Bay Vladimirskaya Ladoga lake how to get there. Konevets Island, Leningrad region. New history of the monastery

14.01.2017

Everyone who is interested in Russian history knows the island of Valaam - iconic place for pilgrims and one of the centers of spiritual culture of our country. But few people know that only fifty kilometers from Valaam, in the west of Lake Ladoga, is the island of Konevets, the cradle of an ancient shrine - the monastery of the miracle worker Arseny Konevsky.

Island on Ladoga

Konevets Square 3.5 times less area Valaam Islands, and its landscape is mainly hills and steep cliffs. East End The coast is replete with small bays that lie between numerous capes protruding into the lake surface. In the depths of the island there is a 750-ton granite boulder - the Horse-Stone, the former cult place of the pagans, used by them for sacrifices. The name of the island came from the name of this stone.

The picturesque natural composition of Konevets is complemented by the bay, which in the old days was called Chertovaya, and in our time it has been renamed Vladimirskaya. The trip from the bay to Konevets by boat will take about an hour. And here are the ones closest to the island settlements separates from the island a much greater distance: 40 km by water to Priozersk - the regional center in the Leningrad region, and 170 km to St. Petersburg.

Foundation and development of the monastery

The Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin was founded on the island by the monk Arseniy Konevsky at the end of the 14th century. At the same time, the monks began to build a temple on Konevets. But in the early years of the 15th century, due to regular floods, the monastery buildings were moved from the coast to the island hills.

The monastery is located there to this day, being the main attraction of the island.

Konevets was twice attacked by Swedish troops, who in the 17th century completely destroyed the monastery. The monastic brethren had to urgently move to the Novgorod lands and seek asylum in the Resurrection Monastery.

Only in the 50s of the XIX century, when the island was part of Finland, the buildings on Konevets were recreated almost in their original form. A fertile time began for the monastery - it was visited by Alexander II, writers Nikolai Leskov and Alexander Dumas, poet Fyodor Tyutchev and many other prominent figures of Russian and foreign culture.

Konevets in the 20th century: from decline to revival

The revolution of 1917 did not affect the way of life on the island, since Konevets was still under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Finland at that time. However, the number of monastic brethren decreased, because none of the Russian priests wanted to enter the service in the Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery.

Shortly before the war between the USSR and Finland in 1939, the monks left the island and removed several bells and iconostases from it, however, most of utensils remained on Konevets, occupied by Finnish troops.

After the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, the monastery brethren returned to the island and began to restore the ruined and devastated monastery.

But in 1944, when Konevets passed to the USSR, the monks had to leave the island and move to Finland.

And only at the end of the 20th century the monastic life on Konevets was revived - about 20 monks settled on the island, built a bakery, started producing cheese and started livestock. Today, the brothers live not only on the income from the bakery, cheese factory and farm, but also on the help provided by the monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Finnish society "Konevets".

temple complex

The main attraction of Konevets is the Church of the Nativity Holy Mother of God, in which there is a shrine with the relics of the miracle worker Arseny, as well as the icon of the Mother of God of Konev.

Despite the fact that over the course of several centuries the temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, its architecture has preserved the traditions of ancient Russian architecture. However, in the appearance of the temple, the features inherent in baroque and classicism are guessed. But in general, the structure is distinguished by a surprisingly harmonious composition.

Close to temple complex outbuildings are located: barns for animals and stables, as well as huts for cattlemen. Near the temple you can also see a couple of solid buildings - pilgrimage hotel and a house for workers (seasonal workers).

chapels

The chapel, built on Konevets in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of sea travelers, is visible from afar - its height exceeds 7 meters. Due to the fact that the Nikolskaya chapel is located near the pier, it is the first island shrine that pilgrims see when they set foot on the shore of Konevets. The stone chapel with ascetic decoration was founded in the 19th century by hegumen Hilarion, the author of the monastic charter.

In place of the cross erected by the monk Arseniy with his own hand in last years XIV century, five centuries later, a chapel was built in the name of the Assumption of the Mother of God. Nowadays, the Assumption Chapel is beautiful building Konevets. The walls of the building are made of carved wood in the old Russian style with the addition of oriental flavor. Crossing the threshold of the chapel, you can see the icons depicting Arseny the Wonderworker and St. Euthymius.

