the story of Russia told through its most remarkable islands Robson, Roy R. creator text bibliography Electronic books. ctu New Haven, Conn Yale University Press c2004 2004 monographic eng

electronic resource

1 online resource (xvi, 302 p.) : ill., maps. The tragedies and triumphs of the Russian past are viewed through the lens of isolated islands that served as both monastery and Gulag camp. Located in the northernmost reaches of Russia, the islands of Solovki are among the most remote in the world. And yet from the Bronze Age through the twentieth century, the islands have attracted an astonishing cast of saints and scoundrels, soldiers and politicians. The site of a beautiful medieval monastery--once home to one of the greatest libraries of eastern Europe--Solovki became in the twentieth century a notorious labor camp. Roy Robson recounts the history of Solovki from its first settlers through the present day, as the history of Russia plays out on this miniature stage. In the 1600s, the piety and prosperity of Solovki turned to religious rebellion, siege, and massacre. Peter the Great then used it as a prison. But Solovki's glory was renewed in the nineteenth century as it became a major pilgrimage site--only to descend again into horror when the islands became, in the words of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the "mother of the Gulag" system. From its first intrepid visitors through the blood-soaked twentieth century, Solovki--like Russia itself--has been a site of both glorious achievement and profound misery. Stones -- Saints -- Prosperity -- Struggle -- Guardian -- Triumph -- Defiance -- Rebellion -- Emperor -- Prison -- Reform -- War -- Pilgrims -- Revolutions -- Gulag -- Life -- Denouement. Roy R. Robson. Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-289) and index. e-ru--- Solovet͡s︡kiĭ monastyrʹ History Solovet͡s︡kiĭ lagerʹ osobogo naznachenii͡a︡ History HISTORY Solovetski Islands (Russia) History რუსეთის ისტორია DK511.S75 R63 2004eb 947/.17 94(470+571) Robson, Roy R. New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, c2004 (DLC) 2003020212 9780300129601 (electronic bk.) 0300129602 (electronic bk.) 1281730408 9781281730404 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=187713 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=187713 COO 030910 20150315092244.0 ocn191932664 eng