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Our first stop is the village of <Svir Stroi>.- a remote village on the Svir River, 280 miles south of St. Petersburg, halfway between Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. The village was created to support construction of the Lower Svir Hydroelectric Station.
Today in the village we visited with Julia to enjoy authentic Russian tea and piroshki a regional specialty. Piroshki are pastries with fillings of cabbage, chicken, fish, fruit, beef or mashed potatoes. Julia, who is over 80 years young has lived in Svir Stroi all her life. On our visit Julia was assisted by her daughter.
The crew on the M/S Rossia were fantastic. When we returned to the ship after touring Svir Stroi the crew <welcomed us back> and were all dressed in traditional costumes. That night we were treated to a <piano concert>
Day 8 July: -Petrozavodsk -Karelian Folk Show
Today was a tour of the port city of <Petrozavodsk>, the industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the Republic of Karelia. Our tour of Petrozavodsk included monument to Peter I, considered to be the founder of Petrozavodsk, who created the city because he needed the first Russian cannon factory. Kirov Square, Gagarin Square, and Lenin Square, and stop at the World War II memorial of the eternal flame.
After browsing through Petrozavodsk in the evening we went to see a <Karelian Folk Show> featuring national music and costumes of the Karelia Republic. Traditional Karelian songs contain verses in the Russian, Finnish, and Karelian languages.
Back onboard the crew put on an entertaining show of a <Russian fairy tale>
Tomorrow we arrive at Kizhi Island in the middle of Lake Onega.
Day 9 July 8: -Kizhi Island
This morning, we docked at< Kizhi Island> in the middle of Lake Onega, one of the most ancient inhabited sites in Russia. It was an early pagan center, and now hosts an open-air architectural museum and reserve.
The island has been inhabited since at least 14th century with the area rich in iron ore. The industrial reforms of Tzar Peter I created the building of iron ore mines and metallurgy plants on Onega Lake. Those plants required hard physical labor. The labor for the mines and plants was forced. Those who disobeyed were punished by public beating and fines. In 1769 when the governor ordered the peasants to work at Tivdiysk marble mine and help with construction of the Lizhemsky metallurgical plant the people rioted (Kizhi Uprising.) They were soon joined by up to 40,000 people from all over Karelia.
The Military was send to suppress the uprising. They arrived to Kizhi by the end of June, 1771, and after artillery fire the peasants surrendered. The leaders and 50–70 peasants were publicly beaten and sent to exile in Siberia. Many others were punished by being forced into military service. However, the forced labor for construction and mine works had stopped.
The museum, opened to visitors in 1966 and offers an array of architectural monuments. Over 80 wooden monuments represent folk wooden architecture, ancient Russian pictorial art, and cultural items of the region’s various ethnic groups. The museum’s precious collection includes many wooden churches and chapels brought from other parts of the Russian north.
The Church of Transfiguration, (with 22 timbered onion domes) The Church of the Intercession
The Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus The house of peasant Elizarov from the village of Seredka
The Windmill from the village of Volkostrov The Bell Tower of the Kizhi Pogost
During our time exploring the architectural gems on Kizhi Island <Captain Boris brought out his fishing rods> and invited us to join him catching fish for dinner. The rule was each time you caught a fish you had to drink a shot of vodka. After a while it was more vodka than fish but it was a great day.