The remote Russian World Heritage Site with a dark secret

Ominous bells rang out from the church tower above the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral. Bearded monks in black cloaks and women wearing scarfs and long woollen skirts hurried across the cobbled courtyard of the Solovetsky Monastery. Heads faced forward, eyes looked down.

As a rare foreign visitor to the Solovetsky Islands, home to fewer than 900 people, I stood out from the devout crowd of pious pilgrims. I turned to face the midnight sun, hopelessly seeking warmth.

Nowhere in Russia’s vast north has more history than the archipelago commonly known as Solovki, on the edge of the Arctic Circle and lapped by the icy waters of Onega Bay. Just getting there was a exercise in patience. Six hundred miles from St Petersburg, it involved a two-day train journey followed by a two-hour boat trip from the back-of-beyond port of Rabocheostrovsk. The reward was swarms of arctic mosquitos - but also one of the country’s most intriguing attractions.

Solovki, a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1992, has been the site of monastic activity for almost 600 years. The Solovetsky Monastery was founded by two Orthodox Christian monks seeking solitude. They built a formidable fortress complex which Unesco describes as “an outstanding example of the tenacity, courage and diligence... in the inhospitable environment of Northern Europe”. But there’s a dark side too. It was for centuries used as a place of exile and detention, playing host to horrific hardship.

Yuri Brodksy, a historian who has dedicated much of his life to studying the island, showed me the places where prisoners suffered unimaginable torture. We stood beneath a hill where rebellious inmates were known to have been tied to logs by monks and thrown to their deaths.

But the height of Solovki’s brutal history came after the Bolshevik revolution, when the monks were expelled and their churches turned into concentration camps. Nobel laureate Alexandr Solzhenitsyn called Solovki “the mother of the gulag”. It was the prototype, the first of many in Russia, and between 1923 and 1939 was where many of Stalin’s ideological opponents were executed. Of the 80,000 interned on the island during those 16 years, 40,000 died.

Today, a museum offers the chance to learn about Solovki’s infamous history, but there’s more for visitors. The Beluga Cape, on the western tip of the main island, is one of the only places on the planet where people can see beluga whales from the coast. During the endless white nights of summer, eagle-eyed tourists can perch on the shore and catch a glimpse of the playful animals, who move gracefully and, true to their nickname of “sea canaries”, can be heard singing to one another.

Tourists can also navigate an elaborate web of canals and locks which connect over 600 lakes dotted across the island. The first were carved out in the 15th century to ensure an adequate supply of fresh water and irrigation for the islanders. From May through September, boat tours allow intrepid travellers to explore these ancient waterways and enjoy the island’s pristine nature. It’s far less taxing than a bumpy drive along its dirt roads.

But Solovki faces an uncertain future. A punishing subpolar climate and high humidity necessitate almost constant restorations and renovations, but these major works could have a negative impact and jeopardize its World Heritage status. For now it remains on the list, one of Russia’s 28 World Heritage sites and a moving place where faith and suffering collide.

How to get there

Nordavia flies to Solovki from Arkhangelsk (one way/return R5950/10,900, 50 minutes) between April and late October. Services depart at 1.50pm on Mondays and Fridays, with the return flight at 3pm. Fog or high winds mean cancellations are commonplace, however.

The other option is a boat from Rabocheostrovsk, a short taxi ride from the town of Kem, which has a rail link with St Petersburg. There are cash machines in Kem - be sure to use them as there are none on the Solovetsky Islands.

David Urban is on a mission to visit every Russian World Heritage Site. Follow his journey on YouTube or Instagram. Aeroflot is providing flights for him throughout the journey.