Solovki

Description

This subcollection from the William C. Brumfield Collection -- Photographs of Russian Architecture contains views contains images of the Solovetsky Islands (Solovki), an archipelago on the Onega Bay of the White Sea in Arkhangelsk Province. The main feature is the Solovetskii Transfiguration Monastery, founded in 1436 and greatly expanded in the 16th century. In the late 17th century, it became a center of Old Believer resistance to liturgical reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery also withstood attacks by a British naval force during the Crimean War. In 1923 the area became what is considered the first Gulag concentration camp (SLON).In 1974 the islands were designated a historical-architectural museum and natural reserve of the Soviet Union. They were also recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992.