Monastery - Karelia - Syandeba
The idea of writing about Russia is a delicate matter, since we learn stereotypes about other cultures, countries, and religions from childhood. However, I intend to take on this challenge by addressing various aspects of the place, reporting its customs and beliefs from the perspective of a foreigner in a different world.
In this sense, the main idea about my life in Russia is to talk about this place in order to present my point of view on the culture, the people, the cuisine, the education system—in short, important information for those seeking to learn more about this country.
I wrote part of this text during a trip for foreigners organized by the Repin Academy, coordinated by Mr. Бекетов Константин Анатольевич (Konstantin Anatolyevich Beketov), head of the Department of Work with Foreign Students at the Repin Academy.
At the time I was writing, I was in the Republic of Karelia (Карелия), in the town of Syandeba (Сяндеба), at the Syandemsky Dormition Women's Monastery (Сяндемский Успенский женский монастырь). With me were people from various parts of the world, such as Mongolia, Afghanistan, Macedonia, China, Sweden, Belarus, Ethiopia, and the Republic of Congo. They were students of painting, architecture, or sculpture. According to Beketov, the idea was to immerse the students in an artistic environment so that they could come into contact with Russian culture and produce art while interacting with the local people. It is within this atmosphere that I chose to write this text, in order to preserve the accuracy of my memories of this event.
We stayed in the monastery dormitory for a period of ten days, receiving meals and being accompanied by Professor Ivanov, who analyzed our work and provided constructive criticism. Throughout the period, we were free to choose the compositions we wished to paint. At the end of the work, we held a collective exhibition of the students' works.
About the Monastery
Located in the Republic of Karelia, northwestern Russia, the Syandemsky Dormition Women's Monastery (in Russian: Сяндемская Успенская женская обитель) was founded between 1500 and 1520 by the monks Afanasy and Leonty, disciples of St. Alexander of Svir. The monastery originally functioned as a male skete (small hermitage). Closed in 1764 by decree of Empress Catherine the Great, who secularized ecclesiastical properties, the site fell into progressive decay. During the Soviet period, the remaining structures were abandoned and gradually reclaimed by the forest.
Reopened in 2009 as a women's monastery, the complex underwent a significant reconstruction process. A group of nuns established an active monastic community there, dedicated to spiritual life and manual labor. The main achievement was the construction of a new wooden church.
Today, the monastery maintains Orthodox traditions through religious services, production of religious articles, and subsistence agriculture. The relics of the founders, Saints Afanasy and Leonty, are venerated on site, with a liturgical celebration on June 18 (Julian calendar). The monastery receives pilgrims and visitors, offering an experience of tranquility and contemplation in the natural landscape of Karelia, characterized by forests and lakes. The community is distinguished by its austere character and preservation of the region's religious history.
