Sukhumi Monkey Nursery: from space research to today's tours

When the conversation turns to animals in space, the first names that tend to surface are the dogs Belka and Strelka. Yet few realize how much monkeys contributed as well. Their training ground wasn’t just anywhere, but in Sukhumi—at a one-of-a-kind nursery that still operates today.

How it all began

In 1927, just outside Sukhumi, a special scientific center opened—the Sukhumi Monkey Nursery. The location was no accident: a mild climate and green hills made an ideal habitat for primates. At first, researchers focused on diseases to better understand how they affect humans.

Over time, the nursery gained a reputation far beyond Abkhazia. Important experiments were carried out to study how immunity works, how tumors develop, and how medicines act. Later, the team took on the challenge of preparing for spaceflight.

Monkey cosmonauts

As the Soviet space program gathered momentum, the Sukhumi center began training monkeys for flights. This wasn’t about spectacle—the animals were part of rigorous scientific experiments. Researchers aimed to learn how weightlessness influences health.

The first monkey trained in Sukhumi flew in 1983, aboard a special satellite that tracked the heart, brain, and other organs. The insights gleaned later helped make human missions safer.

What else the nursery did

The work in Sukhumi extended far beyond space. Researchers developed vaccines against dangerous illnesses, including polio and measles. The nursery became a crucial site for testing new medicines to ensure they genuinely worked.

In the Soviet years, the center housed up to a thousand monkeys at once. Scientists from various cities came for experience and collaborated with other major laboratories. The scale alone hints at how central the facility had become.

The nursery today

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the turbulent events in Abkhazia, activity declined sharply—but the nursery never closed. Today it is once again a working institution, continuing research on viruses and immunity. Visitors can also take guided tours and see the animals in person.

The nursery has become part of local tourist life: people come not only for science, but to meet the monkeys and hear the staff’s stories—an easy reminder that this place now bridges research and everyday curiosity.