Sketes

On the site of the construction of the first monastery complex, in the bay, there is the Konevsky Skete. It was founded at the end of the 19th century and was a beautiful five-domed church from white stone and a two-storey high cell building. The carved iconostasis, the decoration of which resembled malachite stone, was considered the pride of the church.

But during the Great Patriotic War, the monastery was destroyed. Only in 2003 the buildings of the church and cell building were restored.

To the north of the Assumption Chapel, on a hilly hill surrounded by pine forest, the Kazan Skete is located. Part of the buildings that make up the skete were erected during the life of Arseny the Wonderworker and happy accident have come down to our days in their original form.

In the central part of the skete there is a temple built in the late 18th - early 19th centuries in the style of ancient Russian architecture. The temple is surrounded by cold summer and warm winter cells of the monastic brethren, a refectory room and pantries. The territory of the Kazan Skete is surrounded by a fence, along the edges of which there are two more small outbuildings - a summer vestibule and another cell.

Holy Mountain and Horse Stone

If you go around the Kazan Skete on the left side, you can go to the path leading to the Holy Mountain. Walking along a winding path through numerous hills and forest thickets, you will find yourself at the northern foot of the Holy Mountain, near which the Horse-Stone is located. This giant boulder gets its name from its resemblance to a horse's skull. There are many legends associated with the Horse-stone and mystical stories. Before the arrival of the monk Arseny on the island, the pagans held rituals near the boulder, in which horses were sacrificed. The place sprinkled with blood served as a refuge for evil spirits, who were expelled from the island by the monk Arseny. According to legend, the black spirits flew away towards the bay, which later became known as Devil's. After the expulsion of the "demonic force", the founder of the Konevsky Monastery built a small cell on the Holy Mountain, where he lived alone for three years.

Later, during the erection of the first monastic buildings, a small wooden chapel was installed on the top of the Horse-stone. Like many buildings, this chapel was destroyed several times. The chapel, which can be seen on a boulder today, was built in the last years of the 19th century. Her hallmark architectural appearance are decorative carved window frames. You can get inside the chapel by climbing a simple wooden staircase. The interior decoration is modest and simple: the walls and ceiling are painted white, in the center of the hall there is a lectern for reading prayers and several icons.

Memo to the pilgrim

You can get to the island in the following way. From the Finnish railway station in St. Petersburg by train you need to get to the village of Gromovo, which is located in the Priozersky district of the Leningrad region. In Gromovo, you need to take a bus to Vladimirskaya Bay. So you will find yourself on the shore of Lake Ladoga. A monastery boat will take you to Konevets Island during the navigation period. This trip will take about an hour. However, when setting off on a journey, you must take into account the following features: the boats do not run according to the schedule, and the captain of the boat will not let you on board without the permission of the Pilgrimage Service of the monastery.

IN winter time from the bay to the island you can walk on the ice of Lake Ladoga. But it should be remembered that access to the ice must also be agreed with the Pilgrimage Service or the abbot of the monastery.

Konevets is an island in Lake Ladoga (Leningrad region, Priozersky district, near the village of Vladimirovka). On the island is Konevsky Christmas-Bogorodichny monastery.

Konevets Island and Konevsky Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery on the map:

In general, there are many legends about Konevets. The fact that this island was first chosen by the Karelians. Being pagans, they sacrificed horses to the gods on a huge boulder (now it is called "horse-stone"). At the turn of the XIV- X The Monk Arseny came here in the 5th century. He decided to overcome the pagan ones with Christian rites. And let's pour all kinds of evil spirits with holy water. Witnesses say that all the pagan spirits suddenly turned into crows and flew away from the island. And the snakes also crawled away somewhere. They say that until now Konevets - the only island in Lake Ladoga, where there are no snakes. And we didn't see them there either.

