The letters stand high on the roof of a crumbling building on the shore of Lake Issyk-Köl in Kyrgyzstan. Our Russian speaking friend translates them as roughly ‘To the Glorious Health of Lenin’. We are somewhat taken aback as most statues and references to Lenin have been removed from towns and cities in the new countries that make up the former Soviet Union. However in Karakol we kept bumping into reminders of the Soviet past; not only this giant homage, but also many street names and the statue is still there in the main town square.

The area around the lake was probably quite prosperous in Soviet times as the shore of the lake is dotted with hulking great concrete buildings which are sanatoriums from the Soviet Era. For two weeks every year, the Party would shut down the factories in the USSR and send the workers on holiday. The workers would be bussed to various holiday destinations through out the Soviet empire to stay in sanatoriums which were part resort/recreational facility and part medical facility to provide short term rest.

The sanatoria we passed looked decidedly grim and not somewhere I would like to spend two weeks. But if this was your only option, and you were sent there by the Party, then what choice did you have?

At least by standing with their back to the building the workers had the most beautiful view of this silent and still lake watched over by the mighty Tian Shan.

Look over to your left, and the building next door reminds you to give thanks for the glorious health of the Party Leader; who’s no doubt watching and listening to ensure a problem free two weeks away from the factory.