Lesnoye Sanatorium (russian: санаторий Лесное) is the oldest medical institution in the city of

Tolyatti Tolyatti ( rus, Толья́тти, p=tɐlʲˈjætʲ(ː)ɪ), also known as Togliatti, formerly known as Stavropol (1737–1964), is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which doe ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Its main focus is

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

treatment. Despite being only from the center of what is now the large city of Tolyatti, the

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

is located in of forest (the Tolyatti Pine Forest) near the shores of the Volga, hence its name, which means "Sanatorium in the Forest".

History

Before 1917

Lesnoye Sanatorium was founded in 1910 by the Stavropol-on-Volga merchant and entrepreneur V. N. Klimushin (Stavropol-on-Volga being the former name of Tolyatti). The original building was a two-story building of brick and timber, with stove heating. The newspapers announcing the opening of the health resort noted that medicinal

kumis ''Kumis'' (also spelled ''kumiss'' or ''koumiss'' or ''kumys'', see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology – otk, airag kk, қымыз, ''qymyz'') mn, айраг, ''ääryg'') is a fermented dairy p ...

(fermented horse milk) was to be a feature of the therapeutic regime. Vladimir B. Zolotnitsky, a tuberculosis specialist and well-known public figure, was appointed chief physician and the first tuberculosis patients were admitted. The sanatorium applied advanced (for the time) methods of treatment, including the

Mantoux test The Mantoux test or Mendel–Mantoux test (also known as the Mantoux screening test, tuberculin sensitivity test, Pirquet test, or PPD test for purified protein derivative) is a tool for screening for tuberculosis (TB) and for tuberculosis diagn ...

and

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

. There were laboratories and a

sunroom A sunroom, also frequently called a solarium (and sometimes a "Florida room", "garden conservatory", "garden room", "patio room", "sun parlor", "sun porch", "three season room" or "winter garden"), is a room that permits abundant daylight and v ...

. Out on the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

far from the Lesnoye Sanatorium was a farm where two hundred horses were kept to provide mare's milk. From this was made the sanatorium's therapeutic beverage – kumis. During the holiday season up to 45,000 bottles of kumis were produced, not only for use by the sanatorium but also for sale. Patients came from all over Russia – mostly the wealthy, as the fee for a season was 200 silver rubles. The health resort became famous, attracting aristocrats from Turkey and France. The health resort was well-appointed, with flower gardens, sculptures, fountains, and gazebos. There were electric lights and water from an

artesian well An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...

. Horse-drawn carriages were available for hire. In 1913, the sanatorium treated the French communist

Inessa Armand Inessa Fyodorovna Armand (born Elisabeth-Inès Stéphane d'Herbenville; 8 May 1874 – 24 September 1920) was a French-Russian communist politician, member of the Bolsheviks and a feminist who spent most of her life in Russia. Armand, being ...

. In 1967 a memorial plaque with her name was placed, lost when the building was renovated. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Lesnoye Sanatorium was used as a

rehabilitation hospital Rehabilitation hospitals, also referred to as inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, are devoted to the rehabilitation of patients with various neurological, musculoskeletal, orthopedic, and other medical conditions following stabilization of their acu ...

for wounded soldiers and officers.

In Soviet times

In 1918, the sanatorium was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

and given over to the Stavropol-on-Volga district health department. In the 1920s and 1930s outbreaks of tuberculosis were common throughout Russia, and the sanatorium became the base from which the Moscow tuberculosis clinics were supervised, and was itself filled to capacity. Surgical methods of treatment and more effective use of kumis were developed here. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Military Institute of Foreign Languages moved to Stavropol-on-Volga, and a training center for military translators was established at the Lesnoye Sanatorium under the direction of Lieutenant General

Nikolai Biasi Nikolai Nikalayevich Biasi (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Биязи; 14 April 1893 7 April 1973) was a Soviet General, sportsman and writer. Biasi was born into an Italian family which had long settled in Russia. His grandmo ...

. From 1941 to 1942 two thousand translators were trained. Among the cadets trained here were many who became well-known writers, artists and composers, including

Vladimir Etush Vladimir Abramovich Etush (russian: Влади́мир Абра́мович Э́туш; 6 May 1922 – 9 March 2019) was a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor of Jewish descent. People's Artist of the USSR (1984). Personal life Etush was ...

Andrei Eshpai Andrei Yakovlevich Eshpai (russian: Андре́й Я́ковлевич Эшпа́й; 15 May 1925 – 8 November 2015) was an ethnic Mari (Russian and Soviet) composer. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1981. Bio ...

, S. Lvov, E. Rzhevskaya, and A. Troyanovsky. After the war, Lesnoye Sanatorium began accepting patients again, but only in the summer. In 1950 about 100 patients were admitted. Year-round operations resumed in 1960, and patients came for treatment from all over the USSR. In 1980, a large (, not including pedestal and base) statue of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

which had been installed on the grounds was moved to

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

to increase its public visibility. In 1989 a modern seven-story building with 360 beds and kitchens, a dining room, a recreation center, a movie theater, and other services was commissioned.

Recent history and current status

Tuberculosis patients from all regions of Russia continue to be treated at Lesnoye Sanatorium, which is now owned and operated by the Russian federal government. The current capacity is 360 beds. The main methods of treatment are medication, diet, and

. Today, the kumis is made from cow's milk. It is slightly inferior in its medicinal properties to natural mare's kumis. In 1996, a private goat farm was established on the grounds of the sanatorium, to provide goat's milk for medicinal purposes to patients of the sanatorium and to children in the city. In 1993, the facade and grounds of the Lesnoye Sanatorium were declared a monument of architecture and history of the Samara region, and they are included in the official register of monuments of Tolyatti. A picture of Lesnoye Sanatorium is on the labels of the local brandy "Stavropol-on-Volga". Lesnoye Sanatorium celebrated its centennial in 2010. A forest fire, one of the many

2010 Russian wildfires The 2010 Russian wildfires were several hundred wildfires that broke out across Russia, primarily in European Russia, the west in summer 2010. They started burning in late July and lasted until early September 2010. The fires were associated w ...

of that hot dry summer, destroyed large swaths of the surrounding forest. The sanatorium was saved, but was closed from July 30, 2010 to December 10, 2010. Another huge forest fire broke out near the sanatorium in July 2021.

External links

Website of the Lesnoye Sanatorium

Another website of the Lesnoye Sanatorium

References

{{Reflist 1910 establishments in the Russian Empire Hospital buildings completed in 1910 Hospital buildings completed in 1989 Hospitals in Russia Hospitals established in 1910 Hospitals built in the Russian Empire Hospitals built in the Soviet Union Buildings and structures in Tolyatti Tuberculosis sanatoria Companies nationalised by the Soviet Union