Or maybe creeping reptiles are not there for another reason? After all, there are rumors that various radioactive substances were investigated on the island in Soviet times. And they did not just study their chemical formulas, but tested the effects of these substances on animals. And then all the results of such experiments were immediately buried. So, who knows what else is hidden in this island. Maybe it's better not to risk it, and not stay here for a long time.

When we were on the island of Konevets, we did not know all this, because. got there by accident. We were returning to St. Petersburg from Priozersk, we decided to turn into Vladimir bay and find out in the future how to get to Konevets. On the shore, three local women sold blueberries and smoked fish. The husband of one of them was engaged in the delivery of those wishing to the island. The women immediately organized a watercraft for us and kindly provided me with a scarf and a long skirt (the monastery is still male, and I am unprepared in a short sarafan with a hoo decollete). They also tried to reassure me that the skirt is sometimes washed. In the end, we didn’t go into the monastery itself, so we didn’t have to use the equipment :).

We walked along the long pier, where Captain Sergey was waiting for us on board his high-speed ship. Soon we set sail from the shore:

Fifteen minutes of crazy jumps on the waves and we are met by a majesticKonevsky Nativity-Bogorodichny Monastery:

And here it is in all its glory:

Berth of Konevets Island:

And here is the monastery boat:

The beaches on Konevets Island are amazing:

But swimming is not accepted here. Holy places anyway. Yes, and remembering the radioactive contamination in these parts, somehow you yourself will not want to climb into the water. But we did not know this, and on this hot day the lake beckoned us into its fresh cold embrace.

Soon the sun will set, it's time to call Captain Sergei.

Another 15 minutes, and we will return to the "mainland":

Later we learned that there are many other interesting things on the island of Konevets, and the “Stone Horse”, and other chapels and monasteries, and sunken ships. This is what the lack of the Internet means when you have not prepared in advance.

If you want to get to Konevets Island, then you may need this information:

Private cab driver Sergey: +7 921 633-33-16

Konevsky Monastery: +7 812 571-71-94

If one of the readers has been here and can add to the article, we will be very happy with your comments, because they may be useful to someone!

Sailed to the island of Konevets

Marina and Kostya Samorosenko

Useful articles:

Konevets: The Island That Never Was
http://bagira.guru/puteshestviya/ostrov-kotorogo-ne-bylo.html

Lake Ladoga, Valaam - who is not familiar with these names? But about the fact that there is another island on Ladoga, Konevets, the existence of which is shrouded in centuries-old legends, few people know. Previously, Konevets was not even marked on the map, since it was located military base covering the entire territory of the island. Stockpiles of various weapons, including chemical ones, were stored in the buildings of the monastery and in the church, which caused great damage to the frescoes and other historical values.

Valaam double

Konevets Island is located in Lake Ladoga, 5 km from West Bank. At this point, the cape seems to cut into the water, forming a bay. The Finno-Ugric tribes who lived in these places until the 9th century, the ancestors of the current Karelians, called Konevets Rantasaari, which means "coastal
island". Until the 14th century, the Karelians used this territory for grazing horses.

Konevets is much smaller than Valaam, it stretches only 5 km long and 2 km wide. The climate here is severe: the winter lasts almost five months, and the summer does not please with warmth. The air temperature rarely rises above 20°C. In our time, Konevets became famous thanks to the Konevsky Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery.

Big story of a small island

The island got its name from a huge boulder - Horse-stone, one of the local attractions. According to some reports, secret pagan rites were held in these places until the 14th century, and this megalith was a place of pagan sacrifices. On certain days, boats with priests were sent to the island, who sacrificed a horse to the pagan gods.

In 1393, the Novgorodian monk Arseniy was returning from Athos to the Russian land, intending to settle on one of the islands of Lake Ladoga. The storm that caught him on the way nailed the boat to Konevets. Several times Arseny tried to sail away from the island and continue on his way, but the waves brought him back again and again. He realized that this was no accident, and decided to stay. On the shore, Arseny met a fisherman, from whom he learned about the sacrifices.

