Solovetsky Islands

The first human footprints

The first sites of primitive man with traces of stone tools on the Solovetsky Archipelago date from the middle of the VI millennium BC. e. ^[2] . However, the dating is doubtful, since the detected organics (charcoal) can date only the time of a forest fire, but not the parking itself ^[3] . Radiocarbon analysis of coal from the outbreak at the Muksalma-3 site ( Bolshaya Muksalma Island) gave a date of 6785 ± 80 years to date ^[4] . Ceramics from the Muksalma-6 site dates from the radiocarbon method age 5900 years ago, similar ceramics were found at the Anzerskaya-8 site ^[5] .

To II and I millennium BC. e. include Neolithic artifacts (Muksalma-1, Kolguevskaya-1 and Kaporskaya sites) represented by a drilled stone ax and ceramic objects of a mesh and pit-comb pattern , associated with the shores of the Northern Dvina. One of the monuments of the ancient man's stay on Solovki (Big Zayatsky Island) is stone spiral labyrinths ^{[6] with a} diameter of up to 25 meters.

There is evidence of the stay of the Sami and Karelians (for example, a silver brooch of the XII century) on the island of Anzer in the medieval (monastic) period ^[7] . Toponyms of the area speak of their presence, for example, the toponym Solovets from the Sami suolenč and the Karelian name of the Muksalm islands. ^[eight]

In the XII and XIII centuries , Russian colonists came to the archipelago for the first time, and in the XV century, Solovki became part of the fishing grounds of the representative of the Korelian clan Khovra Toivutova.

XV century

In 1429, the monk Savvaty came to Solovki, who met the Monk Herman here . The date of foundation of the monastic settlement is considered to be 1436 - the time of the appearance of Rev. Zosima on Solovki. In the 1460s, three wooden churches (Preobrazhenskaya, Nikolskaya and Uspenskaya) were built on the islands, as well as a refectory . A letter of merit was received from Mr. Veliky Novgorod , which was confirmed in 1479 by Ivan III .

16th Century

In 1534 - 1548, St. Philip (in the world Fyodor Kolychev), the future abbot of the monastery, who did a lot for the economic development of the monastery, as well as for recognizing the authority of the Solovetsky monastery, was accepted into the brotherhood. In the first half of the XVI century. the monastery received several letters of appreciation from Ivan IV . These documents contained numerous benefits and awards for the monastery. In the middle of the XVI century. Under the leadership of Fedor Kolychev, stone construction is rapidly developing in the monastery. In 1582, the construction of a stone wall on the Big Solovetsky Island began. The Solovetsky Monastery as a place for exile was first used in 1554 ( Abbot Artemy , former abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery was exiled here), and the first prison was built in 1579 .

XVII century

In the XVII century, the Solovetsky monastery participated in hostilities, and was also used as a place of exile for prisoners, mainly for political reasons. On August 5, 1621, a letter of acknowledgment from Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich came to the Solovetsky Monastery, which stated that since Solovki is “a Ukrainian place” (the outskirts), the monastery needs to be strengthened, stone dwellings for service people should be built, and there was a “moat near the Solovetsky town, which with stone ... dig it up, and stone with stone and beat the garlic ” ^{[9] [10]} .

In 1637, by order of Mikhail Fedorovich, the voivode was recalled from Solovki, and his functions were transferred to the abbot of the monastery. Thus, the abbot of the monastery led the defense of the Western White Sea.

In 1668, streltsy archers were sent to Solovki, who were called to expel from the monastery monks who refused to recognize the reforms of Patriarch Nikon ; supporters of "peaceful standing for faith" were expelled from the monastery in 1669. In 1675, the archers carried out a failed assault, but on January 22, 1676 the Solovetsky Monastery was taken, and its leaders were executed. This event was called the “ Solovetsky Uprising ”.

18th century

In the XVIII century the monastery was repeatedly visited by Peter I , including with a squadron of newly built ships. Concerning the monastery, a number of secularization measures were carried out. At the end of the 18th century, the first printed work on the history of the Solovetsky Monastery, the Chronicler of Solovetsky, was published.

XIX century

In 1814, the monastery loses its military functions, the so-called "disarmament of the Solovki" takes place. In 1854, the Solovetsky Monastery was shelled from the British ships Brisk and Miranda . Since 1861, regular ship traffic was established from Arkhangelsk to Solovki. In 1873, the first edition of the Solovetsky Paterik took place. In 1898, the Solovetsky Biostation was opened. In 1899, The History of the Stavropegic Solovetsky Monastery was published, the most complete work on the history of the monastery.

