0879, 0897, 0898, 3046 RUSSIA (Republic of Karelia) - Kizhi Pogost (UNESCO WHS)

0897 Kizhi Pogost in the springtime

Posted on 26.11.2013, 11.12.2013, 11.05.2017
The term pogost has several meanings in the Russian language, but initial appoint a coaching inn for princes and ecclesiastics. It is assumed that originally pogosts were rural communities on the periphery of the Russian state, as well as trading centers, but at the end of the 10th century pogosts transformed into administrative districts, and when Christianity spread, churches were built there. In 1775 the last pogosts that served as administrative districts were destroyed. In the central uyezds of 15th-16th centuries pogosts were small settlements with a church and a graveyard, like Kizhi Pogost.

0879 Kizhi Pogost in the summertime (1)

Kizhi Pogost is located on the southern part of the island with the same name, on Lake Onega, the second largest lake in Europe (after Lake Ladoga), and was built in the 17th century. It is a narrow strip of land inside a fence which includes two large wooden churches, the 22-dome Transfiguration Church (the big one) and the 9-dome Intercession of the Virgin Church (the little one), and a belfry (with conical tip). The structures were built exclusively of wood, without using a single nail, around a log of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) about 30 cm in diameter and 3 to 5 meters long. 

3046 Kizhi Pogost in the summertime (2)

It is regarded an "outstanding example of an architectural ensemble typical of medieval and post-medieval orthodox settlements in sparsely populated regions", and for this reason was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in 1990. These amazing structures, in which the science of carpentry created a bold visionary architecture, perpetuate a very ancient model of parish space. Chronicles from the 16th century are the first to explicitly mention the existence of two wooden churches there. Destroyed by lightning in 1693, they were rebuilt on the same site. The Church of the Intercession is a heated (winter) church, where services are held from October 1 until Easter.

0898 Kizhi Pogost in the falltime

As Max say, there is two legends about the building of the Church of the Transfiguration.
Legend 1 (for tourists): The church was built by master Nestor, only with a hatchet and without nails. When he had finished the construction work, he threw the hatchet into Onega Lake, saying: "There was nothing like this before and will never be again!”
Legend 2 (probably true): The architects were Peter Nevzorov and a peasant named Buniak, both elders, each of them being 80 years old. The church construction involving 63 men and 12 women.

2656 RUSSIA (Republic of Karelia / Arkhangelsk Oblast) - Vodlozersky National Park

Created in 1991 to protect coniferous forests (taiga) of the Northern Russia, Vodlozersky National Park has, since 2001, the status of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park area includes Lake Vodlozero, the river basin of the Ileksa, the main inflow of the lake, and the upper course of the Vodla, the outflow. Swamps cover about 40% of the area of the park, but the northern part is hilly, with the hills up to 20m. Almost the whole area is covered by woods. Of these, 53.5% are spruce forests, 44.1% are pine forests, and about 2% are birch (Betula pubescens and Betula pendula) and aspen forests. 

1645 RUSSIA (Republic of Karelia) - Saint Peter's Church in Martsialnye Vody

Located at 50km away from Petrozavodsk, the capital of Republic of Karelia, Martsialnye Vody (The Waters of Mars) is the oldest spa in Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1714 and visited by the Tsar on four occasions. It was named in honor of Mars, the god of war and iron, because the water has a lot of iron in composition. The delightful natural setting and striking landscape seem to have been made for a spa. Summers are moderately warm (mean July temperature, 16°C) and winters moderately cold (mean January temperature, from -9° to -12°C). Although Peter's palace hasn't survived, since 1946 there is a museum devoted to the spa's history. One of the most impressive monuments still standing is the Saint Peter's Church, built in 1721, which remembers the days of Peter the Great.

1428 RUSSIA (Republic of Karelia) - Cape Besov Nos petroglyphs - part of Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

In addition to the Pogost Kizhi, Lake Onega has another well known and very interesting site, placed on Cape Besov Nos (Devil's nose), on the eastern coast of the lake: about 1200 petroglyphs scattered over the 20 km area. The engravings are 1-2 mm deep, depict animals, people, boats and geometrical shapes of circular and crescent shapes, and date back to 4th-2nd millennia BC. The main part of this petroglyphs have been found at the western sector of the site. The bedrock here has many color anomalies, cracks and upheavals which makes the place very attractive.

1056 RUSSIA (Republic of Karelia) - The Saviour Transfiguration Cathedral in Valamo archipelago

Valaam (also known by the Finnish name Valamo) is an archipelago in the northern portion of Lake Ladoga, best known for its more than 200 relicts of the past. In the 12th century, the islands were a part of the Novgorod Republic. In the 17th century they were captured by Sweden, but Russia reconquered them less than a century later. When the Grand Duchy of Finland was set up as an autonomous part of the Russian Empire, Valaam became part of Finland. In 1917, they became a part of newly independent Finland, but it was acquired by the USSR after the Winter War and Continuation War.

0843 RUSSIA (Republic of Karelia) - Railroad bridge across the Shuya River

Shuya (Suojoki in Finnish) is a small river (has only 194km in length) and flows out of Lake Suoyarvi through Lake Logmozero into Lake Onega. It freezes up in November - January and stays icebound until April - first half of May. In nowadays is a good rafting river for the beginners and families, and also for short trips. The wooden railroad bridge across the Shuya River shown in the postcard was probably build once with the Murmanskaya Railway (1914 -1916), which traversed Karelia, connecting Murmansk with major Russian cities, its goal being rather strategic than economic. This photo was taken in 1916 by Sergey Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky (1863-1944) as part of his work to document the Russian Empire in the period between 1904 and 1916. Probably that the pyramid structures that are seen at the level of the water were designed to hinder the ice floes to strike the bridge pillars.

About the stamps

The first stamp was issued on August 8, 2013, to celebrate the XIV World Championships in Athletics 2013, which held in Moscow between 10 and 18 August 2013. The stamp features competing athletes and the logo of these championships.