Millions of Soviet citizens had Lenin to thank for sanatoriums, for it was he who signed a decree on "medical districts of nationwide importance" back in 1919. Crimea and the Black Sea coast were earmarked as the primary locations. The most striking example of this policy was the opening of a sanatorium for peasants in 1925 at Livadia Palace, the luxurious summer residence of the last three Russian emperors.
Vouchers for the sanatorium were given to peasants from across the country for free; even the cost of the journey was covered. Treatment lasted for six weeks and included, inter alia, breathing exercises in the salubrious Crimean air and strolls along Solar (formerly Tsarist) Path—a 7km stretch through a pine forest.
