The Chaika pool has been on my mind for a long time. Many people told me that this place is a must. So when I first visited it back in the summer of 2022, I was very impressed from the first minutes. Upon entering I was met by a man in swimming trunks, who didn’t seem to care about standing half-naked in a public space. He was too busy trying to get some info about his membership.

pool project

But the thing that surprised me the most was the number of elderly people, especially women, who I saw there. They were all so liberated. Normally a swimming pool is a place of sport and exercise, but here women were always in full makeup, acces- sories and a good tan. For some reason, I used to think that the elderly don’t really have a social life in Russia, or rather in Moscow, where I was born.

There also was a separate group of men who come to the pool early and stay till noon. They prefer to relax on the bleachers or go to the sauna after each swim. Seems like most of them used to work for state security. They usually occupy the trai- ning pool and call the ladies who have been coming to Chaika for ages “sea-turtles”. They also have nick names for each other: there’s “The Floater”, who doesn’t swim, but rather stays in one place in the water, then there’s “The Birchman”, who makes birch liquor at home. Also there’s a guy named “Wasserman”, but no one remembers why they call him that.

I also had the experience of going with them to a men’s bathhouse. Just me (a girl of 24) and 10 men over 60 years old. There was even a bath attendant who fanned the air. It’s funny that they said there might be naked men there and that I should wait for everyone to put everything on. They also told me about the women’s bathhouse, they said it’s strictly nude. One of them happily told me: “We have a nice atmosphere here, not like in the women’s room.”

Natasha "Diamond"

One of the most striking pool characters thanks to the nickname alone. She got the nick- name because her husband used to be a diplo- mat in the past. He traveled abroad on business, which was very rare in the USSR. Therefore, her husband could bring her cool gifts and unique things that ordinary people did not have. At first, he wanted to bring her lingerie, but because Natasha has a large breast size, she told her husband to bring her jewellery. So he bought her tons of diamonds and other expensive jewellery, in which she now swims in the pool. For example, she regularly swims in a Cartier bracelet.

When I first met her and other visitors to the pool, she said, "Oh, I don’t know, I’m so old now, how can you take pictures of me." To which her friend, also named Natasha said while ligh- ting a cigarette: "What do you think she came here for? Take pictures of young people? No, she just came for dinosaurs like you." Another time when I asked her for an interview, Natasha said: "Of course I have a lot to tell. I had 5 husbands." In the nineties and the 2000s, as I understand it, she owned the coolest beauty salon in Moscow and was very successful.

also noticed a strange tendency. This generation clearly knows German much better and more seriously than the others. I think this is due to the fact that their first foreign language at school was German, not English, as it is now. I also think that this is due to the consequences of the Second World War and the existence of the GDR.

Because of this, people reacted very happily when they found out that I live in Berlin. They took a lot of interest in this, and they all tried to show off their German skills. One woman even began to quote Goethe to me in the original.

Vera, didn’t tell her age
The most flamboyant member of the pool scene. She always packs two swimsuits: one for swimming and one for sunbathing. Why sit and freeze in a wet swimsuit, if you can put on a dry one? She first came to Chaika in 2015 (or was it 2017) after she was diagnosed with cancer. She absolutely adores this place and calls it “Heaven on Earth”. Vera is here daily 12-18. She always goes sunbathing with Natalia. They use all sorts of oils to be more tanned. Funnily enough no one here actually cares about skin cancer. People are tanning their skin off. Vera is an engineer. She used to resell stuff in the 90s though. Also her hus- band used to own a gambling parlour, and she was part of it too.

Vera also told me she once got inter- viewed by a Finnish journalist. She just left the sauna and started rubbing herself with snow, which really surprised the journalist. Then about a year later one of the pool visitors asked her if she reads any Finnish media. She said that no, she didn’t. And the man told her that she was on the front page of a Helsinki newspaper. The journalist wrote an article addressing the mayor, who was closing the local open-air pools. She used Vera’s photos to show how much people enjoy those pools in Moscow.

This project has expanded beyond the initial scope, evolving into a comprehensive zine curated from photo materials and numerous interviews.

I'm excited to share it, as it could serve as a valuable reference book for your establishment. While the zine is available in limited edition, I'm open to discussing various options for access. For inquiries or to get in touch, please refer to the contact details provided here. I look forward to connecting with you!

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