The local community of the Solovetsky Islands: self-organization against dissociation

Solovetsky Islands, known in Russia and far beyond its borders, it is not only the monastery with six hundred of the history, not only the camp past of the archipelago, is not only the amazing architecture and charming nature, but also the people. People, businesses and destinies are shaped past the islands and the people, actions and values that build the present on the Big Solovetsky Island in the village. Solovetsky has just over 1,000 residents, and it is worth noting that in the recent years the birth rate has increased, more and more filled with groups of kindergarten and first grade. On the one hand, on the island of a considerable part of the population consists of people of the retirement age, on the other - the children who have received a good education can provide the basis for the renovation of a community which is now in a very fragmented state.

But here we are faced with two questions: whether young people will want to link their lives with Solovetsky Islands, where their childhood, and whether after 5-10 years the opportunity and the need for the development of the village with the civilian population in the archipelago?

Being equated to the Far North, the Solovetsky Islands, however, have one of the most attractive climate in the Russian Arctic, especially at given latitude. It is also important in this context is to point out the connection between the work and the peculiarities of the resourcing in the local territory, which, in the turn, is in a certain geographic and the climatic conditions. Historically, the form of labor on the scale of a monastery (or monasteries) were collective (joint obedience and service, but at the same time - making privacy for prayer). The same applies to the camp period, and the period of the operation of the educational unit of the Northern Fleet. Mode also visit the island was originally a special one. Pilgrims can stay on the island for more than three days, during which the monastery gave them a roof over his head and fed. To stay longer, of course, only men had to be a serious intent to work for the good Reverend, and fully accept and follow the monastic code during their stay on the island.

So just a "visitor" was much less because they do not long could. The balance between the number of the inhabitants of the monasteries and the main monastery complex creating harmonious human-induced pressures on the archipelago, which has since been lost. To date, the villagers rely in their employment to ensure tourism and pilgrimage as business income in a four-season shipping times higher than the annual income of their primary employment. In this regard, it is time personal duties relegated to the "second plan".

The excursions in the half-recovery or non-functioning almost ruined monasteries held for the visitors, but the accommodation and eating establishments are organized only in the village surrounding the monastery itself, which gives an unprecedented concentration of the residents and the visitors on the same piece of the bland, an area of not more than ten square kilometers of three hundred possible in the archipelago. Since the service sector dominates the production, remained forgotten areas such as the collection and processing of seaweed, animal husbandry, maintenance mowing meadows and fishing. With the loss of these areas has been lost and the infrastructure that is important, not only in manufacturing but also in the social terms. Of all the possible activities, the majority of the population occupied only by the service industries. This work does not require special skills and qualifications. As a consequence, people who do not know the particular technologies and knowledge are easily interchangeable in their professional niche.

For clarity, let us turn to the situation in the Solovetsky monastery late XIX - early XX century. Four-year school for the employees was in 1913 transformed into vosmiklassnoe School, where he was given knowledge not only in the field of theology, literature and monastery rules , but the practical skills necessary to engineers, carpenters, electricians, potters, builders, agriculturists, blacksmiths. The monastery was unique in that it has released its specialists in the world, with some experts to be among the brethren and serve the common cause. It is no accident monk’s experts invited to stay on the islands at the farm after the dissolution of the monastery in 1920, and even later - in the camp period.

On a historical example see that the tradition of education in the remote of the northern archipelago of the islands created by the culture of the living, environmental, economic, personal and professional relationships, as well as bringing a cohesive team, which was a spiritual and intellectual "school". In this period in Solovki camp did not develop education, but the active research activities in the field of archeology, history, art history, archival work, botany, chemistry, and medicine. School cadets, replacing the "Elephant", again had an educational function. And even the military did not just put his base here, but organized training squad.

Continuing education, combined with physical and intellectual labor, ideological or spiritual atmosphere shared by all members of the community who lives on the Solovetsky Islands - this is the formula of unity and creative activity that allows you to not only survive, but to create works of the culture, make inventions and discoveries. However, what is on the Solovetsky Islands in the above areas today? The village is a resident accidentally and purposefully people who came here from all over the country and abroad, in which "formed a more or less closed community that has no roots and related traditions, but with an overall short-lived history and shaped its way of life" [1, p. 126].

What factors hinder the cooperation of the local population today? First of all - it's distorted information about the administrative decisions taken by the provincial and federal level regarding the fate of the village, historical and architectural heritage of the Solovetsky Islands. Meetings are not going to discuss real solutions to pressing problems, and to formally inform the citizens about the previously adopted decisions behind closed doors. In the environment of the local community does not have a leader or reference groups composed of Solovki, which would serve as a catalyst for the implementation of the projects and convinced that the initiative "from below" is not so barren as it seems pessimistic mood of the community.

The second reason for the disintegration of the local population in Solovki is as follows. Interest in the development of the territory where the locals live, is only possible if they plan on living descendants and relatives in the same area. If they seek to help consolidate his children and grandchildren major cities outside of the Solovetsky Islands, they are, for the obvious reasons, will have no interest in the future development of the village. In this regard, there is a lack of longterm thinking for years to come. In addition, there is no way desired, an image of the archipelago, which would like to see as a result of the transformation, construction, restoration and upgrading of the infrastructure.

The third reason for the passivity of the local population and their unwillingness to cooperate on their own, that the regional authorities have taught residents to the fact that domestic problems will solve themselves of power, not the local community. Therefore solovchane waiting for the help "from above", without taking any steps, even for the simple municipal problems.

It remains an open question as to whether in the coming years to the Solovetsky Islands valued human environment, or will come to the forefront of the historical and architectural and spiritual heritage, interests and priorities of the monastery. And will the villagers who live outside the monastery, worthy of the socio-economic investments that are planned? The complexity in the study of this problem lies in the fact that we see a particular social "education, whose identity has not yet or can not in principle take place, and hence the ghostly bands, in the fact," not a collectiv. In such a community of people united not by choice, but by the experience, if it should imply some a priori shared affective states (pain, suffering, joy, pleasure), both very intense and quite worn out [2 , p. 8]. But it seems to us a possible gradual self-organization of the population of the society on the basis of the historical examples of the labor and the value unity on the Solovetsky Islands.