During the Imperial and Soviet eras, Abkhazia's beautiful vistas, pristine beaches and mineral baths drew crowds of vacationing Russians. The tourist industry still makes up the backbone of Abkhazia's economy, with some 2 million Russians journeying to its coast each year. But since the collapse of the USSR and the beginning of Abkhazia's struggle for independence, much of the old infrastructure has fallen into disrepair. The following images give a sense of the grandeur lying fallow in this subtropical paradise.
Government buildings destroyed by war…
A crumbling private home…
A boarding house engulfed by overgrown landscaping…
The ruins of Stalin's summer estate…
Train stations no longer welcoming tourists…
Photos courtesy of goya, ♠gig♠, Argenberg and antidigital_da respectively on Flickr and the Creative Commons license.