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Solovetsky Islands: Russia's UNESCO treasure in the White Sea

The Solovetsky Islands, or Solovki, are an archipelago located in the White Sea’s Onega Bay

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A view of the Solovetsky Monastery situated on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

The Solovetsky Monastery is the major landmark and spiritual center on the islands

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Monks take part in a religious procession at the Solovetsky Monastery

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

The Golgotha-Crucifixion Skete on the top of Mount Golgotha on Anzersky Island of the Solovetsky Archipelago

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

A monk rings bells at the Golgotha-Crucifixion Skete

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

A monk seen at the Solovetsky Monastery

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Warden Vyacheslav Stolyarov on Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, part of the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

The cultural and historic ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Bells at the Solovetsky Monastery

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

A woman works in a kitchen garden in the Solovetsky village on Bolshoy Solovetsky Island

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Church of the Ascension on the Sekirnaya Hill, part of the territory of the Holy Ascension Skete

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Believers at a liturgy in the Church of the Ascension on the Sekirnaya Hill

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

A view of St Andrew Church built in the early 18th century on Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, part of the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

An aerial view of the ancient stone labyrinths on Bolshoy Zayatsky Island

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, part of the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

The Solovetsky Islands, or Solovki, are an archipelago located in the White Sea’s Onega Bay. The six islands of the archipelago cover an area of 347 square kilometers. The islands and a five-kilometer area of the White Sea around them are incorporated into the Solovki State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve. The Greater Solovetsky Island is the biggest, famous for its medieval monastery, which was founded in 1429. In the 1920-30s, a notorious Soviet prison camp was located on the archipelago. The site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1992. Take a look at Russia's symbol of faith in this gallery by TASS.

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