Stalin's Dacha, Sochi

Hidden in the wooded hills above Sochi, this modest green-painted villa served as a summer retreat for Joseph Stalin and is now preserved as a museum of the Soviet leader's private life. Built in the 1930s and camouflaged among the trees, it retains original interiors, furniture and personal items, offering a rare intimate glimpse of the era. Guides recount anecdotes of the leader's stays and the security around them. A wax figure sits at the study desk to complete the tableau in the forested setting.