XX century

In 1918, detachments of the Red Guards first appeared on Solovki, a part of the monastery’s food supplies were confiscated. In 1920, the commission of M. S. Kedrov arrived at Solovki, the Solovetsky Monastery was liquidated and its leadership was exiled. Archimandrite Veniamin (Kononov) , the last rector of the Solovetsky monastery, and his cellman hieromonk Nikifor (Kuchin) were killed (burned alive) in a forest hut near the Lodma River in the Volkooozer area on Easter 1928. On January 15, 2004, in Severodvinsk, a wooden Church was consecrated in honor of the venerable martyrs Benjamin and Nicephorus .

On the site of the monastery, the Solovki state farm and a forced labor camp were organized. Since 1923, Solovki was one of the first concentration camps for opponents of the Soviet regime - the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp . In 1937 he was reorganized into a prison. In 1939, the Solovki prison was liquidated, the archipelago was transferred to the Northern Fleet , and the Northern Fleet training squad was organized on the islands.

September 23, 1930 the Solovetsky Islands became part of the Kemsky region of the Autonomous Karelian SSR ^[11] .

On October 20, 1930, the Solovetsky Islands were withdrawn from the Autonomous Karelian SSR and included in the Northern Territory ^[12] .

In the years 1942-1945, the Jung school functioned on the islands.

On February 12, 1944, the Solovetsky Island Council was organized, similar "island councils" were created during the Great Patriotic War on Kolguyev Island and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago ^[13] .

In 1948, the island Council of Workers' Deputies came up with an initiative to give Solovki the status of a city with the name “Solovetsk city,” however, this initiative did not find support ^[14] .

In 1967, a branch of the Arkhangelsk Regional Museum of Local Lore was created on Solovki. Seven years later, it was transformed into the Solovetsky State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve ^[15] .

In 1971, the Solovetsky Island Council was renamed the Village Council.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of March 23, 1987, the 20th district of the Arkhangelsk Region — the Solovetsky ^[16] - was formed on the territory of the Solovetsky Islands. A district council was created on Solovki, and the settlement of the archipelago received the official name "Solovetsky village."

In 1990, religious activity in the Solovetsky Islands was resumed.

In 1992, UNESCO included the Solovetsky Historical and Cultural Complex on the World Heritage List . In 1995, the complex fell into the State Code of Especially Valuable Objects of Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation .

January 1, 2006 the area was abolished, the Solovetsky Islands became part of the Primorsky municipal district of the Arkhangelsk region ^[17] .

Geographical position

The Solovetsky Islands are located in the shallowest western half of the White Sea, at the entrance to the Onega Bay, forming the western (Western Solovetsky Salma) and eastern (Eastern Solovetsky Salma) passages into it. The flow in the Solovetsky Islands region depends on the sewage flow of the Onega River and Onega Bay , flowing from the Onega estuary to the north, along the Summer Coast, then the envelope of the Solovetsky Islands with an eastward rotation around the northwestern part of the Summer Coast.

The archipelago is separated from the Summer coast of the White Sea by the East Solovetskaya Salma Strait (about 40 km), from the Karelian Coast by the West Solovetskaya Salma Strait (about 60 km). Islands are 165 km far from the Arctic Circle . UTC + 3 islands time zone (Moscow time).

Relief

The Solovki relief is formed by glacial deposits and later processes ( weathering , erosion ). Because of the latter, there is a lot of sand on the islands. The highest altitudes are 86 m (Mount Verbokolskaya on Anzer Island), as well as Mount Sekirnaya (73 m) and Mount Celestial (80.3 m) on the Big Solovetsky Island. The scientist A.A. Foreigners , who spent at the end of the XIX century. geological studies, argued that the Sekirnaya Gora and Golgotha ​​are formed by glacial sediments.

The relief of the islands is uneven, hilly, and in the southern and western parts the surface is mountainous. On the Big Solovetsky Island, three main relief zones are distinguished: the central part of the island with a hilly elevated landscape and a developed network of lakes; the southern part, which is a hollow surrounded by hills, filled with peat bogs and lakes, and the coastal area.

In addition to Sekirnaya Mountain, on the Big Solovetsky Island there are several more small, 25-60 meters high, hills and ridges. They stretch in ridges of low hills with gentle edges. Most of them are located in the central part of the island: to the east of the Kremlin go down the Bread Mountains, to the north-west of the monastery are the Valdai Mountains, to the north of them, in the area of ​​Red Lake, is the chain of Setny, Gremyachy and Wolf Mountains. In the southeast corner of Muksalma Island is Mount Tabor.

