Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi, Krasnodar Krai

Krasnaya Polyana is set against the scenic backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains, which exceed {{convert|2000|m|sp=us}} in elevation, at a distance of {{convert|67|km|sp=us}} from the center of Sochi by road and {{convert|40|km|sp=us}} from the Adler-Sochi International Airport. The settlement has been plagued by transport problems: in order to improve this for the 2014 Winter Olympics, a railway line was built, connecting the area with the airport, Sochi Olympic Village, and central Sochi.File:Krasnaya Polyana 05.jpg

The name "Krasnaya Polyana" (lit. Red Glade) was given by the Greek settlers in 1878 because of the thick overgrowth of fern, the leaves of which had a reddish-brown color in fall."Знай свой край. Словарь географических названий Краснодарского края." Составитель: И. П. Лотышев. Краснодарское книжное издательство, 1974. Walter Richmond, a historian of the Circassian genocide, notes that Krasnaya Polyana was named after the last stand by the Abkhaz Akhchipsou tribe, of whom many were killed there in 1864.Walter Richmond, The Circassian Genocide, Introduction, Kindle location 36

Although the vicinity is rich in prehistoric dolmens and contains ruins of about twenty medieval forts, the settlement first appears in recorded history in 1835, when a Russian spy, Baron Fyodor Tornau, visited the Sadz Abkhazian village of Artquaj in the guise of a Circassian mountaineer. Having spent several days in the village, he recorded his observations in a journal.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

By the 1860s, the village was known as Kbaade and became populated with the Akhchipsou branch of the Sadz.{{cn|date=January 2025}} In 1864, the area was the scene, significant in Circassian history, of the last battles of the Russian–Circassian War.{{cn|date=January 2025}} The village was the site of a massacre, where Russian forces slaughtered the disarmed Circassians, and their families, as they attempted to retreat.{{cite web |title=Circassians Demand Russia Admit to Genocide in Sochi |url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/es/news/circassians-demand-russia-admit-genocide-sochi |website=Cultural Survival |access-date=19 January 2025}} The hill the village was located on has since been known as Krasnaya Polyana or Red Hill, due to the blood split there. The abandoned aul was replaced with the new settlement of Krasnaya Polyana in 1869.{{cn|date=January 2025}}File:Vladimir Putin 5 January 2008-12.jpg at the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort in 2008|left]]On June 19, 1899, Krasnaya Polyana was visited by an official commission under Nikolay Abaza, with a view to transforming it into Tsarskaya Polyana, Nicholas II's hunting ground in the Western Caucasus. A royal hunting lodge was erected in 1901, followed by the chalets of Counts Sheremetev and Bobrinsky, among other nobles and high-placed dignitaries. Although it was never visited by the Tsar, the village was renamed Romanovsk ({{lang|ru|Романовск}}), after the ruling imperial dynasty.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Following the October Revolution of 1917, the retreat reverted to its former name and status and gradually dwindled into obscurity. The proximity to Sochi, the "summer capital" of Russia, eventually revived its fortunes in the last quarter of the 20th century, when it achieved a modicum of popularity across the former Soviet Union, despite limited hotel capabilities and installations, and difficulty of access through narrow mountain passes.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

{{Weather box

|location=Krasnaya Polyana (1991–2020, extremes 1936–present)