At that time, Konevets was almost deserted. People were afraid to live there, it was believed that spirits lived in a huge boulder called Horse-Stone. Arseny's impressions of what he saw were rather gloomy: "He is surrounded by demonic horror more than a dense forest." He took the image of the Mother of God, brought by him from Athos, and made a procession around the Horse-stone, and then sprinkled the boulder with holy water. According to the life of St. Arseny, after this rite, the spirits came out of the stone, turned into black ravens and flew away, to the opposite shore of Lake Ladoga, to the Devil's Bay, where they threw themselves into the water. Today this bay is called Vladimirskaya.

It was then that, together with the demons, the snakes disappeared from the island, which are still not there. However, there is a more real version of the disappearance of snakes on Konevets. On the island in Soviet times, various radioactive substances were investigated and the effect of these substances on animals was tested. And then everything left from such experiments was immediately buried.

Orthodox monks who settled on Konevets erected a wooden chapel on top of the stone. However, scientists could not establish the exact date of the construction of the first chapel. It is only known that, since the island was subjected to repeated attacks and devastation by the Swedes, it was rebuilt in 1815 and in 1895.

Arseny Konevsky founded an Orthodox monastery on the island, in the cathedral of which a unique shrine was kept, brought by him from Mount Athos, a miraculous icon of the Mother of God, which has no analogues in the world. It depicts the Mother of God with the Child playing with a dove chick, symbolizing spiritual purity.

Unfortunately, the first monastery buildings have not survived to this day: as a result of all the same invasions of the Swedish army, they were looted and destroyed. Only at the end Northern war, after the island became the possession of Russia, the monastery began to rebuild. But it didn't last long.

After the revolution, taking with them the main shrine of the cathedral, the monks fled to Finland, where it is now kept in the New Valaam Monastery. And after the Second World War, Konevets completely disappeared from the maps, as the power of the military reigned on it.

After the collapse of the USSR, in 1991, the Konevets monastery became one of the first monasteries that it was decided to return to the Russian Orthodox Church. In November 1991, the relics of St. Arseny, hidden from the Swedes in 1573, were found. Twenty monks returned to Konevets and began to restore the monastery.

In addition to the income from their subsistence farming, in our time they receive decent help from outside. The monks themselves bake bread, make cheese, they have a garden and some livestock. Heating on the island is still carried out by wood, and movement is by sleigh. Electricity is available only in the house left by the military, and even that is autonomous. By 2004, the monastery was largely restored.

Many famous monks have lived in the Konevets Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin throughout its 600-year history. For example, a native of Monakhov's ditch Adrian, who founded the Kazan Skete on Konevets, and his disciple Zosima, after whom Dostoevsky named his elder from The Brothers Karamazov. Elder Isaiah also lived on Konevets, who then left to restore the Vazheozersk hermitage. These were the people who raised the Russian desert spirit at the beginning of the 19th century.

Places of power

The most interesting place of Power on the island is the Horse-Stone. This glacial boulder, the same age as Lake Ladoga, impresses with its enormous size: 9.2 m long, 6.4 m wide, over 4.3 m high and weighing over 750 tons. This ancient pre-Christian altar, where sacrifices were made to the spirits that protect pastures, is considered the most energetically bright object of the island.

No one will argue that the Horse-Stone is a strong place. It would be such even if no sacrifices were made on it at all, because the megalith has seen a lot in its lifetime. This stone is thousands of years old. It is older than the Egyptian pyramids.

There is another one on the island interesting place- Serpent Mountain. It fell into disrepute in Christian times, mainly because of its name. In ancient times, the Serpent Mountain served as a place of solitude and reflection. Perhaps that is why it was chosen for the construction of hermitages by the Orthodox elders Zosima and Basilisk at the end of the 18th century.

Another thing is surprising: on Serpent Mountain, nothing remains of the cells of the hermits, only a cross, installed in our time. The Snake Mountain (there are no snakes for a long time, but the name has been preserved) has an interesting energy - calmness, peace, contemplation.
Konevets Island will help those who have lost their life orientation, confused in problems, tired of the hustle and bustle. But in order to fully feel the energy ancient island, it is better to go there alone, go to the Horse-stone, touch its rough side.


