KREMLIN

The stone wall of the Kremlin dates back to the end of the 16th century. Within its walls are the churches of the Transfiguration, the Dormition, Saint Philip, the Holy Trinity, Saint Guerman, the Chapel of the Annunciation, the monks' cells (bratskiy korpus), the great refectory (trapeznaïa), the museum section of the monastery, the headquarters of the State Museum administration and the exhibition dedicated to SLON (the acronym for the Solovki camp, Severnaya Lageria Ossobovo Nazatchenia, which translates into French as "Camp du Nord à destination spéciale", typical of the Soviet novlangue). There are also buildings that the museum and the monastery have more or less shared. But on this peaceful place, a fierce territorial struggle is taking place. The monks tirelessly campaign for the recovery of all architectural properties, not only of the monastery, but those of the archipelago as a whole, arguing that all monuments were originally intended. The museum, for its part, considers that monks are not in a position to preserve and/or restore monuments classified as national and world heritage. Hence an insoluble conflict that has been silent between Church and State for almost thirty years, in one of the most symbolic places of the excesses of the Soviet regime. To get an idea of the majesty of the place, simply return a 500 roubles note: the monastery with its surrounding wall and the cathedral of the Transfiguration overlooking a small lake are shown on the back.