The direction of all the hills and lake basins of the Big Solovetsky Island will exactly coincide with the direction of movement of the glacier ^[18] . The glacier moved from the north-north-west to the south-south-east, leaving behind itself the longitudinal ridges of boulders and boulder gravel and laying the long axes of most lakes in the northern part of the island going in the same direction. Later, the glacier changed its direction somewhat, which in the central part of the island almost coincided with the meridional one, and in the southern part it again shifted somewhat to the line from the north-north-east to the south-south-west.

Hydrology

The average tide is 0.6 m, the syzygy (maximum) tide is 0.8 m. The tide is semi-diurnal in nature. ^{[19] The} salinity of the water off the coast of the Solovetsky Islands is significant, but it is subject to fluctuations depending on changes in various indicators.

The island Solovetsky bottom relief is uneven. The coast of the island is bordered by a shallow with depths less than 5 m, the coastal part of which is drying up in some places. The widest sandbank reaches the eastern coast of the island.

On Solovki there are no rivers, springs - by and large (in the coastal strip), and almost no streams. But there is a lot of fresh water on the island, and in the immediate vicinity of the sea. Lakes Solovki mainly (except for several relict lakes, which are former sea lagoons) are of glacial origin. There are more than 300 of them on the island (or 400, if you count small ones). However, regarding the total area of ​​lakes on the island, there are different interpretations: 2720, 2593, 2600, 2763, 2753 hectares. The shores of most lakes are steep and forested. The Solovetsky Islands are fed by groundwater and, to a lesser extent, by atmospheric. The flora of the lakes is quite rich: 19 species of aquatic and 22 species of coastal flora have been established by special studies.

A large share in the fishing industry (up to 80% of the catch) is herring . The development of herring in the White Sea dates back to the beginning of the XIV century, to the time of the emergence of the Solovetsky Monastery. Among the herring that lives off the coast of the Solovetsky archipelago, small and large herrings are distinguished. The White Sea herring reaches a length of 22 cm (small) and 32–34 cm (large). Spawning occurs in late April - early May in Kandalaksha Bay and in May - early June in Onega and Dvina Gulfs . Herring lays caviar in the coastal strip from the tide line to a depth of 5 m. The nine-spined stickleback eats caviar .

Climate

A generalization of the results of long-term regime observations of the Solovka meteorological station for the dynamics of air temperature, soil surface and precipitation showed a similar trend in air temperature on the islands with the continental regions of Northern Europe ^[20] . The climate of the Solovetsky marine archipelago, with the transition to the continental one, is warmer in average annual characteristics than on the mainland. However, bioindication and analysis of the rate of soil formation show that it is unfavorable for the biotic component of landscapes ^[21] . Currently, there is a progressive warming of the climate of the islands, which already has a noticeable effect on the biota ^[20] .

According to the results of the original measurements, the diurnal variation of air temperatures and underlying rocks of landscapes in different parts of the Bolshoi Solovetsky Island was shown, as well as temperature changes during the summer season ^[20] . The contrast of mid-summer temperatures between the warmest and coldest areas is on average 20-25% (up to a maximum of 50%).

Solovetsky Islands belong to the regions of the Far North .

The climate on the islands is moderate. ^[22] It is determined by the location of the archipelago in the polar latitudes and the circumference of the sea. In June, daylight hours reach 21.5 hours, in December - about 4 hours.

In the area of ​​the archipelago, the influence of cyclones is felt; summer is characterized by frequent invasions of arctic air masses that carry sunny but cold weather. Thanks to the softening influence of the White Sea, Solovki are in relatively favorable temperature conditions: Solovki has mild winters and cool summers. The absolute minimum temperature was recorded in 1893 , it amounted to −36.5 ° C, and the absolute maximum was noted in 1972 , it amounted to + 31.2 ° C.

The average annual wind speed is 6.8 m / s. From March to August, cold northeasterly winds prevail on the archipelago, from September to February - southwest. There are no east winds on Solovki. The wind is felt on the shore, and the middle of the island is covered by forest, and the winds are not felt there. Pavel Florensky , November 22, 1936, writes in a letter about the Solovetsky winds:

However, there is such an unacceptably warm climate here that you can walk without a warm one: in the yard the temperature is only slightly below zero and sometimes almost at zero. It also happens coldly, but not from the frost, but from the wind; especially when there were more winds and they were stronger, in my opinion it was much colder than now. ^[23]

The average annual relative humidity is 82%, annually there are an average of 37 foggy days. Statistically the most rainy are August - October (on average 5 days a month with heavy or prolonged rains), the least rainy are May - June (2-3 days).

Due to the slow warming and cooling of the sea, seasonal changes on the archipelago occur later than on the mainland. The average delay of the seasons is two to three weeks. In winter, the sea forms a four- or five-kilometer line of fast ice . On March 30, 2002, the satellite once detected the presence of a continuous ice cover that connected the mainland to the islands.

