The Solovetsky Islands

Tourists are drawn to the Solovetsky Islands, or Solovki by its tragic history and haunting, dreadful beauty, not by the northern air on the White Sea.

It was here that the Gulag's first prison was established. As part of Stalin's Great Terror, the Soviet authorities established a network of concentration camps, the first of which was the Solovetsky camp. During WWII, the Solovki government took social orphans and trained them to serve as cadets in the Northern Fleet.

This island in the White Sea has been converted once more, and numerous monks now reside there. It has quickly become one of Russia's most popular tourist destinations, particularly since UNESCO designated the island as a World Heritage Site.

Location: Onega Bay, White Sea

Area: 347 km²