In Soviet times, millions of workers were sent to sanatoriums in Sochi to revive their spirits and strengthen their bodies. Late 2009, Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen spent ten days at Sochi’s Sanatorium Metallurg, among the elderly and infirm Russians who still flock there for daily massages and 20-minute radon baths. The book is an account of their stay in Sanatorium Metallurg. In the run-up to the Winter Olympics in 2014, almost all the sanatoria would be converted into luxury hotels. There is no place for sentimentality when it comes to the past.

Winner of the NY Photo Book Award 2010

“To immerse themselves in the full restorative experience, Hornstra faked a backache and a sore knee and Van Bruggen pretended to suffer from heart problems.”
—Calvert Journal, 2014

Specs

Publisher: The Sochi Project, 2009
Paperback: 40pp
Dimensions: 24 x 32 cm. (9 3/8 x 12 5/8 in.)
Language: English
Print run: 350 copies