican, house of all wealth

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

• Islamic Mujahidin vs. Spain & El Cid
• Poland-Lithuania vs. Teutonic Order
• Nevskiy's Russia vs. German Crusaders
• Mussolini vs. Libyan Islamic fighters
• Qadafi: Europe will soon be Islamic
• Ivan the Terrible vs. Muslim Tatars 

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

• Inside Albania, Europe's only Muslim culture (with rare pictures)
• History of Jihad in Chechnya
& Caucasus vs. Russians

• History of the Muslim Tatars in Russia
• Ethnic & religious history of Serbs, Croats, & Bosnians
• History of Italy: from Roman rule to Germanic barbarian
• The cost & bloodshed of the Serb-Albanian conflict in Kosovo
• Inside Bulgaria, 1st Slavic nation,
land of Thracian masters of gold

• Visual history of Yugoslavia
• Inside Muslim Turkey: right for the European Union? 

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

 

Rare gallery of Stalin's Georgian private summer home
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)

Print this Article    •    About the Author    •    Bibliography/Sources

Joseph Stalin (lived 1878-1953), the world's ironman and superpower as Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922-1953, lived an infirm life of paranoia and seclusion. An ethnic Georgian Jew by birth, the ailing and alcoholic Joseph Jughashvili ordered a variety of summer homes throughout the world's largest empire (the USSR) for his health and solace from the hardships of world authority. One of his most favorite was built in a quiet coastal summer village on the border of his home country of Georgia, today in the city of Sochi of the separate Russian Federation. This article offers historical background, personal observations, and rare personal photos from my vacation to the unique and fascinating historical site. The summer home is actually in modern Russia (Sochi), but the ethnic background of the locals and the historical heritage of the area links it with Greater Georgia (the heritage of Stalin) and the Caucasus peoples.

For a brief historical background, the region north of Georgia (the North Caucasus) has a complicated history of its own. It had long been occupied by Islamic (Sunni) Turkic peoples -- some of whom speaking Caucasian-derived languages and others Turkish-derived ones -- today referred to as Muslim Circassians and Tatars. From the 18th century onward, the world's largest nation to the north (the Russian Empire) expanded southward, conquering the Turks of modern Ukraine's Crimea and the North Caucasus. The Islamic capital was at Sochi, where Stalin's house rests today. A brutal war between Russian imperialists and a bloody Jihad by the Muslims therein ended in the conquest of the Caucasus by the Russians (soon thereafter including Georgia, Armenia, and Shi'ia Azerbaijan from Iran and the Ottomans), relegating thousands of Mujahidin Jihadists to flee south to the Ottoman empire in Anatolia to enjoy the protection of their ethnic and religious is set perfectly in between mountains to the point that no one can see or target Stalin from a rifle scope or mortar except from one mountain top. Here, a lookout fort was built to keep watch on Stalin when on his balcony for smoking or drinking. Stalin was so afraid of assassination in his vulnerability that he removed a fountain so that he could hear approaching assassins. From his balconies adorned in plain green paint, only trees and woods can be seen; he cannot be targeted from any room.


My photo of central Sochi on the Georgian border. Lenin is still praised in part of Russia.


Stalin's house can only be seen from one angle atop a mountain to prevent assassination by sniping. The tiny illuminated structure is the lookout fort in the distance.

Stalin's house is extremely innocuous, plain, and unimposing. Today the former dictator's house is a hotel in the portions that are not the museum of today. The house reveals no fantastic or elaborate architecture, gold or marble mediums, and is only plain wood, stone, and brick to offer him shelter. The interiors, too, are quite plain and unimpressive. This shocking lack of architecture or radiance that one would seldom expect from a dictator of the world's most powerful superpower (at the time) implies that Stalin lived plainly and without elaborate wealth much like his Communist classless ideal encouraged, suggesting that Stalin was in this sense not corrupt or fanciful. In part it could also be simply that Stalin did not want the invading Germans or revolting local Turks to target a massive and gorgeous structure made of gold and marble like in Berlin, Budapest, Rome, or Moscow.