Road to the temple

The city of Priozersk, closest to Konevets, is located 40 km from the island, if we talk about the waterway. But the waterway to St. Petersburg is not at all close, about 170 km. You can get to the island during the summer navigation on tourist boats. There is one more option. First you need to take a suburban St. Petersburg train or bus to the village of Sosnovo (Priozerskoe direction), then - on scheduled buses to the village of Vladimirovka. From here you will have to get to the island on a private boat (if the ice has not yet risen), and later you can walk on the ice on foot, this is about 5 km.

Better not to come to Konevets late autumn: Navigation has already ended and the ice is not strong enough to navigate safely. You can also stay overnight on the island in different ways: in a tent you set up in the forest, in a monastery or in a small monastery hotel for pilgrims.

Galina Minnikova

Karelia, Lake Ladoga, Karelian Isthmus since ancient times have been surrounded by legends and traditions. One of them says that the Monk Arseniy, carried by a storm to the island of Konevets in 1393, placed a cross here. And the monk expelled the evil spirits that settled under the Horse-stone. Since then, snakes have not lived on the island of Konevets, which the Orthodox always associate with evil spirits.

Come from the Ice Age

Prehistoric glacier descending from Scandinavian mountains, brought not only blocks of ice, but also huge boulders. Having lingered in the western part of Lake Ladoga, these giant stones over time, overgrown with alluvial sand, covered with a layer of soil. At present, Konevets Island is about 5 km long and about 2 km wide. But the process of alluvium of the Ladoga sand continues, and the land area is slowly but surely growing. The delay of sand masses is also facilitated by the location of several more small islands, representing a cluster of granite boulders.

In the central part of the island there are several hills: the Snake and Svyataya mountains. sandbanks here they alternate with rocky shores, gentle plains - with huge granite boulders. One of these giants is the Stone Horse. It was from him that the island got its name - Konevets. The dimensions of the boulder are amazing 9x6 meters at a height of 4 meters. This giant weighs 750 tons. According to a Finnish legend, once near the Horse-Stone, shaped like a horse's head, pagan Finno-Ugric tribes made ritual offerings to their gods.

The climate on the island is temperate. Sea air often brings thaws in winter, and in summer - rainy weather. When continental air masses blow over Ladoga, the air can warm up to +30 degrees. But at the same time, cold Arctic air from the north can bring frosts down to -40 degrees.

Why is this small rocky island, with scarce flora and fauna and unstable weather, so popular with tourists?

Konevsky Nativity-Bogorodichny Monastery

The Monk Arseny spent much time in search of a quiet place for monastic life and, finally, chose the island of Konevets. Having built a small cell on a hill, later called the Holy Mountain, the monk spends three years in prayer. In 1396 the monk descended to live on the shores of Lake Ladoga. Here his disciples and followers join him.

And the brothers erected in 1398 on the deserted shore a temple in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. And in 1421, after the flood of Lake Ladoga, which flooded and destroyed the monastery, the Monk Arseniy and the brethren moved the buildings to another place. In the future, the temple was rebuilt several times. Nevertheless, many researchers believe that the Konevsky Monastery was the first temple building made of stone in the Russian North.

After the death of its first abbot, the monastery flourished for many more years, until in 1577 it was completely ravaged by the Swedes. In 1594, after the conclusion of peace with Sweden, the Karelian region was returned to Russia. But in 1610, the Swedes again conquered the lands along the shores of Lake Ladoga. Konevsky monastery was ruined, stone buildings dismantled, the stones were taken to Kexholm (modern Priozersk) and used for the construction of fortifications. However, the relics of St. Arseny, hidden under the foundation of the temple, remained untouched.

In 1716, during the Northern War, Karelia, and with it both Konevets and Valaam, returned to Russia. Since that time, the Konevsky Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery began to flourish.

As part of young Finland

After the events of 1917, the monastery goes to Finland. Monks hardly get used to a new way of life, a new language. During these years, tourists and pilgrims began to show interest in the monastery in Finland. In the summer, senior seminarians came. However, new monks did not come to the monastery, and the number of novices was rapidly declining.

winter war

The result of hostilities in 1939-1940 was the departure of the monastic brethren from the temple and their resettlement to the mainland. The military units of the Soviet army were stationed on the island. The property that the monks did not have time to take out was looted

During the Great patriotic war the monastery was badly damaged. Many church buildings were destroyed.

