Unique trips to farewell lighthouses in the Russian North

The word “lighthouse” appeared when only natural landmarks were used for navigation, usually prominent cliffs or capes. / Lighthouse on Veshnyak Island in the White Sea. This island is called the “ships’ graveyard”, because it caused a record-breaking amount of shipwrecks in the White Sea.

Sailing maps and charts for navigating cliffs were passed from generation to generation. / Nikodimskiy lighthouse, Terskiy shore of the White Sea.

Modern lighthouses were established in Russia under Peter the Great (1682-1721). When St. Petersburg was founded, the lighthouse on Peter and Paul fortress was lit up. The development of Russia’s fleet and new trade routes went hand in hand with the construction of lighthouses on the White and Baltic seas. Russia’s first lighthouse was built back then, called Tolbukhin. It is still working. / Tolbukhin lighthouse.

In 1807 Tsar Alexander I issued a decree to establish a lighthouse service. 25 years later lighthouses appeared in Russia’s Far East, on the Kamchatka peninsula shore, lighting up the marine borders of the Russian Empire. / A lamp near Irberskiy lighthouse.

Modern technology and navigation has reduced the need for lighthouses. Many have closed in the past decade. / Svirskiy lighthouse.

Those that were reconstructed were generally sheathed in iron sheeting, regardless of their architectural features. / Storozhenskiy lighthouse.

Left without protection, lighthouse towns suffer from vandalism and arson, and are even stripped for firewood. / Staircase in the Osinovets lighthouse.

The exhibition “Lighthouses of the Russian North” is a chance to make an important contribution to saving lighthouses in Russia. The Nature of Russia art and travel club holds exhibitions with photos and drawings. This summer (from 11th June until 1st September) there will be one in Archangelsk. / Zhuzhmuiskyi lighthouse on Bolshoi Zhuzhmuy Island. The Tsarist government bought the lighthouse in France in the 19th century. Now the island is deserted with only a small lighthouse village.

“We are trying to attract the attention of Russian society to this issue and show the bright, modern face of Russian lighthouses,” says Yury Matseevskyi, one of founders of the project. / Tersko-Orlovskyi lighthouse is still active. It was put into operation in 1843.

The architecture of Russian lighthouses is unique; they are built for various weather conditions and belong to different architecture schools. / The active Vaidagubskyi lighthouse, built in 1966 on the White Sea shore.

Lighthouses are an inalienable part of the history of Russian sea exploration. Their disappearance is like losing an important chapter of history. / Lighthouse on Veshnyak Island, White Sea.

Intsy lighthouse on the White Sea, 1899. In 1913, when the lighthouse supervisor died, his widow was left as the sole operator with 11 kids. Documents record that her eldest son was appointed as the new supervisor, because it was illegal for a woman to occupy the post. But in fact all the duties fell on her shoulders.

The Nature of Russia club travels to the Russian North on foot, by bike and by yacht. Afterwards they turn their journeys into photo exhibitions dedicated to Russian nature. / Lighthouse on Sukho Island.

The Lighthouses of the Russian North society aims to make lighthouses a part of Russia’s cultural heritage and a place for tourism, allowing people to convert them into museums and preserve the country’s history for posterity. / Irbenskyi floating lighthouse.