Sochi Russia Port City Along Black Sea Backdrop Of Caucasus Mountains

Situated in Krasnodar Krai, Sochi, is spread 145 km (90 miles) along the shores of the Black Sea, and claims to be the longest city in Europe. Sochi enjoys the background of the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasian Mountains. Sochi, Russia will be hosting the XXII Olympic Games in 2014, this being the first time the Games are being hosted by the Russian Federation. However, estimates in 2006 put the population at 395,012.

Between the 6th and the 15th century, this area, called Sochi, Russia was ruled successively by the Christian kingdoms of Egrisi and Abkhazia. They had built a number of churches, of which none remain today. The invasion by the Gokturks, Khazars, and other nomadic people invaded this area, and they destroyed the Christian settlements. Of the churches, only a wall of an 11th century basilica remains.

The area was nominally controlled from the 15th century onwards by the Ottoman Empire. Sochi, Russia went under Russian control in 1829 after the Russo-Turkish war. In the beginning of the Crimean war, this area was again captured by the Turks. Control went back to the Russians at the end of the war, and resettlement by Armenians, Greeks and Russians started. This area was included in the Black Sea Governorate, and got its present name.

This area saw sporadic clashes during the Russian Civil War. A railway line running from Tuapse to Abkhazia was constructed in Sochi, Russia in 1923. This railway runs within a mile or two of the coastline, and is a vital part of the regions transportation infrastructure.
It was here that Joseph Stalin established a stylish resort area, and had his favourite dacha built. This dacha is now open to the public. In time Sochi, Russia became dotted with dachas and sanatoriums, and was extensively developed until the fall of the Soviet Union. Sochi became the unofficial summer capital of Soviet Russia. The climate is humid and subtropical at lower levels, and the temperature rarely falls below freezing.

Among its attractions are the beaches, the Caucasus Mountains, numerous parks, subtropical vegetation, monuments and the extravagant Stalinist architecture. Sochi, Russia is also where the Kinotavr the annual film festival is held each summer, when it is visited by two million visitors and becomes the getaway for the Russian elite. The Adler-Sochi International Airport serves the city. Sochi is also known for its sport facilities. Sochi