After the end of the war, the territory of Konevets Island became closed for many years - a test site and a naval base were located here. The island around the perimeter was fenced with barbed wire, the approach to it civil courts prohibited. Families of officers settled in the surviving premises. Under Soviet rule, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin turned into a warehouse, and the refectory room into a club.

Over time, the activity of the military decreased, but the training ground and the naval base are still in operation. The abandoned premises of the monastery were rapidly dilapidated and destroyed. This continued until 1990.

New history of the monastery

In 1991, the territory of Konevets Island and the preserved buildings were transferred to the monastery. In the same year, the relics of St. Arseny were found, which had been kept under the floor for many years.

Unfortunately, ancient buildings With centuries of history not preserved on the island. But the brethren are engaged in restoration and restoration with love and diligence. Now tourists and pilgrims can admire the stone chapel and the temple in honor of St. Nicholas, built in 1815, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary built in 1809, the temple in the name of St. Arseny, dating from 1849. In addition, on the territory of the monastery there is a stone hotel built in the 1860s, the chapel of the Assumption Mother of God, fraternal cemetery, Kazansky and Konevsky sketes and other buildings.

And, of course, the pearl of the island of Konevets - Horse-stone with a completely restored chapel built in 1895.

There is no regular communication with the island. It can be reached by ferry or private boat. In winter, you can get there by car on the ice of Lake Ladoga.

The boat to Konevets set sail without us. We were literally two or three minutes late. The guy on the shore said that today there will be another flight to the island. Must wait. Well, I bought a bottle of Karelian vodka "Russian Garant" in the Vladimirovsky village store and settled down on the shore. Vodka was excellent - with garlic and pepper. It was written on the label that Comrade Stalin himself drank this vodka and recommended that his comrades-in-arms drink it. Well, since I did it myself... I dumped pile after pile, pile after pile into myself... The weather was rapidly deteriorating, the wave was getting steeper. By two o'clock in the afternoon the boat returned. There was no dry thread on the passengers. The captain said that he would not go anywhere in the next three days - a storm.

Well, isn't it a shame to screw it up like that? From drunken eyes, I clearly understood that the demons of Konevets did not want to let me on the island. Or - not demons? When in 1393 the Novgorodian monk Arseniy returned to Russia from Athos, he intended to settle on one of outlying islands Lake Ladoga. Not on Konevets. A storm washed up his boat on this island. Arseny tried to swim further, but the waves brought him back twice. He realized that this was not without reason, and remained. This is how the Konevets Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos arose, in which many wonderful monks labored over the course of six hundred years. Some of them are mentioned on the pages of "Places of Power". For example, a native of Adrian (who founded the Kazan Skete on Konevets) and his disciple Zosima, after whom Dostoevsky named his elder from The Brothers Karamazov. On Konevets, the elder Isaiah lived, who then went to restore. These were the people who raised the Russian desert spirit at the beginning of the 19th century.

But now it's not about them, about Arseny. In his time, Konevets was deserted. The natives were afraid to settle on the island, because spirits were found there. They lived in a huge stone more than four meters high and weighing about 750 tons. A horse was sacrificed at this stone every year. Hence the name of the stone - Horse-stone (I know and described it also with this name). Hence the name of the island - Konevets. In general, Arseny saw that the place was "more dense than a dense forest surrounded by demonic horror." Something like the island to which Prospero washed up from Shakespeare's "The Tempest". But only Prospero was a magician, and Arseny was an Orthodox monk. He did not subdue the demons, but took the image of the Mother of God, brought to him from Athos, and made a procession around the Horse-stone. Then he sprinkled the stone with holy water. Then the demons that lived in him turned into ravens and flew away with an ominous cawing.