|metric first=yes

|single line=yes

|Jan record high C = 18.1

|Feb record high C = 22.4

|Mar record high C = 27.8

|Apr record high C = 35.6

|May record high C = 33.4

|Jun record high C = 35.7

|Jul record high C = 38.5

|Aug record high C = 35.9

|Sep record high C = 35.6

|Oct record high C = 30.8

|Nov record high C = 27.7

|Dec record high C = 21.4

|year record high C = 38.5

|Jan high C = 5.5

|Feb high C = 7.3

|Mar high C = 10.9

|Apr high C = 16.7

|May high C = 21.0

|Jun high C = 24.5

|Jul high C = 27.1

|Aug high C = 27.6

|Sep high C = 23.4

|Oct high C = 18.4

|Nov high C = 12.6

|Dec high C = 7.2

|year high C =

|Jan mean C = 1.2

|Feb mean C = 2.1

|Mar mean C = 5.1

|Apr mean C = 10.1

|May mean C = 14.6

|Jun mean C = 18.3

|Jul mean C = 20.9

|Aug mean C = 21.0

|Sep mean C = 16.8

|Oct mean C = 12.1

|Nov mean C = 6.6

|Dec mean C = 2.8

|year mean C =

|Jan low C = -1.3

|Feb low C = -1.1

|Mar low C = 1.5

|Apr low C = 5.5

|May low C = 9.8

|Jun low C = 13.4

|Jul low C = 15.8

|Aug low C = 15.8

|Sep low C = 12.0

|Oct low C = 7.8

|Nov low C = 3.1

|Dec low C = 0.2

|year low C =

|Jan record low C = -22.5

|Feb record low C = -18.1

|Mar record low C = -15.6

|Apr record low C = -10.6

|May record low C = -0.4

|Jun record low C = 2.6

|Jul record low C = 7.7

|Aug record low C = 5.2

|Sep record low C = -1.0

|Oct record low C = -6.1

|Nov record low C = -13.2

|Dec record low C = -15.3

|year record low C = -22.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 200

|Feb precipitation mm = 170

|Mar precipitation mm = 182

|Apr precipitation mm = 141

|May precipitation mm = 145

|Jun precipitation mm = 119

|Jul precipitation mm = 103

|Aug precipitation mm = 99

|Sep precipitation mm = 144

|Oct precipitation mm = 206

|Nov precipitation mm = 205

|Dec precipitation mm = 216

|year precipitation mm =

|source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211029225816/http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/37107.htm

| archive-date = 29 October 2021

| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/37107.htm

| title = Weather and Climate – The Climate of Krasnaya Polyana

| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)

| language = ru

| access-date = 29 October 2021}}

}}

• An electricity pylon looking like a snow leopard [http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-43567145/snow-leopard-shaped-electricity-pylon-appears-in].

The economic activity in the village is based on serving tourists and visitors in winter and summer. Krasnaya Polyana is a skiing and snowboarding center.

• Sanki Sliding Center, luge, bobsled, and skeleton (moved to Rzhanaya Polyana in May 2009)
• Laura Cross-Country ski and Biathlon Center, biathlon, cross-country skiing, and Nordic combined
• Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort, alpine skiing
• Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, freestyle skiing, snowboarding
• RusSki Gorki Jumping Center, ski jumping and Nordic combinedGuidebook "Sochi Olympic Games" by Federal Agency for tourism

File:Vladimir Putin 23 February 2008-14.jpg|Cable car

File:GorkiGorod960m.jpg|Gorki Gorod and Gornaya Karusel

File:LauraPsekhako.jpg|Ski-biathlon complex Laura on the Psekhako Ridge

File:SlidingCenterSanki.jpg|Sledge-bobsleigh track

File:Krasnaya Polyana summer.JPG|Summer at Krasnaya Polyana

File:AlpicaService.jpg|Bottom station Alpika Service

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Krasnaya Polyana}}

{{Wikivoyage|Krasnaya Polyana}}

• {{in lang|ru}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070904220244/http://www.kraspol.ru/about.php?mode=23&PHPSESSID=fc24092f89b166b05f53b3efac713a5b History of Krasnaya Polyana] on the Alpika Service website
• {{in lang|ru}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070926214930/http://www.spbvedomosti.ru/article.htm?id=10243412@SV_Articles Article about Krasnaya Polyana] in the Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti
• {{in lang|de}} [http://www.krasnaja-poljana.de/ Krasnaya Polyana]
• {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.kraspol.ru/ Красная Поляна]
• {{in lang|sv}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20081226110441/http://www.krasnayapolyana.se/?page_id=28%2F Krasnaya Polyana photos]
• {{in lang|fr|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20090626082654/http://www.krasnaya-polyana.com/ Krasnaya Polyana tourist information]

{{Territorial divisions of Sochi}}

{{Krasnodar Krai}}

{{2014 Winter Olympic venues}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Urban-type settlements in Krasnodar Krai

Category:Adlersky city district

Category:Venues of the 2014 Winter Olympics

Category:Ski areas and resorts in Russia