Russky Sever National Park is a protected area in northern Russia. It is located in the Kirillovsky District of Vologda Oblast. The park was created on March 20, 1992. It helps protect natural and cultural landscapes near the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and Ferapontov Monastery. These places are important historical sites.

History

In the 13th century, the area was part of the Principality of Beloozero. In the 14th century, it joined the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1397, St. Cyril of White Lake, a monk and student of St. Sergius of Radonezh, built the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery on the shore of Lake Siverskoye. The town of Kirillov later grew as the settlement of the monastery. In 1398, St. Therapont of White Lake, who arrived with Cyril, moved to a different place that later became the Ferapontov Monastery. Both monasteries were under the leadership of the Archbishops of Rostov. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery became one of the most important monasteries in Russia. The Sheksna River, a major waterway connecting central and northern Russia, helped the monastery grow. At one time, it was the second largest landowner after the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. Vasili III of Russia, the Grand Prince of Moscow, and Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar, visited the monastery multiple times. At the end of the 15th century, Nil Sorsky, a former monk of the monastery and leader of the Non-possessors movement in the Russian Orthodox Church, founded the Nilo-Sorsky Monastery 15 kilometers northwest of Kirillov. All these monasteries are now located within the park’s boundaries.

In the 1980s, the idea of national parks, which had not existed in the Soviet Union before, was created. Vologda Oblast was asked to establish one. Initially, the plan was to build the park in Vytegorsky District to protect its karst landscapes, but the area was considered too far from major tourist areas. The park’s location was then moved to Kirillovsky District. The park’s plan was developed between 1989 and 1990, and the national park was officially established in 1992.

Location and geography

The national park is located in the southern part of Kirillovsky District, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Vologda, east of Lake Beloye, and northwest of Lake Kubenskoye. Only 45.6% of the area is officially part of the park. Activities such as farming or building are not allowed in this section. The rest of the park is not owned by the park and is used mainly for farming. The town of Kirillov is located within the park. The national park also includes Kirillo-Belozyorsky, Ferapontov, and Goritsky Monasteries, as well as parts of the Northern Dvina Canal and the Volga–Baltic Waterway.

Woodlands cover 69.8% of the park, and swamps cover 7.1%. Most of the area has hills formed by glaciers long ago. Several hills, including Maura Hill, Sandyreva Hill, and Tsypina Hill, are protected as natural landmarks. Two additional natural landmarks are also protected. Sokolsky Bor is a forest of pine trees located near the Sheksna Reservoir. Shalgo-Bodunovsky Les is a forest with limited access that protects the remains of old spruce and pine forests, which are nearly gone in Vologda Oblast.

Tourism

The town of Kirillov, along with the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, the Ferapontov Monastery, and the Goritsky Monastery, are well-known tourist attractions inside the park. The Ferapontov Monastery was added to the World Heritage list in 2000. These attractions can be reached by roads. Specifically, the paved roads connecting Vologda to Kirillov and Vologda to Vytegra pass through the park area.