Valaam

In the 12th century, the archipelago was part of the Republic of Novgorod, later merged into Russia. In the 17th century, it was captured by Sweden, but reconquered a century later.

It is not known how old the monastery is. Tradition has it was founded by a 10th-century Greek monk, Sergius of Valaam, and his Karelian companion, Herman of Valaam. Nowadays historians tend to think it was founded in the 14th century. The first known documents that mention the cloister, including the "Tale of the Valaamo Monastery", are from the 16th century.

The Valaam monastery was the first Orthodox monastery in Karelia, a northern outpost of the Eastern Orthodox Church against pagans and soon a western outpost against the Catholic, and later Lutheran, Sweden. In 1578 the monastery was attacked and numerous monks and novices were killed by the Swedes. The monastery was desolate between 1611 and 1715 after another attack, the buildings being burnt to the ground and the Karelian border between Russia and Sweden being drawn through Lake Ladoga. In the 18th century, under Russian rule, the monastery was magnificently restored.

When the Grand Duchy of Finland was set up in the early 19th century as an autonomous part of the Russian Empire, Alexander I of Russia made Valaam part of the grand duchy and thus, in 1917, part of newly independent Finland. There were some schisms between the government, the orthodox church of Finland and the monastery, with many monks not Finnish citizens, the monastery not changing to the Gregorian calendar, and other issues. The monastery however became an important destination for pilgrimage and tourism, and a centre for spiritual meetings, at most with some 30,000 annual visitors.

The monastery was gradually evacuated during the Winter War. The monastery was repeatedly bombed, but the books in the library, built to withstand fire, and the main church were unhurt. When the area was annexed by the Soviet Union after the Winter War, the monastery was moved to Heinävesi in the Finnish Lakeland as the "New Valamo".

Some of the things left in the monastery were destroyed while it was in Soviet hands. It was in other use until the fall of the Soviet Union, when it was returned to the church and allowed to continue its work. Much of the damage from the war and the Soviet times has been repaired.

The islands have been visited by famous persons, including members of the Russian imperial family and the composer Tchaikovsky. Putin has a dacha on one of the islands.

The landscape is mostly rugged, but there are also gardens tended by the monks. More than 480 species of plants grow on the island, many of which have been cultivated by them. The island is covered by coniferous woods, about 65% of which are pine. Ten species of mammals and more than 120 avian species call the archipelago home.

The climate is influenced by the vast surrounding Ladoga. Spring begins at the end of March and a typical summer on Valaam has 30–35 sunny days, which is more than on the mainland. The average temperature in July is 17 °C (63 °F). The winter and snow arrive in early December. The average temperature of February is −8 °C.