"The Oldest One in Russia"

The post-Soviet resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church has once again brought the idyllic borderland monastery of Valaam into public notice. The fame of the monastery is largely based on its long and honorable historic image as the “Northern Athos” . This book argues that the fascinating and colorful image of Valaam was exclusively a result of the National Romanticist historiographic efforts of the 18th and 19th centuries. The work contributes, for instance, to the fields of nationality and borderland studies. It is a versatile case study of the multifaceted ways in which contemporary ideological trends and politics have been reflected in history writing.

"a fundamental work about the role of monasteries in Russian social and cultural life" Ludwig Steindorff, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel

Kati Parppei, Ph. D. (2010) in History, University of Eastern Finland, is a researcher in the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies at University of Eastern Finland. She has recently published works on image studies and borderland issues.