Gulag Ghost Town to Volcanic Vacation Hub: Putin Plans Mass Tourism Destination
Vladimir Putin has a bizarre solution for the dwindling number of Russian holiday destinations in a sanction-riddled economy.
Knewz.com has learned that the autocrat is contemplating turning the Stalin-era Gulag town of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky into a package holiday destination.
The Vladimir Putin administration has high hopes for the area named Three Volcanoes tourist park. By: kamchattour.ru
The area, said to have 29 active volcanoes, will be developed into a 2,000-room holiday resort named Three Volcanos.
Along with the accommodations the area is said to have 170 hiking routes and is home to the Valley of Geysers which is reportedly the world’s second-largest geyser field.
In the Kremlin’s attempts to tout the area as the ultimate adventure seekers’ paradise, Three Volcanoeswill also host traditional Russian dog sled racing.
According to the British daily paper The Times, the venue has already started putting together fishing and hunting bases.
The area is said to have over 170 hiking trails. By: kamchattour.ru
Once completed, it is also expected to boast educational value for children with a museum that offers insights into the Russian-Japanese altercations of WWII and the Crimean War.
On the Three Volcanoes website, it’s apparent that the Russian authorities have big plans for the facility.
It notes work on the effort began in 2023 and that upon completion, it will be a regional tourism center of international standard.
Vladimir Solodov, a prominent Kremlin propagandist who is chairing the project, claims “Kamchatka [the area where the project is being developed] will be considered as the central region of the Far East from the point of view of tourism development.”
The site further states that “a hotel, 48 kilometers of ski slopes, two cable cars, seven ski-lifts, and two equipped tourist camps will be built on the territory of the park. Tourist routes with a length of 155 kilometers will also be created.”
The project touts economic opportunity for the locals too – according to the website the project will provide jobs for 785 people.
As attractive and promising as the plan sounds it has been noted that Putin was not the only president with big ideas for the sparsely populated region.
The resort is planning to have year-round activities. By: kamchattour.ru
The Times reported that Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Dmitry Medvedev all tried to pursue the same endeavor and failed.
Dr. Natasha Kuhrt who is a senior lecturer in International Peace and Security at London’s King’s College noted that thus far “little has been achieved.”
Vladimir Putin is not the first Russian president to try to turn the area into a vacation resort. By: MEGA
This development is an attempt to turn the location around from its dark Stalin-era past when it was best known as a home for Gulags, which were Soviet-era labor camps that housed political prisoners and criminals from the 1920s-1950s.
PBS noted that prior to the collapse of the Soviet era, no more than 400,000 people were allowed to live in the area which was roughly the size of California. Every one of these people was required to hold military clearances as it was an area just close enough for the U.S. to spy on it.
Prior to that, the area was home to the Bolsheretsk jail which was actually a small town. According to LaurelhillСemetery.com, the penal establishment was founded in 1703 and served as a penal facility for over 200 years.