Solovetsky, Archangelsk Province, Russia, January 4, 2022
Photo: pravoslavie.ru
To end the year, the Solovki Archipelago was officially recognized as a cultural monument of federal significance of the Russian Federation.
The archipelago is home to the famous 15th-century Solovki Monastery, founded by St. Zosima.
On December 27, Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova signed the relevant order, published on the official internet portal of legal information.
Objects of cultural heritage of federal significance are objects of historical, architectural, artistic, academic, and memorial value of particular importance for the history and culture of the Russian Federation, as well as objects of archaeological heritage.
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The Solovki Archipelago, known through the ages as the Northern Thebaid or Northern Athos, is a group of islands located at the mouth of Onega Bay in the southeastern part of the White Sea—the only inland sea of the Arctic Ocean. The White Sea is one of the most interesting geographical areas in Russia due to its unique origin, flora, and fauna.
The main point of interest and spiritual center of the islands is Solovki Monastery, founded in 1436—the year that St. Zosima arrived on the islands from the Monastery of St. Cyril of White Lake.
In the early Soviet era it was the site of the first concentration camp, where hundreds of Orthodox clergymen suffered and died for their faith. Opened in 1921 at the orders of Vladimir Lenin, it was closed in 1939 on the eve of World War II. A Naval academy was instituted there at the beginning of the war, and in 1974 the islands were designated a historical and architectural museum, and nature reserve.
Monastic life was renewed on Solovki in 1990.
In 1992, the museum complex was entered into the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Enjoy a photo gallery of Solovki in Winter.
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