Lukashenko, Putin met on Valaam Island
The presidents of Belarus and Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, have met on the Island of Valaam (Lake Ladoga) in Karelia, BelTA reports
On the territory of the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, the heads of state visited the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God at the Smolensk skete.
The President of Belarus is currently in Russia on a working visit. Negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are planned in various formats. The heads of state will discuss topical issues in the development of Belarusian-Russian relations, the promotion of the Union State projects, as well as issues of regional security and international agenda.
The two leaders have already visited this island together twice before. In July 2023, they attended the Valaam Monastery in the Transfiguration of the Saviour located on the island.
Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin first visited Valaam together in July 2019.
The Valaam Monastery is one of the most revered in Russia, visited annually by more than100 thousand pilgrims and tourists.
The exact date of the foundation of the Valaam Monastery is unknown. According to one of the chronicle versions, the site for the monastery was designated by the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called in the 1st century. According to another version, the time of foundation is the 10th-11th centuries. In line with documentary sources, the foundation of the monastery took place in 1407 – as stated in the Legend of the Valaam Monastery. The monastery had a special heyday in the 15th-16th centuries, when the number of monks reached 600 people.
In the following years, the architectural development of the monastery took place, but it repeatedly suffered from ruin, particularly, during the wars between Russia and Sweden and as a result of a fire. By the 19th century, the Valaam Monastery flourished again. Many architectural structures were erected at this time and they have been preserved till modern day – being viewed as objects of historical and cultural heritage.
After the Soviet-Finnish military operations, the Valaam Archipelago again came into the possession of Russia. In the 1960s, the authorities began to organise sightseeing tours for those wishing to see Valaam. The museum-reserve has been operating since 1979.
The old life in the monastery began to revive in 1989, when the main buildings were transferred to the Leningrad Diocese. The first monks – there were six of them – came in December 1989.
Now all architectural structures have been restored on the territory of the Valaam Monastery.
