Karelia
The Republic of Karelia is located in the north-western part of Russian Federation, taking intervening position between the basins of Barents and Baltic seas. The total territory of Karelia is 172 400 sq.km. with a population of 800 000 people. The capital of the Republic is the city of Petrozavodsk situated on the shore of Onego lake (280 000 inhabitants).
In the northeast, the Republic is washed by the White Sea with a shore line of 630 km.; in the west Karelia borders on Finland(border line length approx. 700 km.); in the north, on Arkhangelsk Region; in the south, on Vologda and Leningrad Regions of the Russian Federation.
The most part of the republic's territory (148 000 sq.km. or 85%) is comprised ofstate forest stock.
There are 27 000 rivers and over 60 000 lakes in Karelia. Lake Ladoga and Lake Onego are the largest lakes in Europe. Lakes and swamps contain about 2 000 cubo kilometres of high-quality fresh water.
The main feature that determines the historical and cultural peculiarity of Karelia is its border position. The cultural originality of Karelia began forming before the appearance of clearly defined borders and before the crystallization of the features that distinguish the Russian and the European civilizations. Karelia, as a culturally original region of Northern Europe, appeared as a result of the interaction of the Baltic-Finnish and the Eastern Slavic cultures in the North. It was on the territory of the Karelian ethnocultural border that the top examples of the art of the peoples of different origins were preserved and recorded in the 19th century, such as the epic Karelian-Finnish runes which were compiled in the famous "Kalevala" and the Russian epic songs. The dialogue and the synthesis of traditions is the basis of the cultural originality of the region and characterizes all the stages of its history.
Starting from the Middle Ages, Karelia was a territory on the border of the Swedish Kingdom and the Novgorod Republic, and later the Moscow Kingdom.
Karelia is extremely rich in natural, cultural and historical places of interest, which enjoy immense popularity with hundreds of thousands of tourists from Russia and foreign countries. Among the most popular are:
Kizhi Island in Lake Onego, famous for its unique masterpieces of wooden architecture including the 22-dome Church of Transfiguration (1714) and the oldest wooden church in Russia- the Church of Resurrection of Lazarus which dates back to the 14th century. In 1990 the architectural ensemble of the Kizhi churchyard was registered in the World Cultural Heritage List of the UNESCO;
the Valaam archipelago in Lake Ladoga with an outstanding cultural historical complex of the Monastery of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour;
the Martial Waters Spa, the first Russian health resort established by Peter the Great in the early 18th century;
the architectural ensemble of the Solovetskiy monastery, also registered in the World Cultural Heritage List;
galleries of Stone Age petroglyphs on the banks of Lake Onego (Besov Nos, Peri Nos) and the White Sea (Besovy Sledki, Zalavruga)
Tourists can visit all of the places of interest mentioned above by taking comfortable cruise ships along the rivers Neva and Svir, across Lake Ladoga and Lake Onego, through the White Sea Baltic Canal and into the White Sea.
The low density of population in Karelia, the relatively favourable environmental situation, the great number of virgin forests and the abundance of lakes and rivers attract numerous visitors from the overpopulated regions of Russia and Western Europe, giving them a great chance to enjoy the virgin nature of the North. Karelia is a land of blue lakes and famous Kizhi, and it is also a land of old original culture. Rich and original is the musical, dance and poetic folklore of the nations of the republic. Distinctive are the tunes and melodies, performing on the national instruments. Famous for their skills are folk masters.
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