Saint-Petersburg is considered to be the second or northern or cultural capital of Russia. Petrozavodsk is a city founded by the order of Peter the Great. Nowadays city of 278000 inhabitants which started as the great iron foundry and cannon factory turned into a big industrial, regional center of the north. Kizhi is an island in Onega lake where churches, chapels, traditional Karelian houses and ancient articles were collected from Karelian villages for display. It is a unique museum under open air. The 22 domes Church of Resurrection, number 3 in the list of UNESCO most precious monuments in Russia after Kremlin and Hermitage, is the highlight of the collection.
Kem is an old White Sea town at the mouth of the Kem river. During Stalin's rule there was a prison station in Kem. Through that station prisoners were transferred to the island of Solovki.
Solovki island is located in the White Sea. The monastery was founded there in 1430. As centuries passed the monastery grew bigger and it become famous. So tens of thousand of pilgrims visited the monastery every year. The island of Solovki was turned into a political prison during early Soviet period. During the W.W.II the island was the home of the school for young sailors. Nowadays Solovki is again a functioning monastery.

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