Yalta is a resort city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black Sea, surrounded by wooded mountains. It has a warm humid subtropical climate with many vineyards and orchards in the vicinity. The term “The Greater Yalta” is used to designate a part of the Crimean southern coast spanning from Foros in the west to Gurzuf in the east and including the city of Yalta and multiple adjacent urban settlements. The town came to worldwide attention in 1945 when the Yalta Conference between the Big Three powers – the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom – was held at the Livadia Palace.
During the 20th century Yalta was the principal holiday resort of the Soviet Union. In 1920, Vladimir Lenin issued a decree “On the Use of Crimea for the Medical Treatment of the Working People” which endorsed the region’s transformation from a fairly exclusive resort area into a recreation facility for tired proletarians. Numerous workers’ sanatoria were constructed in and around Yalta. There were, in fact, few other places that Soviet citizens could come for a seaside holiday, as foreign travel was forbidden to all but a handful. The Soviet elite also came to Yalta; the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin used the Massandra Palace as his summer residence.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yalta has struggled economically. Many of the nouveaux riches started going to other European holiday resorts, now that they had the freedom and money to travel; conversely, the impoverishment of many ex-Soviet citizens meant that they could no longer afford to go to Yalta. The town’s transport links have been significantly reduced with the end of almost all passenger traffic by sea. The longest trolleybus line in Europe goes from the train station in Simferopol to Yalta (almost 90 km). Yalta is overcrowded in high season (July–August) and prices for accommodation are very high. Most of the tourists here are from countries of the former Soviet Union.
Yalta has a beautiful embankment along the Black Sea. People can be seen strolling there all seasons of the year, and it also serves as a place to gather and talk, to see and be seen. There are several beaches to the left and right of the embankment. The town has a movie theater, drama theater, plenty of restaurants, and an open-air market.
[caption id="attachment_165597" align="aligncenter" width="535"] Vincent van Gogh signature[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures ...
