I have just returned from the Solovki Islands in the White Sea,
perhaps best known in the west as the site of the 1930s Russian
gulag. What is not so well known is that orthodox monks built a
fortified monastery here, together with a variety of industrial
workshops and one of the earliest hydro-electric power stations in
Russia. There is also a canal system connecting the many small lakes
on the main island, including locks on the navigable sections. The
monastery houses a museum and archive.
I visited the island together with Dr Januszewski from Wroclaw
Polytechnic, Poland, who is taking a group of his industrial history
students there from 14-31 July 2001 to record some of the sites. If
anyone is interested in participating - four places are available -
could they contact me by 14 May. It is expected that visas can be
arranged fairly quickly if there are no problems. The cost, including
travel from Moscow, accommodation (very basic!) and food (also basic)
on the island will be around 250 dollars. Some of the gulag buildings
remain, and it is hoped to arrange a visit to the Baltic-White Sea
Canal at Belomorsk, many of whose constructors lived and died in the
gulag or on the canal in the 1930s.
Regards
--
Mike Clarke, 41 Fountain St, Accrington, UK, BB5 0QR
tel: +44 (0)1254-395848
fax: +44 (0)870 134 5609
http://www.zen.co.uk/home/page/mike.clarke/home.htm
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