Activists are concerned about the quality of sand on Anapa's beaches.

The beaches in Anapa are clean and safe, the city's mayor assured. The quality of the sand used to fill the beaches differs dramatically from the dune sand, which could ruin the city's reputation as a resort, activists believe.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," Anapa City Duma deputy Oleg Yantsen submitted a request about the quality of water and sand on the beaches, but was denied the data. The Krasnodar Krai Office of Rospotrebnadzor explained that information on this matter is provided only to the government commission. The Federal Office of Rospotrebnadzor called the regional office's response inappropriate, stating that there are no restrictions on publishing such data. However, official reports on the condition of the water and sand are not published.

Authorities assured of the safety of vacations in Anapa

19:24 16.05.2026

A change in wind allowed Anapa to avoid a second large-scale beach pollution incident.

The oil spill discovered in the Black Sea on April 11 was presumably the result of a drone attack on a tanker. It skirted the coastline near Anapa and only slightly affected the Russian coast.

Anapa Mayor Svetlana Maslova called the city safe for vacations. "I want to convey to everyone, not just the residents of Anapa whose jobs depend on it, but also potential visitors: today, vacationing in Anapa is safe. We've dealt with the main problem, and the beaches are clean. We're simply replacing the sand that was removed with the fuel oil. We'll maintain the beaches and provide all the infrastructure in the open beach areas: convenient walkways for people with disabilities, shelving, umbrellas, changing rooms, showers—everything that was there before. So, not only is it possible, but it's a must," Kommersant quotes her as saying.

The quality of the sand is calling the resort's reputation into question

Volunteers from the "SSL Volunteers" headquarters today published photos of Anapa beaches being replenished with new sand. The photo clearly shows the boundary between the old, light sand and the new imported sand.

"From a distance, it looks fine. From the offices, it's perfect. Especially if you squint. Just like they squinted when those same tons were being hauled away without supervision," volunteers write in the caption.

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"Our beaches are doomed. We'll have to move as far along the spit as possible or onto the rocks; everything else will turn into a swamp," writes Alexey Strekov.

"For a while, yes, we'll have to forget about them." "A long time," the volunteers responded.

Anapa City Council deputy and coordinator of "Anapa Civil" Oleg Yantsen expressed outrage at the quality of sand being delivered to the beaches. He said sand of this quality needs to be sifted. "It's no longer possible to demand this, because there's no time " "There simply isn't," he noted.

The deputy emphasized that the season needs to be opened to some extent because the economic situation in the city, which is oriented toward tourists, is dire after last year's disastrous season. However, he said that sand imported to the shore could undermine the resort's reputation, according to a video published on his Telegram channel.

The goal of opening the beaches will be fulfilled, despite the harm to nature, users believe. Quarry sand will not solve the problem of fuel oil emissions, but will only temporarily conceal the pollution on Anapa's beaches, environmentalists and activists pointed out.

Materials on the consequences of fuel oil spills in the Kerch Strait and Tuapse have been collected by the "Caucasian Knot" on the page "" href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/category/ecological_disaster_Kuban">Eco-disaster in Kuban. Data on the scale of coastal pollution was collected by the "Caucasian Knot" in the reference material "Fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait".