Wow!!! Thanks a lot! That would really interesting to follow and find out the impressions! Hope that my Russian comrades would not disappoint with hopitality. Interesting to know how David would tick off Wrangel Island; 10,000 usd tours seem to be in July-August only..

Gogland/ Hogland/ Го́гланд

Having a discussion with Mrs Meltwaterfalls about "completing" the Struve Geodetic Arc I turned my attention to the most awkward bit, the two sites on Hogland, which seems to turn up three issues:
1. it is in the middle of the Baltic Sea so you can't just drive to it.
2. It is in Russia so as a Brit I would have to go through a slightly long and expensive visa process.
3. It seems to be deemed a "border zone" so that would require an extra level of visa/ be completely out of bounds to a non Russian.

So I was wondering if any forum members may have any information or insight about what may be needed to visit/ or any routes that may lessen some of the action needed to visit the island?

It may not really be worth the hassle for a picture of a rusty bit of iron or a pile of rocks, but that isn't really the spirit of this WHS hunting malarkey.

Gogland, or Suursaari (Big Island / Great Island) in Finnish, was a part of Finland until 1939 when Soviet Union occupied it. Currently it is not possible to visit the island even though Russians have promised to open it for visitors. Please read the following articles:

https://translate.google.fi/translate?sl=fi&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&u=https %3A%2F%2Fyle.fi%2Fuutiset%2F3-10284675&edit-text=&act=url

https://translate.google.fi/translate?sl=fi&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&u=https %3A%2F%2Fyle.fi%2Fuutiset%2F3-10217794&edit-text=&act=url

https://translate.google.fi/translate?sl=fi&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&u=https %3A%2F%2Fyle.fi%2Fuutiset%2F3-9216477&edit-text=&act=url

https://translate.google.fi/translate?sl=fi&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&u=https %3A%2F%2Fyle.fi%2Fuutiset%2F3-8966377&edit-text=&act=url

https://translate.google.fi/translate?sl=fi&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=fi&ie=UTF-8&u=https %3A%2F%2Fyle.fi%2Fuutiset%2F3-8121509&edit-text=&act=url

Thanks for that Sjobe.

I probably won't hold my breath on an easily accessible ferry route opening there in the next few years :).

But I understand you Meltwaterfalls. The challenging places are usually the most rewarding. And we are collectors, Struve sites or whatever.

If it's any comfort, the nearby Finnish island of Mustaviiri, with Struve WHS, is reachable by hiring a boat with driver. It could be pricey but it should be reasonable if sharing the costs. It should be interesting and less visited place even among Struve aficionados. And in clear weather, it is possible to see Gogland / Suursaari from there ;)

And if you ever happen to visit those islands, be aware of ticks. They can be fatal.

This article outlines the world heritage aspirations of Russia.

https://www.interfax.ru/culture/638181

- Monuments of Ancient Pskov (2018)
- The Historical Center of the Gorokhovets Vladimir Region (2020)
- Transfiguration Cathedral and the surrounding landscape of the Yaroslavl Region (2021)
- "Kenozer Testaments" in the Arkhangelsk Region (2022)
- The complex "Bashkir Ural" (2023)

The name is really confusing! It is not in the current tentative list, but from Russian news, this place seem to be Pereslavl-Zalessky which is located on the Golden Ring between Sergiev Posad and Rostov Veliky. It looks very similar to the already listed sites in Vladimir and Suzdal!

The UNESCO website shows the 18 original locations for Pskov:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1523/multiple=1&unique_number=2269

But I think the inscription has been limited to 10 churches, as per the ICOMOS review.
Or was that overturned during the discussion? (seeing the name change to "Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture" I think not)

Really questioning here what Unesco/ICOMOS/WHS did. Why did this have to be a site with locations at all? The dots are so close together, that a zone would make way more sense. Excluding the Krom seems really stupid as it's the central structure in town and all other churches / monasteries are grouped around it.

@Els: I followed the discussion. Basically everyone went with ICOMOS and even when Russia was given the floor they didn't protest. ICOMOS basically argued that the Kremlin and the administrative buildings had no OUV but the churches had. Instead of referring the nomination back to Russia, they proposed inscribing a renamed and shortened series.

