“The Emtrald Swell Is Splashing So Gently on You...”: Everyday Life of Resort Residents in the Crimea in the Second Half of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The article examines various aspects of everyday life of holidaymakers in the Crimea in the initial period of the resort development on the peninsula. The sources are newspapers published in Sevastopol and other Crimean towns, guidebooks, memoirs of those who visited the Crimea in the period under study. The analysis shows a rather vivid picture of the life of resort residents and allows us to distinguish several layers of information: on the development of transport infrastructure and everyday travel details, accommodation options, accommodation and food prices, ways of spending leisure time. It is possible to trace a close connection between the evolution of living conditions of vacationers and the resort and recreational sphere as a whole and the economic and social development of the country. The creation of a network of railroads made the way to the Crimea cheaper and more convenient. In the early 20th century, recreation on the peninsula ceased to be elitist, and representatives of different social strata came here. The influx of resort guests caused the development of the entire tourist infrastructure: the number of hotels grew, the local population actively entered the market of relevant services, providing rented furnished rooms and sightseeing services. Guidebooks and memoirs show the role in the life of holidaymakers of such traditional entertainments as bathing in the sea and walks in the mountains, as well as the ways of their organization. Separate bathing of men and women was practiced both in bathing houses and on beaches. Group and individual excursions to historical sites were becoming more popular. The analysis of memoirs demonstrates that the level of service caused complaints from vacationers, who were not happy with the high level of prices at hotels, unkempt servants in restaurants, etc. However, the ever-increasing interest of the Russian society to the Crimea as a vacation destination contributed not only to the improvement of the quality of services, but also to the change of living conditions on the peninsula: villages and towns were transformed into comfortable settlements, which had all the attributes of civilization - electricity, post offices, pharmacies and hospitals.