The water temperature of the White Sea near the coast in summer can reach 18–20 ° C. Summer water temperature in the southern part of the White Sea is higher than in its northern part; in mid-autumn, the water temperature in both parts of the sea is the same. In the second half of June, the temperature of sea water at a depth of 8.4 m lies between +3.4 and + 4.75 °, in mid-August - 8.4–8.9 °, and in the last decade of August, the temperature of sea water at the surface of the sea (and along its shores) is 8 °.

Flora

Flora of vascular plants of the Solovetsky Islands has 548 species ^[24] . The native fraction of the flora has 379 species (69%). The 10 leading families account for a total of 212 species (55.9% of the flora) ^[24] . The largest in terms of the number of native species is the sedge family (Cyperaceae) (43 species, 11.3%), followed by cereals (Gramineae) (38 species, 10.0,%), Compositae (32 species, 8.4%) , Rosaceae (Rosaceae) (19 species, 5.0%), rhinoaceae (Scrophulariaceae) (17 species, 4.5%), Ranunculaceae (16 species, 4.2%), Clove (Caryophyllaceae) (14 species, 3.7%), legumes (Papilionaceae) (12 species, 3.2%) and orchid (Orchidaceae) (11 species, 2.9%). 10 species (2.6.%) Are accounted for by calyx (Juncaceae), willow (Salicaeae) and buckwheat (Polygonaceae). One of the specific features of the Solovetsky flora of vascular plants is the absence of a number of species that are characteristic of the continental northern taiga of both the Russian Plain and often East Fennoscandia, and often occupying a dominant position in phytocenoses here ^[20] . We are talking about plant species belonging to the group of Euro-Siberian tame-mountain-meadow tall grasses, including: elimus (Elimus caninus, E. fibrosus, E. mutabilis), Siberian mossettle (Trisetum sibiricum), red-fronted Voronet (Actaea erythrocarpa), aconite northern (Aconitum septentrionale), prince of Siberia (Atragene sibirica), spear-shaped kaliya (Cacalia hastata), Siberian lettuce (Lactuca sibirica), baptismal oak cross (Senecio nemorensis), garden calf (Cirsium oleraceum) and others.

Most of the islands are covered with pine-spruce forests, partially boggy. The zonal biocenoses for the Solovetsky Islands are pre-tundra forests and forest-tundra crooked forests, since the Middle July isotherm 12 ° C passes here, marking the border between northern taiga and forest-tundra in northern Europe ^[24] . The formation of extrazonal tundra on the islands is associated with the cooling effect of the sea and the predominance of cold northeasterly winds during the growing season. The tundra of the Solovetsky Islands is often called the pseudotundra due to the lack of permafrost.

In the coastal strip there are rich plantations of algae , among them kelp , fucus , anfelcia , which are of industrial importance.

Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden on the Big Solovetsky Island was founded in 1822 by archimandrite Makariy and was originally called the Makaryevsky Desert (in the days of the Bolshevik concentration camps, the Gorka farm was called). The Botanical Garden is located in a hilly area, between the lakes Nizhny Perth and Deserted. The area occupied by the garden is 5 hectares. The first plantings on the territory of the Solovetsky Botanical Garden were not preserved. Now on the territory of the botanical garden grow plants planted by monks (in 1870 - 1920 ), planting prisoners of the Solovetsky special purpose camp ( 1927 - 1936 ). The Botanical Garden is managed by the museum and is constantly maintained. Remained the old planting of frankincense along the central road. More than thirty species of woody plants grow on the territory of the garden, about 500 species and varieties of ornamental, medicinal, food and fodder plants.

Now the oldest in age are the Siberian cedars and apple trees of Pallas, which are more than a hundred years old. In addition to them, on the territory of the Solovetsky Botanical Garden there are small-leaved linden , Pencilville cherry , Daurian tea , wrinkled roses and many other plants that are not climatically characteristic of the northern latitudes. Near the garden there was a distillery, through the pipes of which heat was supplied to the greenhouses ( watermelons , melons , peaches grew in them). A greenhouse with flowers was also heated.

Fauna

The fauna on the islands is not very diverse, but very numerous. Squirrels , hares , foxes , and reindeer are found here . The lakes are home to perch , roach , pike , burbot . Seal , beluga whale , sea ​​hare , harp seal , herring live in the sea. In the lakes of the islands 20 species of freshwater mollusks live ^{[25] [26] [27]} . Among insects of the Solovetsky Islands, only some taxonomic groups have been studied in detail so far. The fauna of butterflies on the archipelago is known to be 34 species ^{[20] [28] [29]} , bumblebees - 13 species ^{[30] [22]} , ground beetle beetles - 68 species ^[18] , leaf beetle beetles - 30 species ^{[31 ]} , female flies - 17 species ^[32] .

