Solovetskiy Island (Остров Соловецкий) - Travel & Tourism Guide Solovetskiy Island (Остров Соловецкий) - Russie

Located in the province of Arkhangelsk, the Solovki archipelago emerges from the waters of the White Sea, 165 km south of the North Pole. It is composed of six main islands and a hundred crumbling islets all around: about 340 km² of rocky outcrops, covered with low and fragile vegetation, pine and birch trees, and dotted with more than 300 freshwater lakes. The swamps are teeming with berries and mushrooms. In winter, the sea does not freeze and ensures a relatively mild climate. Since its reopening in the early 1990s, about 40 monks have been living and working in the monastery and its outbuildings. The archipelago welcomes every year a few thousand tourists from Russia and abroad