Undiscovered Russia: Long Journey to Russia's Ancient Saltworks Center

MOSCOW/SOLIGALICH (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2020) Denis Chernyshenko A Sputnik correspondent visited Russia's northern Kostroma Region to explore the town of Soligalich, a Russian ancient saltworks center.

Soligalich, which is the northernmost town of the Central Federal District, was founded in the first half of the 14th century and known then as Sol' Galichskaya (literally: salt from the lands of the Galich Principality). Along with producing salt, the town turned in the 16th century into a trading center on the route from the northern port of Arkhangelsk to Kostroma and other cities on the Volga River.

The prospering town started to fall into decay in the first half of the 19th century. First it was devastated by a huge fire in 1808 and then in 1823 salt production stalled when other salt-producing centers emerged where production was easier and cheaper than in Soligalich.

Now this is a very small town, home to some 6,000 residents, which is not popular with tourists but still has some interesting sites.

The journey was a kind of a breath of fresh air as it took place in July when the coronavirus-linked restrictions in Russia started to be lifted. So, it was the first big trip after several months of quarantine.

The first part of the route went through territories of the Golden Ring, the most famous tourist route in Russia. However, instead of visiting worldwide famous Rostov Velikiy and Yaroslavl, we preferred to enjoy the beauty of several little-known small settlements.

The first one is Porechye-Rybnoye on the southern coast of Nero Lake, in front of Rostov Velikiy. The once rich village attracts tourists with the magnificent St. Peter and St. Paul Church as well as St. Nikita Church. Unfortunately, both of them need renovation as they fell into decay during the Soviet period, which was characterized by an intolerant attitude to the Orthodox Church as well as other religions.

Our next stop was made in the village of Velikoye with the large Holy Mother Virgins Nativity Church that was built in 1712 to commemorate the Battle for Poltava, in which Russia defeated Sweden and turned into one of the most powerful European empires.

One more interesting church the Kazan Church, built in 1770 is located in the village of Kurba. However, the most interesting place of the first day of the journey was the wonderful town of Nerekhta, which has impressing masterpieces of Orthodox architecture.

We spent a night in Kostroma, the legendary Russian city that was heavily devastated during the Soviet era when the Communists destroyed the Kremlin the historical heart of the city as a symbol of the monarchy.

Kostroma is also known as the place where the first Russian tsar from the Romanov Dynasty Michael I was hiding from the Polish intervention forces in the beginning of the 17th century, known in Russia as the Time of Troubles. According to a legend, the Polish troops asked local resident Ivan Susanin to show them a path to Kostroma so that they could kill Michael I, but Susanin guided them to a remote woodland from where none of them managed to return.

In 1836, great Russian composer Mikhail Glinka presented the opera called "Life for the Tsar" dedicated to this legend.

After leaving Kostroma on the next day, we passed through the town of Sudislavl, an ancient trading town and later a significant spiritual center for the Old Believers, representatives of the Orthodox Church, who rejected the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow conducted in the second part of the 17th century.

Our first major stop was made in the town of Galich (previously known as Grad Mersky), the capital of the Galich Principality in the 13-15th centuries. The town played a very important role during the 1425-1453 Great Feudal War in the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The pretender to Moscow throne, Dmitry Shemyaka, used Galich as a stronghold in the conflict against Vasily II the Blind but was defeated here in 1450, which marked the conquest of the town by Moscow.

Galich is located on the coast of the beautiful Lake Galichskoye and has several Orthodox monasteries and churches. The town is also famous as a small node of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

A bit northward, we visited one more interesting town: Chukhloma. This town is a center of the linguistic enclave where people speak middle Russian dialects, despite the fact that in all the territories surrounding this area one can hear only Northern Russian dialects.

Near Chukhloma one also can see the St. Abramius Gorodets Monastery, founded by St. Abramius (or Abraham) of Galich in the 14th century. Tourists can also enjoy a fantastic view of Chukhloma Lake from here.

Finally, we reached the final goal of the trip: Soligalich that is located on the Kostroma River. In terms of roadway connection, this is a dead end as one cannot go northward, to the Vologda Region, by car from Soligalich.

The streets of the town are very calm, an unusual experience for anyone used to living in a huge metropolis like Moscow. We enjoyed some Orthodox monuments here, especially the majestic Holy Mother Virgins Nativity Cathedral built in the 17-18th centuries.

One more interesting sight of Soligalich is the decaying Resurrection Monastery. Unfortunately, its beautiful bell tower has huge cracks and the building may soon collapse if proper works are not carried out.

It will take only several hours to explore all the sights of Soligalich but the town is undoubtedly worth visiting: one can feel the spirit of ancient, provincial Russia here as well as enjoy the beauty of northern nature.

Our way back to Moscow went through many other interesting places: the towns of Buy, Susanino and Furmanov, the city of Ivanovo as well as the villages of Mikhailovskoe and Kideksha. All these locations deserve separate stories and tourists' attention!