At different times, more than 190 species of birds were observed on Solovki, not all of them nest on the islands. On the Solovetsky Islands, ornithologists found the nests of the following birds: gull , sandpiper , Atlantic scrub , eider , merganser , tern , mallard , loon , turukhtan , ptarmigan , gogol , blackbird , bison , titmouse , woodpecker , oatmeal , capercaillie , grouse , hazel grouse hawk owl . [[File: Belugawhale MMC.jpg | Lives on the shores of the Solovetsky Islands [[ beluga whale | mini]]

Near the Solovetsky archipelago, the White Sea beluga (D. l. Maris-albi Ostroumov, 1935) lives - the smallest beluga whale living in Russia, its body length is 312 cm.In addition to the White Sea, this species of beluga whales is found only in the Barents Sea . The Solovetsky herd numbers about 80 individuals and lives mainly on the western shores of the Bolshoi Solovetsky Island - in the vicinity of Cape Beluga. In 2001, in order to protect this species, the “Decree introducing a ban on the navigation of ships of any class in the area of ​​Cape Beluzhiy and restricting visits to its coastal zone” was issued ^[33] .

Solovetsky gulls are one of the symbols of Solovki. It is known that the White Sea gull was embroidered on the curtain of the camp theater that opened on September 23, 1923 . Her image was not preserved. The emblem of the camp magazine "Solovetsky Islands" in the 1930s was the image of the White Sea large-billed gull flying over the sea against the background of three coastal stones ^[34] . M. Bogoslovsky in 1898 wrote ^[35] about the Solovetsky gulls:

In the last days of March, these seagulls are the first messengers in the cloister of approaching spring: one or two birds, having returned from the winter hut, fly around the whole monastery with a loud cry and leave. The next day there are more of them, on the third even more and, finally, in a large number, in April they are here for the whole summer, driving the ravens into the woods.

Island effects and migration processes

The species composition of many taxonomic groups of fauna (mammals, amphibians, reptiles, freshwater fish and mollusks, Lepidoptera lepidoptera, bumblebees, ground beetles) on the Solovetsky Archipelago is significantly depleted in comparison with the mainland ^{[30] [28] [36] [37] [38 ]} . By the example of bumblebees, the effect of “density compensation” was studied and ideas about a dynamic compensation system were developed, when in different years, one or the other species alternately take leading positions in the composition of bumblebee bumblebees, and the total density of individuals of these pollinators in island ecosystems remains at a similar level ^[39] . The functioning of the compensation system is regulated by both abiotic (weather-climatic) and biotic (competition for trophic resources) factors. The stability of the system is due to the presence of reserve compensatory species, which are capable of a rapid increase in numbers against the background of a depression in the abundance of other species when environmental conditions change. On the Solovetsky Islands, the considered compensation mechanism ensures stable pollination of entomophilous plants under weather and climatic fluctuations. So, on the vast meadow lands of the Solovetsky Monastery, created back in the 19th century. on reclaimed lands, in the composition of the grass stand, to date, significant participation of leguminous plants (Trifolium, Vicia, Lathyrus) has remained, despite the absence of overseeding for many decades.

According to the results of many years of research (2001–2010), the fauna of the club-headed Lepidoptera Solovetsky Islands turned out to be very dynamic ^[29] . This dynamics is based on the modern exchange of species in the continent - island system, which is carried out continuously and intensively. Isolation of islands within 25 km is not a significant barrier to the settlement of Lepidoptera. Almost half of the species found on the islands are only temporary invaders, forming settlements for 1–5 seasons. New species entering the Solovetsky Islands usually coincide with a sharp increase in their numbers in northern Europe or with periods of mass migration from the south. The median estimate of the intensity of the current flow of migrants is two species per year. The probability of the formation of a stable population by a new invader on the islands in modern conditions tends to zero. Moreover, more than half of the 18 settled species most likely settled on the territory of B. Solovetsky Island at about the same time in the Late Glacial or Early Holocene, even before the archipelago was isolated from the mainland ^[28] .

Festivals

Since 2005, an annual song festival "On the Solovetsky Islands" takes place annually in the summer. The organizers are the St. Petersburg song club "Vostok" , the Solovetsky Museum-Reserve and the administration of the MO "Rural Settlement Solovetskoye".

In the village of Solovetsky there is a hospital, which is located in a dilapidated stone building near the monastery. There was a project proposing to build a two-story hospital for 100 beds, but the project was never implemented. The hospital building has a pharmacy .

There is a secondary school in the village of Solovetsky. Also on the territory of the Solovetsky archipelago the educational center "Solovetsky Islands" is organized, which consists of a summer university, a summer cultural and environmental school, a summer school of crafts, a volunteer agency, and an open-air center.