They say that they went towards Sortan-lakhta, that is, Devil's ("sort" - just a spoiled Russian "devil") bay, where they rushed into the water. And therefore, sudden storms often occur on Lake Ladoga now. This is a meteorological fact. But where is that bay? The website of the Konevets Monastery says that now it is called Vladimirskaya Bay. That is, the very one on the shore of which, cursing the bad weather and my own sluggishness, I finished my vodka? But maybe this is some other place on Ladoga. For example, Sortavala, the center of the Finnish alcohol tourism in Karelia and the pier from where boats go to Valaam, another famous island forces on Lake Ladoga.

Having finished my vodka, I decided to go around the lake in a circle, to look for other places where power gushes. Do not wait for the weather by the sea for three days in this Devil's Bay. Valentina, my friend and driver, got behind the wheel and we set off. The mood was lousy, we drove slowly. It was pouring down a terrible rain, and the road behind it was almost invisible. But here's what's funny: already near Shlisselburg, the rain suddenly stopped. And the wind died down. And in the morning the sun came out, as if confirming that they simply did not want to see me at Konevets. Well, they don't want to and they don't have to. Having rounded Lake Ladoga from the south and east, having found many places that I will still talk about (see, and), on the third day of the journey I ended up at the pier in Sortaval (formerly Serdobol), where I was waiting for a ship to Valaam.

The excitement on the lake had not yet completely subsided, so it was not clear whether it would be possible to swim away. Painful waiting. Suddenly, my friend from Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Misha Karpov, called from Moscow and said that our mutual friend Zhenya Alexandrov had died under strange circumstances. Looks like he's been killed. I got really sick. Yes, some idiot came up with a newspaper and asked: "Have your dog bit you yet?" I explained that soon the sky will fall to the ground and the Neva will flow back, than my noble male will bite me. To which the man remarked that one could not be sure of anything. Here, he showed the newspaper, they write here that a completely domestic dog killed the owner for no reason. I hastened to move away from the madman.

Having visited Valaam, I nevertheless decided to try to get to Konevets. Arrived in Vladimirovka. The weather is fine, there is a ship at the pier, ready to sail in an hour. Everything was going great. Only there was a problem with the dog. They did not want to put her on the ship. I offered to pay for the animal as an adult tourist. "Yes, that's not the point," the girl said, letting us through, "there's just a dog there who fights visiting dogs. Look, it's your responsibility." I did not attach any importance to her warning, since my Osman (see his photo and), even though the Labrador, knows how to stand up for himself. But the first monk we met on the island told us to leave the dog on the ship. Why? "Because our Tyutya cannot stand strangers," was the answer. And who is Tyutya? "You'll see, but better leave the dog." I didn't listen.

When we saw Tyutya, he did not cause any fears in us: a normal mongrel, not even one of the largest. Next to him was Martha, his wife, as the pilgrims explained. Osman and Tyutya approached each other, took up fighting positions, growled and suddenly rushed at each other. Mine acted more clearly: he managed to grab Tyutya by the ear and get on top. The great experience of fights with the Moscow Staffordshires had an effect. To finish off the mongrel was now a matter of technique. But I decided that the guest should not do this, and began to drag my dog ​​by the collar. This was the worst mistake. As soon as the grip loosened, Tyutya twisted around, grabbed Osman's neck and was already getting close to the carotid artery. What was it to watch? No, you need to separate them. There was no collar on Tyut, so I had to climb into his mouth with my bare hands, pushing his jaws apart. But as soon as I parted them, my combat Labrador jumped to his feet and - oh, fuck! He aimed at Tyutin's neck, but missed in the commotion. His teeth clattered around the wrist of my left hand, which was still trying to hold Tyutya.

So I got bitten by my own dog. A prophecy that came to me through a madman from Sortavala came true. Now, when I look at the scars left by my faithful dog, I think that things could have turned out much worse. The teeth stumbled on the bone without touching any important vessels. The monastery workers came to the rescue and helped separate the dogs. It’s good that Tyuti had in his soul strict ban to the bite of a man, otherwise it would be - what is left of my hands that have been in his mouth? Don't know. The monk who performed the obedience of a healer, having examined my wounds, said: "Nothing." And anointed them with some kind of potion. I was about to start a conversation that it would be necessary to wash the wounds and maybe give an injection. But he objected: “Your dog is healthy, isn’t it? And our Tyutya is healthy. Don’t worry. Now, if a person bit you, then it would be bad. will pass immediately." Indeed, the wounds healed rapidly. Reverend Arseny helped. The very next day my swollen hand turned yellow and began to recover.

