The exhibition “Solovki: winter light” opened at the Presidential Library

On January 17, 2024 the Presidential Library hosted the opening of the multimedia exhibition “Solovki: Winter Light”, dedicated to the 600th anniversary of the foundation of the first monastic settlement on the Solovetsky archipelago. This anniversary, in accordance with the decree of the President of Russia, will be celebrated in 2029.

The exhibition has been organized by the Presidential Library together with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of the Solovetsky Archipelago and the Arkhangelsk branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia

A greeting on behalf of Director General of the Presidential Library, Yuri Nosov, was read by the Director of the Department for Scientific and Educational Work, Igor Solonko: “It is very important that a photo exhibition dedicated to the anniversary of the Solovetsky Monastery is opening in the Presidential Library, in the historical building of the Holy Synod. Such events help preserve the history of Russia, strengthen traditional spiritual and moral values, and strengthen the ideals of goodness and mercy”.

In turn, the chairman of the St. Petersburg Council on Print Media, Director of the North-Western branch of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Anzhelika Gurskaya, noted that cooperation with the Presidential Library was actively developing, and emphasized the fact that the opening of the exhibition kicks off the anniversary celebrations dedicated to the 600th anniversary of the Solovetsky Monastery .

Chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the Union of Journalists of Russia, editor-in-chief of the St. Petersburg Vedomosti newspaper Dmitry Sherikh said that each such exhibition was not only a significant contribution to the formation of a unified information space, but also an important tool for dialogue between regions.

The photographs presented at the multimedia exhibition capture the beauty and extraordinary power of the Solovetsky Islands: the polar lights, the domes of temples creating a graphic plot on the snow cover of the Holy Lake, a winter rainbow “embracing” the sky above the Kremlin... The exhibition displays forty photographs depicting winter Solovki. Their authors are photojournalist of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta Nikolai Gernet and press secretary of the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of the Solovetsky Archipelago Denis Yakovlev.

The ancient Russian monastery has always been a place of pilgrimage for thousands of Orthodox people from all over the world and an outpost of Russia in the Arctic. In 2024, Solovki will mark 170 years of confrontation during the Crimean War of 1853–1856: the English squadron then tried to take the fortress, but Solovki did not surrender. They survived into the 20th century, when a special-purpose camp was organized on the site of the monastery. After all the tests, Vera returned to Solovki, and bells began to ring over the islands again.

The warmth and light of the Solovetsky land can be seen and felt by all visitors to the exhibition, open until January 31 at the Presidential Library at the address: Senate, 3.

To visit the exhibition please pre-register by phone: (812) 334-25-14 or email at excursion@prlib.ru.