The first scientific expedition to work in the area of ​​the Solovetsky Islands was the so-called White Sea expedition of 1876 , organized by the Society of Naturalists of St. Petersburg University and headed by Professor N. P. Wagner ^[40] . A similar expedition was arranged in 1877 .

In 1880, a biological station was located on the Big Solovetsky Island, which, in addition to studying the biology of the Solovetsky Archipelago, was also engaged in fish farming. Over the 17 years of the biological station's existence, marine invertebrates have been studied, including 15 arctic jellyfish species that live in the Solovetsky waters. D. D. Pedashenko summarized material on the White Sea fauna in the area of ​​the Solovetsky Islands (685 species are described). A. Linko studied freshwater fauna in 23 internal Solovetsky lakes. Rich scientific collections were collected, some of which are still preserved and exhibited in existing museums and herbariums of the country.

All hotels and rooms in the private sector are located in the village of Solovetsky. Tents on the territory of the archipelago can only be set up after agreement with the local authorities in a specially equipped tent camp. In addition to the tent camp, there are several hotels.

The connection between the Solovetsky Islands and the mainland is through air traffic, as well as by sea.

Airport

The Solovki Civil Airport (SOLOVKI) is located on the Big Solovetsky Island, which receives fourth-class aircraft (aircraft up to 10 tons, for example, An-2 , An-3T , An-28 , An-38 , An-24 , L-410 , M-101T ), as well as all types of helicopters . The control point of the aerodrome (CTA) - N6502 E03542. The runway has a coating of metal plates, its length after reconstruction, completed in 2004, is 1,500 meters.

Regular flights to the Solovetsky Islands are carried out from Arkhangelsk (from the Vaskovo airport - on the L-410 plane, and from the Talagi airport - on the An-24 plane), from Moscow (from the Sheremetyevo-1 airport with a transfer to another plane in Arkhangelsk) and from Petrozavodsk .

Communication via local airlines is dependent on weather conditions. Strong winds, low cloud cover and visibility, and some other weather events can cut off islands from the mainland (at least by air) for an indefinite period.

Water

Regular water communication between the Solovetsky Islands and the mainland is carried out through the village of Rabocheostrovsk (actually the port of Kemi ), as well as through Belomorsk .

As of 2019, small boats belonging to the Solovetsky Monastery, the Solovetsky Museum and private individuals, as well as the ships Vasily Kosyakov and Metel-4, which make regular flights to Solovki from Rabocheostrovsk, run between Kemyu and Solovki. The motor ship Sapphire runs from Belomorsk.

Water vessels moor to the Solovetsky shores in the Bay of Well-Being, on the Kheta pier, as well as on the Tamarin pier. The coasts of the islands are strongly indented, at the bottom there are a large number of stones, protruding and not protruding above the surface of the water, this makes navigation along the coast difficult.

Roads

About a titanic work done by the monks in antiquity, says man-made dam leading to the island of Muksalma, about 1 km long.

There are no paved roads on Solovki. The main transport is buses belonging to different owners, as well as trucks of different capacities. Private individuals, for the most part, use cross-country vehicles. Locals and tourists are actively using a bicycle. On Anzere, it is the most common mode of transport, there are also horse-drawn carts and 1 tractor.

Currently, all electricity on Solovki is generated by a diesel power station, which negatively affects the preservation of natural and cultural objects. The development of the project “Environmentally friendly energy supply in Solovki” is underway ^[41] . This project is carried out by the Norwegian company Troms Craft (according to the “Agreement on Cooperation between the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region and the Troms Province ”). The project implies that the main source of energy at Solovki should be a powerful wind farm (with a capacity of 5 MW), however, today it is not possible to completely abandon diesel fuel . Russian specialists ^{[ who? ]} believe that such an idea cannot be realized due to insufficient wind speed on the Solovetsky Islands.

Since December 14, 1992, the Solovetsky historical and cultural complex has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List ^[42] under number 632 according to criterion IV (“The object is an outstanding example of a structure, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape that illustrate a significant period of human history”).

.

According to the life, during the time of Metropolitan Photius Savvaty already worked in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery . Having learned that there is a monastery on the island of Valaam , where the monks lead a more strict life, Savvaty moved there. Surprising the fraternity with his patience and humility, he looked for a place for perfect solitude and silent prayer. Savvaty learned that two days sailing from the coast in the White Sea there is a large island, uninhabited by anyone, and left Valaam Monastery.

