The Republic of Karelia on the map is between the Baltic and the White Seas. It has quite an extended territory – around two thirds of the size of UK. You will probably have to google the distance to a certain location. Although, Karelia’s capital, the city of Petrozavodsk, is 50 min flight from St. Petersburg, and 1h 20 min flight from Moscow.
There are a lot of sites worth filming in Karelia. For example here you will find prehistoric petroglyphs, pagan shrines, medieval temples and monasteries, wooden architecture, castles and ruined military fortifications left after the II World War.
Karelian nature is no less remarkable. Karelia’s dense forests cover almost all of the republic’s territory. There are also many lakes with islands and skerries that make up incredible views. The locals are proud of their nature and protect it by taking care of Karelia’s nature reserves and national parks.
Our fixers can help you in getting the permits for filming the following locations:
On the Valaam island, you can film the main Cathedral of the complex, the Transfiguration Cathedral. It was built in the XIX c., abandoned during the early Soviet times and then beautifully restored. The temple has rich decorations from the inside and outside, and can berightfully called the real pearl of Valaam.
The monastery is a very important Orthodox religious centre. Thus for filming there a premit (blessing) fro, the church authorities is required.
In the 1920-1930s, a defensive fortification line against the Soviet Union was built by Finland. It has the name ‘the Mannerheim line’. On the Valaam archipelago some of the line’s ammunition warehouses and earth-and-timber emplacements were abandoned in the woods. For example till today several bunkers and pillboxes lie on and under the ground covered with moss. Those artifacts resemble an open-air museum: nobody cares for them. Although they have witnessed how an Empire was built and later how it collapsed. Our local fixers can help you in finding and filming some of the Mannerheim line’s sites.
The open-air Kizhi Museum consists of 89 monuments of Russian northern wooden architecture. It includes churches, peasant’s izbas, saunas, forges, mills, granaries, drying houses, and stables among them. The Kizhi Museum-Reserve shows vividly the life of a Karelian peasant.
The Konevsky Monastery on the Konevets island. Founded in the XIV c., the Konevsky Monastery was very popular among the Russian nobility. Here you can film the architectural ensemble of the monastery and in addition the ancient pagan sanctuary – the Kon’-Stone (or ‘Horse-Stone’)
The Karelia region is a land of ancient forests, pristine lakes, and rugged wilderness located in northern Russia. The region has a rich and fascinating history that spans back thousands of years. Archaeological evidence suggests that the area was inhabited by ancient people as far back as the Stone Age.
During the Middle Ages, the Karelian people, who are closely related to the Finns, established their own independent kingdom, which was eventually conquered by Sweden in the 17th century. In the 20th century, Karelia became part of the Soviet Union and was used for industrial purposes, including mining and logging.
