During the Tsarist era, before the Revolution, Balaklava was not a district of Sevastopol, but only a small resort and fishing town 10 kilometers from the city. There lived and worked for a long time the great Russian writer Alexander Kuprin.
In Balaklava still stands his house and it is considered the home-museum of the great Russian writer Alexander Kuprin.
The local population, mostly the Greeks, to whom he devoted the story "Listrigons", loved the writer very much and he was very often drunk with the fishermen in the Balaklava cockroaches. One day, having gained a lot of local wine, Kuprin sent the tsarist minister Stolypin a telegram about the following content:
Balaklava is separated from the Russian Empire, becomes an independent republic, introduces its army and navy, as well as its money stamps and laws.
Signature: Free residents of Balaklava.
After reading the text of the telegram, Stolypin, knowing who is behind the signature "Free inhabitants of Balaklava", did not get offended and sent a telegram of the following content:
“Kuprin, when you drink – eat!
The signature is “Stolypin”.