Posted on October 27, 2026
Imported sand made it possible to hold the 2026 resort season, but the first storm washed a significant portion of it into the sea, the ecologist noted, expressing hope that all the imported sand will be washed away over time. Social media users suggested that authorities may refill the beaches on the coast before the new season.
As reported by the ” Caucasian Knot ,” on September 11, activists proposed plowing the beaches before winter , or, better yet, replacing the sand with something more suitable for the coast. A tourist and a local blogger complained that the sand brought to Anapa’s beaches after the fuel oil spill had turned into a dense clay mass. Environmentalists pointed out that the new sand is not comparable to the old Anapa sand, that pollution remains on the coast, and that cleanup of the fuel oil spill will take several more years. The sand on Anapa’s city beaches has been washed away and partially carried out to sea; restoration will require re-importing the sand.
The sand imported to Anapa’s beaches differs significantly from the local sand, at least in its tactile properties, hardness, and density, noted ecologist Roman Pukalov, director of environmental programs for the Green Patrol organization.
“They’re nowhere near as soft as the famous golden sands of Anapa. They also got dirty due to clay inclusions, and in rainy weather, when the clay became soggy, we often had to wash our shoes after returning from the beach. However, the imported sand served a significant positive purpose – it served and fulfilled the goal of ensuring a smooth 2026 resort season,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The season has passed, although not as active as in 2024, but it still brought profits to local tourism workers and allowed people to relax without getting dirty in fuel oil. “There was fuel oil on the coast. I was personally present on the beaches of Anapa in April 2026 and saw traces of those historic fuel oil emissions dating back to December 2024 before the sand was dumped. The imported sand covered them, so its importation truly played a positive role. Furthermore, according to unofficial information, which I believe will be revealed later, the cost of importing this sand was several times less than the profits generated during the resort season, so it was economically justified,” he believes.
According to him, the very first storm that passed, a fairly average one, with waves of about three meters, already washed away a significant portion of this sand.
Pukalov cited Vyacheslav Krylenko, a senior researcher at the P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology’s ecology laboratory, who surveyed Anapa’s beaches before and during the storm.
“In various parts of the Anapa resort town’s coastline, the storm washed away between 5% of the sand on the wide beaches of Vityazevo and up to 50% on some narrow beaches of Dzhemete. However, the imported sand is relatively clean; it’s a natural material, and it will continue to play its role, creating underwater ridges that will prevent coastal erosion,” he noted.
In his comments, Pukalov noted that after the 5-50% of sand was washed away from various beaches, there was no turbidity in the coastal zone in the satellite image.
“I repeat, there’s no doubt that this will wash away, dry out, tighten, and settle in a few years. Just one storm showed the results,” Zhanna Rybak noted in the comments .
“The beaches are in terrible condition, and even the sea can’t fix it in one storm season. But wait, they might come up with a way to add some of what washed away next summer,” Olga Kotiskas wrote in the comments to the same post on Yuri Ozarovsky’s Telegram channel .
“The wind scatters small particles, and this clay material is compacted into stone. That’s why it’s harrowed,” user AnapaKiteTeam noted.
