Picture beachgoers running up and down the beach in silk or rayon pajamas, usually in stripes. Is this the new Miami Beach or Hawaii fashion? No, but in years past, it was the fashion of Soviet Sochi, a beach resort on the Black Sea. Not many Americans witnessed this resort ritual during Soviet times. Only the occasional cruise ship docked at Sochi, allowing Americans and Canadians a view of tourists on the beach in their PJ's.

Why go to Sochi now? The Russians think we should, but it's not ready yet for us. By 2014, it will be. That is the year for the Winter Olympics - Russia got the bid; they're leaping for joy and rightly so.

Looking for Sochi? Joseph Stalin found it, made it was his beloved vacation destination until his death in 1953. His home is still there, now rather dreary in colors of pastel leaf green, but historic. Today, it's a bed-and-breakfast for high-placed politicos who want to go from room to room, playing Fantasy Dictator. Throughout the Soviet era, charter flights would stream in from major Soviet cities, full of factory workers on holiday - 900 flight miles from Moscow to the very south of Russia, on the border with Georgia. Russians then were strict with themselves - one must be very straight-laced…you couldn't be sybaritic and have a ripping, roaring good time. You went on vacation to Sochi for your health, to "take the waters," where the resorts looked more like hospitals than hotels and were called "Sanatoria." www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/sochi-that-russian-riviera-touch-431164.html 

During the Cold War, Sochi had its dark side. It was a spion haven - a working place for counterfeiters, a meeting place for spies, a place to exchange secrets. Sochi was a crossroads between Russia, Europe and the Middle East, and with all those hoards of factory-worker tourists, how could the KGB keep track of everyone.

In those days, if you were Russian and wanted a vacation, it had to be in Russia, no leaving the country. But starting in the 1990's, Russians stormed out the door to anywhere and everywhere outside Russia. Now the Russian government and developers want to lure Russians back to their own country with a mega resort that can outdo the French Alps, as well as Las Vegas. You can summer in Sochi and winter in Krasnaya, an hour into the mountains  behind Sochi - you can have it all.

For beaching it, there will be the Federation Islands just off the Sochi coast. It will be an artificial archipelago, connected to the mainland by a four-lane bridge and two tunnels, and encircled by 3 breakwater islands, on a grander scale but reminiscent of Cancun, Mexico, replete with luxury hotels, private villas and imported sand. You can visit several link sites if you key the word "Federation Island." One of the best sites is www.e-architect.co.uk/russia/sochi_building.htm displaying great visuals from Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat. Notice how the text is written in the present tense as if the islands were already constructed. Is this the designer's professional speak-talk, or something the Soviets were noted for, "saying makes it so."

If any of this sounds like unrealistic pie-in-the-Russian-sky, I believe it will all actually take place. The Sochi Project is a favorite of Vladimir Putin. He is the President of the Russian Olympic Committee, has a resort home there, and a warship on permanent duty in the harbor for protection . He is convinced and so should we.

Readers: if any of you were in Sochi before the 1990's and would like to share your experiences or impressions, please do so. Since it was a quasi-hidden destination in those days, your words will be historic - Sochi and the ski resort of Krasnaya Polyana will soon be transformed, never to be as you saw it then.