Later, the workers who helped me pull the dogs away explained that Tyutin's grandmother was a she-wolf. When Tyutya matured, he killed all the males that lived on the island. Subsequently, he killed all his sons as soon as they grew up and became his competitors. Naturally, he is always ready to kill any males brought to Konevets. At some point, the monks, no matter how much they loved this nice dog, realized that Tyutya allows himself too much. And they decided to send him to the mainland, because - well, really, it’s not good to keep a born killer in a holy place. But in the village where he was brought, the frantic Tyutya killed either 11 or 13 dogs (I don’t remember exactly how many, but all of them), and he was returned to the island.

I admit that all these exploits of Tyuti are only a legend, but still - they did not arise from scratch. In general, the wolf is one of the most mysterious creatures in the world. He was created by the devil, but he could not revive. God breathed life into the wolf, and the wolf immediately grabbed the creator's leg with his teeth (hell). Hence the ambivalence of the legends about the wolf: he is both an enemy and a helper. He is the friend of both the saints and the unclean. The locals see in Tyut rather a tamed wolf: a wild beast that lives among people under the guise of a kind dog. After our desperate fight, I saw in him the embodiment of the spirit of this island, something like those demons that Arseny had once cast out of stone. Did they drown? Yes, fullness, spirits do not drown. They returned here in the form of a wolf's grandson. And if earlier horses were victims of the spirit of this place, now dogs are. And then someone else will. After all, it has been known since the time of Anthony the Great that demons are a by-product of the ascetic production of holiness. If there were ascetics, there would be demons.

Believe me, I do not hold a grudge against Tyutya. I understand him well. When we met an hour after the fight (my dog ​​had already been taken in by warm-hearted people from a mental hospital located next to the monastery), he was clearly unhappy with me. Still - some alien did not allow him to fulfill his destiny. He brought the dog to the island, but did not give it as a sacrifice. Why did you bring it then? Tyutya grumbled. Then he looked up, saying: "Well, what to do with you profane ones." He sighed mournfully. He accepted a piece of cheese offered by me as a sign of reconciliation (and compensation: a lamb for the sought-for Isaac), and hobbled to his Martha. The fur on his neck was completely soaked with blood.

As for the mystical topography of Konevets, without a dog trained to search for places of power, my exploration of the island turned out to be incomplete. Nevertheless, from what happened to me on the island and on the way to it, it clearly follows: the spirit of the Stone Horse continues to fool the wanderers approaching it. So I was repeatedly warned that something should happen on Konevets, but I continued to maniacally strive to go there. It was as if a veil had eclipsed my eye, which was trained to grasp all kinds of signs and signs. As if I was plunged into a dream, the course of which I could not control. They made him an unconscious participant in a strange mystery. And in this way they showed something.

It seems to me that blaming is in the nature of the Horse stone (in this sense, similar to the Humpbacked Horse). Once he captured the Monk Arseny, did not allow him to sail away. Why? Maybe Arseny was supposed to play the role of Odysseus, who unleashed the Aeolian fur on Ladoga? Or maybe the stone had to be cleansed of the demons that lived in it? Who knows. People believe that it is they, and not a stone at all, that determine the course of life on the island. And as a sign of imaginary power over the stone, they leave traces on it. As a result of the deeds of Arseny, the Horse-Stone was saddled by the chapel. If you look closely, you can also see petroglyphs on it. Image of demons? It seems. Although someone could just spoil. As one of the great princes who visited sacred place and left a tablet in memory of this on a stone (now, however, removed). It looks like "Kolya was here." Stupid vandalism. Dogs are much more delicate.

MAP OF POINTS OF POWER OLEG DAVYDOV - ARCHIVE OF PLACES OF POWER -