Within the
framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with one
urban-type settlement (
Krasnaya Polyana) and seventy-nine
rural localities, incorporated as the
City of Sochi—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the
districts. As a
municipal division, the City of Sochi is incorporated as
Sochi Urban Okrug. Sochi is administratively subdivided into four city districts:
Tsentralny city district,
Lazarevsky city district,
Khostinsky city district, and
Adlersky city district. Tsentralny city district, comprising the central portion of, is by far the smallest out of four in terms of the area, and the other three have comparable areas, with Lazarevsky city district being the biggest. In terms of the population, Tsentralny city district is approximately twice as big as each of the other three city districts.
Tsentralny city district conducted by
Oleg Soldatov during a concert with the Austrian guitarist
Johanna Beisteiner at Organ and Chamber Music Hall in Sochi (December 13, 2013)
Tsentralny city district, or central Sochi, covers an area of and, as of the
2010 Census, has a population of 137,677. The highlights include: •
Michael Archangel Cathedral, a diminutive church built in 1873–1891 to
Kaminsky's designs in order to commemorate the victorious conclusion of the
Caucasian War. • The red-granite Archangel Column, erected in 2006 in memory of the Russian soldiers fallen in Sochi during the Caucasian War. It is capped by a 7-metre bronze statue of Sochi's patron saint,
Michael the Archangel. •
Sochi Arboretum, a large
botanical garden with tropical trees from many countries, and the Mayors Alleé—a landscape avenue of palm trees planted by mayors from cities around the world. • The
Tree of Friendship, a
hybrid citrus tree planted in 1934 in the Subtropical Botanic Garden. Since 1940 numerous citrus cultivars from foreign countries have been
grafted onto this tree as a token of friendship and peace. The associated Friendship Tree Garden Museum has a collection of 20,000 commemorative presents from around the world.
Lazarevsky city district Lazarevsky city district lies to the northwest from the city center; the 2010 Census showed the population of 63,894 people. It is the largest city district by area, covering some and comprising several
microdistricts: •
Lazarevskoye, from the city center, contains a
delphinarium, an old church (1903), and a new church (1999). The settlement was founded as a Russian military outpost in 1839 and was named after Admiral
Mikhail Lazarev. •
Loo, from the city center, was once owned by Princes Loov, a noble Abkhazian family. The district contains the ruins of a medieval church, founded in the 8th century, rebuilt in the 11th century, and converted into a fortress in the Late Middle Ages. •
Dagomys, from the city center, has been noted for its
botanical garden, established by order of
Nicholas II, as well as tea plantations and factories. A sprawling hotel complex was opened there in 1982. Dagomys adjoins
Bocharov Ruchey, a
dacha built for
Kliment Voroshilov in the 1950s, but later upgraded into a country residence of the
President of Russia, where he normally spends his vacations and often confers with leaders of other states. •
Golovinka is a historic location at the mouth of the Shakhe River. Formerly marking the border between the
Ubykhs and the
Shapsugs, the settlement was noted by Italian travelers of the 17th century as Abbasa. On May 3, 1838, it was the site of the
Subashi landing of the Russians, who proceeded to construct Fort Golovinsky where many convicted
Decembrists used to serve. The fort was intentionally destroyed by Russian forces at the beginning of the
Crimean War, so as to avoid its capture by the enemy. •
Fort Godlik, of which little remains, had a turbulent history. It was built at the mouth of the Godlik River in the Byzantine period (5th to 8th centuries), was destroyed by the
Khazars and revived by the
Genoese in the High Middle Ages.
Khostinsky city district Khostinsky city district, sprawling to the southeast from the city center, occupies approximately , with a population of 65,229 as of the 2010 Census. The district is traversed by many rivulets which give their names to the microdistricts of Matsesta ("flame-colored river"), Kudepsta, and Khosta ("the river of boars").
Adlersky city district Adlersky city district, with an area of and a population of 76,534 people as of the 2010 Census, is the southernmost district of the city, located just north of the border with Abkhazia. Until the establishment of Greater Sochi in 1961, it was administered as a separate town, which had its origin in an ancient
Sadz village and a medieval
Genoese trading post. Among the natural wonders of the district is the Akhshtyr Gorge with a 160-meter-long cave that contains traces of human habitation. The upland part of the district includes a network of remote mountain villages (
auls), the
Estonian colony at
Estosadok, and the ski resort of
Krasnaya Polyana which hosted the events (Alpine and Nordic) of the
2014 Winter Olympics. Also located here is a
trout fishery and a breeding nursery for
great apes. ==Demographics==