European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 27, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Russia \ old fashioned health Spost to Hope Voth by Alessandra Stanley the new York times on a tiny table not far from the Whirlpool Baths lies a Glass Pitcher of sepia coloured liquid labelled concoction no. 3. Above it a Chart indicates that concoction no 3 helps fight neurotic obsession every afternoon patients have a Glass of their prescribed herbal potion. Then depending of their ailment they undergo Massage electrotherapy hydrotherapy electronic joint Massage eucalyptus inhalation Sauna hot paraffin wraps and acupuncture and listen to relaxation tapes. Six o clock is Happy hour when All patients whether suffering from hypertension rheumatism or varicose veins gather in the solarium to sip oxygen cocktails a Foamy mixture of herbal Tea egg Whites syrup and pumped in oxygen. It is not a new age spa in California but the metallurgy sanitarium prophylaxis Center a sprawling rest and preventive Medicine Center just outside Moscow for the 7,000 workers of the Hammer and sickle factory a Large state owned steel factory in  Russia. Nothing has changed much at the sanitarium since it was opened in 1946. The battered aging equipment which includes ultraviolet lamps inhalation Cones a Low pressure chamber and a Quartz Ray machine has an old fashioned futuristic look like Flash Gordon. Among the Flower Beds a Copper statue of Lenin Points accusingly at the future. The ideological system that spawned hundreds of similar workers health spas throughout the country has collapsed. And so has the Economy that could afford free 24-Day spa vacations for factory workers. But even those state owned enterprises that Are slouching toward bankruptcy Are reluctant to close Down places that have become an inalienable right in Russia like other such centers the metallurgy seven Miles beyond Moscow s City limits is reluctantly adapting itself to a Market Economy by taking in some paying customers. At heart it is a quintessential soviet institution clinging to the past. " v. / /.  Gregori Derilo 51, the chief doctor defiantly keeps a framed photograph of Lenin across from his desk and says he does not Welcome opening his Sanctuary to some tourists and business travellers. ,., times Are Tough Derilo said with a shrug. We Are Only on the Brink of  wearily he added i m. Afraid i m going to have to make it More of a commercial Structure open it even to mafia  these sorts of workers health centers were first proposed in 1902 by a russian doctor . Likman and adopted in the 1.920s by the bolsheviks As a Centrepiece of the workers Paradise. The average stay is 24 Days. Depending on their illnesses workers Are taken by bus to prophylaxis centers after work where they spend the night and then Are sent Back to work a Way of dispensing treatment without losing productivity. Sicker workers Check into similar places called sanitarium for round the clock rest and treatment there were once 350 sanitarium and prophylaxis centers in the Moscow Region but now there Are Only 100. The metallurgy Center which has 200 Beds operates As both. V. A  factory workers pay Only $10 ,ai4-Day stay with the factory Trade unions and the government picking up the rest. Outsiders pay $ 200. But Derilo has neither Trie resources nor the inclination to pamper More Well to do clients. The grounds Are vast and Well tended but carpets Are worn Beds Are narrow linoleum is scuffed tiles Are broken pipes Are Rusty and the Kitchen serves russian soups not spa cuisine. When a group of German businessmen recently stayed at the Center for a combined working vacation and fishing trip Derilo said they brought their own Cook orchestra and drinking water. Russian customers make do with radio music piped in Over the Loudspeaker or on weekends Waltzes and polkas performed by a visiting three Mah military band. Most View the Center which has Orchards vegetable gardens a Small Lake and a Forest not just As a health clinic but also As an All expenses paid vacation. Some people Are afraid we could lose Al this said Nina Rybin a 56, who in track suit and sneakers was. Coming in from a brisk walk in the Woods with two friends but they can t take1 it away it s a -"necessity.-". Tybinka has worked As a Quality control inspector for 39 years gets paid $200 a month and takes the cure v twice a year to treat her aching joints. She said she enjoyed the Massage the clean air and the food. I Lerv Only complaint is that there Are not enough male patients to go around at the saturday night dances. The metallurgy Center has not yet become infected with the abstemious spirit that rules. American health spas. Above the gymnasium there is a billiard room a disco and a bar with a professional bartender on duty every night after 6 . Smoking is frowned on but not much some treatments which include leeches cupping and homeopathic remedies Are alarmingly old tangled. And though russian doctors insist that sanitarium stays Are Good for virtually All ailments prevent illness and save lives it is hard to make a Strong Case in a country a there the average life expectancy for men recently dropped to 60. But = russian customers say they could t do without them. The centers like factory sports Arenas Day care centers Seaside vacation resorts subsidized housing and a professional soccer team Are the social safety net that failing industries still provide and that the government cannot afford to duplicate / Trade unions and government social services used to share Theca Styf such places. Because Trade unions Are increasingly unable to come up with their shares the / management of companies like Hammer and sickle tries to make up the difference the factory director Nikolai Isvekov said it Cost the factory nearly a $1 million to operate the Center last year. Anything could happen Isvekov said but i just can t imagine Ever closing it  / mexican re8tauramte at All of our locations on halloween monday october 31 St any adult that dines with us in costume will receive a Margarita or Nada drink free. Kids that Dine with us in costume will receive any meal off the kiddie menu free / at our Mainz location costume Karaoke party is from 2000 p2300 hours. Best costume contest judging to be held at 2100 hours for 1st, 2nd & 3rd " prizes. / /. -.  our Kaiserslautern location costume party to be held in Cantina from \\700 to 2200. Variety music to be provided by do. Best costume contest judging to be \ held at 2000 hours for 1 St 2nd & 3rd  Trasie Frankfurt main shopping Complex 069 567578 Saratoga Strasse Grafe Wohr 09641 836290 Cardwell Kaseane Chemnitzer Strasse Hanau 1 06181 160646 Kauer Slauter 0631 44818 Martin Luther King Village maim 06131 384667 Richard Wagner Strasse Schweinfurt 09721 84827 Friedrich elder Strasse Tompkins Barracks sch Etingen 0620223467 october 27, 1994 stripes Magazine