In 2 weeks I will arrive in Russia for my 15 day trip, covering 5,200 km.

Itinerary
My itinerary is geared to train travel and visiting WHS, not much else! Any further suggestions are still welcome of course. I have booked the train tickets already so these dates are fixed.

Sat 7: Fly Amsterdam – Moscow, arrive in evening
Sun 8: Visit WHS of Kolomenskoye + revisit Moscow Kremlin
Mon 9: Day trip by train to WHS of Sergiev Prosad; in the evening night train to Kazan
Tue 10: Arrive in Kazan early morning. Visit WHS Kazan Kremlin and try to get boat or bus tickets to Bolgar and Sviyazshk for the coming days (do have all kinds of Plan B and Plan C options as well, thanks to Michael Novins and some more intensive googling)
Wed 11: WHS Bolgar
Thur 12: WHS Sviyazshk
Fri 13: spare day in Kazan, in the evening train to Yekaterinburg
Sat 14: Arrive around lunch time, visit Yekaterinburg
Sun 15: Train to Irkutsk in the middle of the night, starting 50 hour train ride
Mon 16: Whole day on the train
Tue 17: Arrive in Irkutsk in the morning. Possibly a short boat tour on Lake Baikal to get started.
Wed 18: One or two day tour to the larger WHS Lake Baikal area
Thu 19: On tour or on my own to Listvyanka
Fri 20: Visit TWHS of Irkutsk and its wooden architecture
Sat 21: Flight Irkutsk – Moscow - Amsterdam

Visa
Getting a Russian visa in the Netherlands proved to be easy. The Russian Embassy in NL has outsourced most of its work to a commercial Visa Application Center. You sign up online, go there in person to handover a few documents (passport photo, proof of health insurance, invitation (which was supplied for free by the company where I bought the train tickets)) and pay. A week later I could pick up again my passport including the visa sticker. Cost was 67.20 EUR.

Sounds fascinating — hope you enjoy your time on the Trans-Siberian! Be sure to keep an eye out for the stone marker delineating the border between Europe and Asia just before you get to Yekaterinburg. Speaking of Yekaterinburg, one of the main sites there which I found interesting was the Church on the Blood, built on the former site of the house where the last of the Romanovs were held before their execution (the order to tear down the house came some forty years ago from future president Boris Yeltsin). I also very much appreciated the Afghan War Memorial; after seeing so many Soviet-era statues in heroic poses around Western Russia, this one, constructed in the 90's, was particularly striking.

Dear Els,
This going to be epic adventure!!!
It's a huge pity I will go myself 1-15 September to Ireland and Canada, what an unfortunate coincidences ence! (wanted to invite you for crab dinner)
I can send my personal cellular. In case you have problems with non-English dudes, I can be a phone help line to get the right thing.
For the Kremlin/Armoury chamber you will go wise of you book in advance
https://tickets.kreml.ru/en/#id=1
Two weeks ago I went to the Diamond Fund and was just lucky to get the last ticket, huuuuge crowds
Listvyanka is "Disneyland" tour, everybody goes there as it is the closest, but there is not much to see. You could look Olkhon 1-day tour, which includes 550 km ride, ferry but you will see iconic Shamanka rock - symbol of Baikal and less crowded places. Don't forget to guy souvenir made of charoit, Listvyanka market has the largest selection, but bargain is a must.

Hmmm. Good for you! Is that a single-entry visa?

I obtained a multi-entry tourist visa valid for three years earlier this year. Same type of procedure (visa agency in the U. S.) but my total, including agency fee and express return shipping came to something like $530.00. Sigh...

Looking forward to your blog posts about those sites :-)

This will be during day time, so I will keep my eyes open! I choose Yekaterinburg to have a break somewhere on the long train trip, it sounded more interesting than Omsk, Tomsk or Krasnoyarsk.


Are you going to try out for Skellig Michael as well? Good luck then!
Thanks for the other tips, I just bought a Moscow Kremlin ticket to be sure to get in.
And I have started Duolingo lessons since last week to learn some Russian - although I do not know whether "I am eating an apple" will be of any help, I'd rather have "Do you have boat tickets left to Bolgar for tomorrow?"


Yes, single entry 15 days 'normal' tourist visa.