Solovki
The Solovki archipelago (Solovki) is located in the Onega Gulf of the White
Sea, between Karelian Pomorie and Summer Coast, 164 kilometers from the Polar
circle line. Geographical coordinates of archipelago are between 64°57' and
65°12' the north latitude.
Archipelago consists of six large and approximately seventy small islands.
The total Solovki area is more than 320 km2: the Bol’shoy Solovki Island — 248
km2; the Anzer Island — 47 km2; the Bol’shaya Muksalma Island – 17.6 km2; the
Malaya Muksalma Island — 0,57 km2; the Bol’shoy Zayatskiy Island — 1,25 km2; the
Maliy Zayatskiy — 1,02 km2. The highest point – the mountain Verbokol’skaya
(88,2 m, the Anzer Island).
Glacier played an important role in formation of the islands.
Geographical arrangement of the archipelago caused the appearance of its own
microclimate. Cherries and wild-roze flower on islands; cedars, maples,
nut-tree, snowball-tree, rowan – all in all more than 500 forms of vegetation –
grow overthere. The large part of the archipelago is occuppied by soft and
hardwoods, but some areas are tundra and forest-tundra.
Solovki is covered by 639 fresh lakes and is surrounded by the most salt
(among all internal seas of Russia) the White Sea (27 grams of salt to the
liter of water). Solovki herring, dorse, cod, turbot, wolf-fish is conducted in
the sea; perch, roach, pike, cabos, trout, common gremille – in the lakes.
Animal world is presented by field mouse, squirrel, hare, fox, reindeer.
Among marine animals are sea-calf, white whale, sea-hare, greenland seal. There
are extraordinarily rich plantations of seaweed in the coastal zone: laminariya,
fucus, anfel’tsiya.
The history of population and use of the archipelago counts about seven
thousand years. There are about 1200 monuments of archaeology (habitable sites,
mounds, seita, labyrinths, symbolic computations) and more than 250 historic and
architectural monuments, connected with the history of Solovki monastery. The
most mysterious Solovki monument is ancient sanctuary III-II millenium A.C.,
which include famous northern labyrinths.
The first in the USSR Camp of Special Designation (SLON), which marked the
beginning of Stalin’s GULAG, was located in the archipelago in the the soviet
times. More than 1000000 people have become prisoners of SLON and its branches
on the continent.
Today the territory of the Solovki
archipelago is a preserved area. In 1994 Solovki museum-reserve is related to
the most valuable objects of natural and the historical heritage of Russia and
is included to «The list of the world heritage» of UNESCO.
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