Page 77 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #42
P. 77
boundary between earth and sky are just an hour’s
drive from Arkhangelsk.
The flashes of the northern lights aren’t rare in
winter, but can only be observed on a dark, cloud-
less night at a certain stage of solar cycle. Here in
Arkhangelsk Oblast, the northern lights can be spot-
ted as early as in August, when the nights become
quite dark, and all the way until March.
Solovetsky Islands
The Solovetsky Archipelago lies in the Onega Bay
of the White Sea, 160 kilometers from the Arctic Cir-
cle. It owes its special microclimate – with conditions
comfortable enough for species like cedar pine, ma-
ple and hazel – to its special geographical location.
The islands have numerous lakes that abound with
fish and are inhabited, among other species, by hare,
fox, and squirrel.
The Solovetsky Archipelago traces its develop- Фото: Е. Мазилов
ment history to 7,000 years ago. Archaeological ex-
cavations revealed sites of early human activity and
burial mounds, the most mysterious being the sanc-
tuaries dating back to the 2nd-3rd millennia BC and
the famous stone labyrinths.
In the 15th century, a monastery was founded
here by Sabbatius and Herman, that gained influence
as an important pilgrimage and was, in the medieval
period, the world’s northernmost medieval monas-
tery-fortress. In the Soviet times, the archipelago was
home to the USSR’s special prison camp – the first in
the history of Stalin’s GULAG system. Today, the ter-
ritory of the Solovetsky Archipelago and its adjacent
water area form a nature reserve. In 1992, the Cultur-
al and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Monastery
was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Caves of Pinega
The Pinega Caves are one of the best known land-
marks of the rural part of Arkhangelsk Oblast. The
freshwater caves with intricately bending karst corri-
dors, mysterious gleaming of ice crystals and streams
fading into darkness attract tourists in any season,
but the best time to see this splendor is between Jan-
uary and March, with sparkling arches and quaintly Фото: Т. Воротынцева
shaped ice glaze as added delight.
The caves are located in the middle reaches of the
Pinega River. The tour guides provide the groups with
helmets and headlamps, and it’s essential to ensure
you wear warm clothes and comfortable shoes. The
temperature in caves tends to stay below zero even
in summer, and ice buildup occurs already at the en-
trance. Anyone who comes here will be impressed.
The most daring of tourists will find themselves in
winding passages making their way across under-
ground water streams and through difficult holes,
sometime crouching low, and there’s a possibility of
encountering local inhabitants – bats.
Kenozero and Onega Pomorie
A spellbound land of fairytale, Kenozero delights
the eye with silver of the chapel tops amid centu-
ry-old spruce, the merry sound of the water wheels,
and snow-white swans gently descending on the mir-
ror surface of its forest lakes. With status as protect-
ed natural area, Kenozero National Park represents
an outstanding specimen of Northern European cul-
tural landscape.
Here, the largest lakes are the Lekshmozero and
the Kenozero. Surrounding them are the cultural
landscapes formed as a result of the harmonious re-
lationship of man and nature. The clusters of the an-
cient villages with meadows, groves and forests are
still inhabited – their residents are the descendants
of the early settlers and maintain traditions they in-
herited.
Фото: Е. Мазилов