First, he settled at the chapel on the Vyg River , where he met the monk German , who lived alone in the forest. German agreed to accompany Savvatiy to the island and stay with him there. Both elders in 1429 arrived safely on the island and, not reaching 13 km to the place of the modern monastery, they erected a cross near the lake and put a cell. Gradually, after the death of Savvaty , other hermits settled on the island and a monastery arose, called the Solovetsky.

The Solovetsky Monastery is located on the isthmus between the Holy Lake and the Well-Being Bay on the Big Solovetsky Island. The date of foundation of the monastery is considered to be 1436 - the time of the appearance of the Monk Zosima on Solovki. Before the modern stone monastery was built, there were wooden buildings of the 15th - early 16th centuries. The architectural ensemble of the monastery includes: the Solovetsky Transfiguration Cathedral, the Annunciation Gate Church, the monastery fortress, the construction of the monastery village and hermitages, a unique system of hydraulic structures and some other buildings.

The territory of the monastery is surrounded by massive walls (height - from 8 to 11 meters, thickness - from 4 to 6 meters) with 7 gates and 8 towers built in 1584 - 1594 under the leadership of the architect Tryphon. The walls are built of huge stones up to 5 meters in size. On the territory of the monastery are religious buildings connected by covered walkways, surrounded by residential and utility rooms.

The monastery was forcibly closed by the Soviet government in 1920 , and the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp was located in its buildings.

But on October 25, 1990, part of the monastery buildings was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1992, the Solovetsky historical and cultural complex was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List , and in 1995 - in the State Code of Especially Valuable Cultural Heritage Sites of the Peoples of the Russian Federation .

The ancient archaeological heritage of the island is represented by a group of primitive sites, workshops and waste locations of the quartz industry, dating back to V millennium BC. e. - I thousand n e., stone labyrinths of the Early Iron Age, seids , as well as numerous boulder additions of the monastic and monastic times ^[43] .

Solovetsky Labyrinths

Of greatest importance (as an archaeological site) are the Solovetsky labyrinths. In general, about 40 labyrinths were discovered on the shores of the White Sea, of which more than 30 on the Solovetsky Islands of the Arkhangelsk Region, on Novaya Zemlya , several monuments in the Murmansk Region at the mouth of the Ponoi River , near the city ​​of Kandalaksha and the village of Umba . Three labyrinths were found on the territory of Karelia, one in the Chupin Bay and two in the Kuzov archipelago .

There is also evidence that stone labyrinths once existed at the mouths of the Kemi and Kereti rivers ^[44] .

The beginning of the research of the labyrinths of the North was laid by the elephant prisoner N. N. Vinogradov back in the 1920s. The first description of the Solovetsky labyrinths is found in the description of the monastery, compiled by archimandrite Dosifei:

On the island of Zayatsky, near which the Russian fleet stood, it was ordered by the Sovereign (Peter I) ^{[45] to} build a wooden church in the name of St. Apostle Andrew. Also not far from this church was laid on the ground in two rows of cobblestone stones Babylon, or a labyrinth, which is still visible. ^[46]

Other sources claim that Peter I had no relation to the construction of the labyrinths.

The exact purpose of the stone labyrinths that are found everywhere in the North (most in Scandinavia) is not known. However, most archaeologists associate the labyrinths with the cult of the dead. This is confirmed by some facts, including the fact that on the big Zayatsky Island archaeologists discovered burnt human bones and stone tools under stone piles ^[47] . Mariusz Wilk in the book “The Wolf Notebook” ^[48] claims that the Sami believed in the transfer of souls after death to neighboring islands - the islands of the Kuzov archipelago. According to Wilk, the labyrinths are needed so that the soul could not return from the paradise of the afterlife to the world of the living - with such a return, the soul should get lost in the labyrinth and return back to Kuzov.

The exact time of the construction of the labyrinths on the Solovetsky Islands is still unknown, however, most scholars attribute them to the I-II centuries. BC e. Nowadays, labyrinths like the ancient ones were built. These labyrinths are located in the southern part of the Big Solovetsky Island on the White Sea coast.

The first prisoner in Solovki (whose opinion was officially documented) was Abbot Artemy, who opposed the church nobility and church tenure. The hegumen was condemned by the Church meeting in 1553 and exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery with the order "to stay inside the monastery with a great fortress, in a cell silent."

In one of the towers of the Solovetsky Monastery, special prison cells were organized. These were small and dark rooms with small openings instead of a door through which prisoners entered. In the XIX century. local residents talked about the harsh regime in this prison - the prisoners were stained with smoke, walled up, and tortured. The monastery prison was constantly expanding. In 1798, a previously built building was adapted for the prison, and in 1842 a special three-story building and special barracks for prison guards were built for prisoners. In the new prison in the lower underground semi-underground there were small closets, without benches and windows, where especially important criminals were placed ^[49] .

