LADOGA LAKE AND VALAAM ISLAND

During WWII shipping on Ladoga was the only connecting link between besieged Leningrad and the rest of the country. At the time of navigation the shipments were carried out by the Ladoga Fleet, while in wintertime a truck road was built on the ice of the lake, which was called “the Road of Life.” In total, during the blockade around 1 million people were evacuated into the rear parts of the country and 1.7 million tons of cargo was transported.

More than 60 species of fish inhabit the Ladoga Lake, and 30 of them have commercial importance. The Ladoga is predominantly a salmon reservoir. Salmon, trout, lake char and vendace – almost all fish of commercial value – belong to Salmon species. Among other valuable species there are sisco, grayling and candle fish. Around one third of all species inhabiting the lake belong to Carp species: roach, ide, bream and vimba.
The shores of the lake are poorly populated. The cities on the coast line are old but small – Priozyorsk, Sortavala, Novaya Ladoga, Shlisselburg. The rest of settlements (around 90 of them) are small: they are villages of lumbermen, fishermen and water transport servicemen.
In the Northern section of the Ladoga Lake, which was called in the ancient times Nevo, there are numerous islands, the biggest of them being Valaam.

The clear waters of the turbulent lake wash the archipelago; plunging into the shores of the Valaam Islands, they form the most picturesque gulfs and straits, many of which serve as refuge place for ships seeking salvation from ferocity of the waves. Scenic landscapes of high steep cliffs are reflected in the clear, calm waters to be replaced by views of thick forest standing on the shores of big and small islands.

There are special places on this earth that were designed, so it seems, to glorify the majesty of the Creator, reminding of the primeval harmony of nature. Quite often they are separated from the rest of the world by a natural barrier. One of such places in Russia was and still is Valaam – the archipelago in the Ladoga Lake with Savior’s Tranfiguration (Spasopreobrazhensky) monastery located on it.

The gross area of 50 islands is 36 sq. km. Such amazing nature, like the one of Valaam, according to a hydrograph A.P. Andreyev, “you will never see anywhere in Europe: numerous absolutely steep cliffs rising into the sky and plunging into the depths, – little islands, capes and harbors… Straits, lakes among the thick growth and grim granite rocks reflect everything on their azure surfaces, and slender evergreen forest makes the whole scene complete by giving it an amazing admirable appearance.”

The name “Valaam” is translated from Finnish as “the Highland;” a less probable translation – “the land of oath,” or “the land of light.” Some people think that the name is derived from a pagan god Baal (who is sometimes identified with Slavic Veles), or a Bible prophet Balaam.

As one Valaam tradition has it, in the ancient times, when Finno-Ugrian and Slavic tribes, who lived in the Ladoga area, were only about to receive Christian faith, the islands were a gigantic heathen altar. The first one among Christ’s disciples, saint apostle Andrew the First Called, as he enlightened the Scythian and Slavic lands, set off from Novgorod to Valaam, where he tore down pagan sanctuaries and erected a stone cross. Saint Apostle predicted great future to Valaam, which came true when a monk dwelling place was founded and thrived. Valaam is unthinkable without the monastery.

The sacred islands of Valaam archipelago are located in the Northern part of the biggest lake of Europe – the Ladoga Lake. Around the main island of Valaam that gave its name to the entire archipelago, there are more than 500 islands; the gross area of the Valaam archipelago is 36 sq. km, the area of Valaam Island — 27.8 sq. km. The origin of the island’s name is not known for certain. According to some versions, it is derived from the name of a pagan god Baal. But in the Finnish etymological dictionary there is a word entry “valatka,” meaning “Ladoga sisco.”

Although Valaam is considered to be the biggest island of the archipelago, it is not very big in size: its length is 9.5 km, width – 6 km. It rises over the Ladoga level by 60 m, which causes the island to look so magnificent. Its western and southern shores rise over the surface of the lake as huge unapproachable granite rocks plunging under the water for tens of meters deep.

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