My photo of the entrance plaque. This is, of course, new. (click to enlarge)


My photo of the main gate.

A massive gate encloses the interior of the house. A cobblestone walkway in the center courtyard offers a small and pleasant garden. In one of the buildings on the property, Stalin's desk, main room, and bed are all in the same room. Stalin's personal desk offers original documents hand-signed by Stalin from other Communist leaders like Mao Zedong and internal SSR authorities. The walls offer huge portraits and paintings of Stalin and Mao. A small and plain bed next to his desk offers only a place to sleep. Next to the bed is a massive black bulletproof couch, revealing Stalin's paranoia to prevent him from being shot through walls. Against the wall (perhaps placed later), a large flag standard of the Georgian SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic) stands with pride. In the adjoining room, a huge pool table allows Stalin to enjoy one of his favorite pastimes. It is said that his adjutants and servants refused to beat Stalin at the game out of fear for upsetting him. Multiple balconies compliment each room in the structure for smoking, enjoyment, the crisp air, and drinking.


My photo of the main courtyard. (click to enlarge)


My photo of the small and pleasant garden in the center courtyard. (click to enlarge)


My photo of Stalin's wall portraits in his main office. His family can be seen. (click to enlarge)


My photo of more wall portraits with Stalin and Mao of China. (click to enlarge)


My photo of the Georgian SSR flag placed in the corner. Notice the bizarre Georgian script. (click to enlarge)


My photo of the pool table room.

The other main building is much more impressive, with somewhat elaborate (yet plain) red carpets, copper and steel, and finished attractive wood ceilings and walls. Forward on the ground floor and down into the earth offers a bizarre swimming pool. As Stalin had one arm entirely useless (as he had fallen off a horse during the Red-White civil war), he was unable to swim comfortably in a traditional large pool filled to the top. Thus instead, the pool is very rectangular, small, short, and water only reaches the chestline of the mighty dictator. This pool was not only for his enjoyment, but for therapeutic recovery and treatment of his many hardships (especially the need to remain calm to alleviate aggression and extreme stress levels). The sun also shines in from the outside woods for the humid air to aid in recovery. Upstairs, a conference room can be seen that is quite impressive by comparison with the remainder of the property. Tall ceilings made of attractive yet plain wood designs tower over warm furniture and table arrangements. Next to the conference room is a large balcony that offers only woods in the distance for Stalin's personal enjoyment (and his Soviet, American, and British allied visitors). Stalin's indulged in his favorite wine here in the evenings before (at least as reported) binge drinking of vodka, smoking, and other spirits. Visitors to the house can drink his favorite Georgian wine here as well during tours. Stalin had quite a marginal taste in wine: he took pride in his heritage as an ethnic Georgian by constantly enjoying the grapes of Georgian vines, but indeed quite a weak, young, and poor red wine at that.


My photo of Stalin's pool. Notice the small and short size. (click to enlarge)


My photo of the main conference room where wine is drunk, plans discussed. (click to enlarge)


My photo of a view from the balcony. No people can be seen for obvious reasons. (click to enlarge)

Stalin's house reveals a fascinating and exclusive look at the fantastic dictator that goes beyond modern stereotyped or exaggerated historical depiction. Stalin lived a simple (yet unfathomably powerful) and plain life with impending stress, paranoia, danger, and health issues. It appears he was indeed more afraid of internal betrayal by his own men than the world's most powerful military superpower other than his own Soviet Union: Hitler's Germany.

 

________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Mayfield is the owner and Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I am working for a doctorate in history, with a specific emphasis on Islamic and European histories. I am well versed in all world cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages, politics, and historical evolution in relation to and against each other.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES USED:

Personal observations, photographs.


Copyright 2008, European Heritage Library®. www.euroheritage.net. All Rights Reserved. The European Heritage Library is a non-profit academic organization owned by Chairman James Mayfield.
No email addresses or personal information is redistributed. No articles or content on this site may be redistributed without approval or a full citation and credit to the EHL as the original source.