In 1835, a gendarmerie audit of the Solovetsky prison was carried out, the audit recognized that the prisoners of the Solovetsky prison were punished far beyond their guilt. As a result of the inspection, several of the prisoners were released, and some were transferred to ordinary monastery cells. After the audit, a decree was issued that was designed to prohibit planting in monastery prisons without special permission of the emperor. The last prisoners of the Solovetsky Monastery Prison were withdrawn in 1883 , but sentry soldiers were kept with her until 1886 .

Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp

The Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp (ELEPHANT) is the largest forced labor camp of the 1920s. It was located on the territory of the Solovetsky Islands.

The Solovetsky camp was organized on November 2, 1923 by a decision of the Council of People's Commissars of October 13, 1923 ^[50] on the basis of the Pertominsky forced labor camp . The camp was transferred to use all the property of the Solovetsky Monastery . The elephant was closed on November 16, 1931, re-organized on January 1, 1932 and finally closed on December 4, 1933. The prisoners, the apparatus and property of the Solovetsky camp were transferred to the White Sea-Baltic Forced Labor Camp ^[51] .

The Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp was initially referred mainly to political prisoners. On June 10, 1925, the “Resolution On the Termination of the Maintenance of Political Prisoners in the ELEPHANT” was adopted. In the summer of 1925, political prisoners were taken to the mainland.

In 1926-1927, the camp carried out logging (in the Solovetsky Islands and Karelia ), peat mining, fishing for lake and sea fish, slaughtering sea animals, was engaged in agriculture, serviced a brick factory, leather, pottery, resinous, lime, salted and mechanical production , carried out loading and unloading operations on the Murmansk railway , road construction. In 1928-1931, the camp carried out logging, maintained a sawmill in Kovda , sawmills in Karelia, loading and cutting work on the Murmansk Railway, and road construction was carried out. In addition, the camp was engaged in fishing, agriculture, consumer goods production. The camp participated in the start of construction of the Northern section of the White Sea-Baltic waterway. In 1932-1933, ELEPHANT was mainly engaged in the fishing industry and the production of consumer goods.

White Sea-Baltic Camp

The White Sea-Baltic Camp was organized on November 16, 1931 ^[52] and was closed on September 18, 1941 ^[53] . At that time, when one of the Belbaltlag camp branches was located on Solovki (that is, until 1937 ), the camp served the work of the White Sea-Baltic OGPU-NKVD ^[54] , namely, it operated the White Sea-Baltic Canal and developed the territory adjacent to it, He was engaged in logging, construction of the Segezha Timber and Paper and Chemical Plant (in the autumn of 1935 ), and the Nizhnetulomskaya Hydroelectric Power Station on the Tuloma River.

Solovetsky Special Purpose Prison

In 1937 - 1939, the Solovetsky Special Purpose Prison (STON) of the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB) of the NKVD of the USSR was located on the territory of the archipelago ^[55] .

• Melnik A. G. The ensemble of the Solovetsky Monastery in the 15th-17th centuries: history, architecture, decoration of temple interiors . - Yaroslavl, 2000 .-- 200 p.
• The natural environment of the Solovetsky archipelago in a changing climate . Ed. Yu. G. Shvartsman, I.N. Bolotov. Ekaterinburg: Publishing House of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2007.184 s.
• Shvartsman Yu. G., Bolotov I.N., 2005. Mechanisms of the formation of extrazonal biocenoses on the Solovetsky Islands [article] .
• Shvartsman Yu. G., Bolotov I.N. Spatio-temporal heterogeneity of the taiga biome in the region of Pleistocene continental glaciations . Yekaterinburg: Publishing House of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2008.263 p.
• Bespalaya Yu. V. et al., 2009. Topical mollusk complexes in the lakes of Bolshoi Solovetsky Island [article]
• Kolosova Yu. S., Podbolotskaya MV, 2010. Population dynamics of bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Bombus Latr.) On the Solovetsky archipelago: results of a 10-year monitoring [article]
• Bolotov I.N., Shutova E.V., 2006. Patterns of formation of island fauna of Lepidoptera lepidoptera (Lepidoptera, Diurna) at the northern limit of forest distribution in the Pleistocene continental glaciation (on the example of the White Sea islands) [article]

• The official state portal of the Solovetsky archipelago Moi-Solovki.rf
• Solovki - Solovetsky Museum-Reserve, official site
• Solovki-Encyclopedia. Digest magazine about Solovki
• Webcams on Solovki
  • Solovetsky Monastery
  • Transfiguration Cathedral
• Solovki - beautiful and unique television shooting. Video from the air. Aerodrome
• Photos of Solovki
• Scientific articles on wildlife of Solovki