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In the sixteenth century, Karelia became the battleground between Swedish and Russian forces as the Swedes pushed their borders eastward. Situated in Lake Ladoga, Valaam Monastery was in the midst of these struggles. In 1578, [[monk]]s and [[novice]]s were beaten to death by the (then) Lutheran Swedes. After another attack, the monastery was depopulated between 1611 and 1715. The buildings were burnt to the ground, and the Karelian border between Russia and Sweden was drawn through the lake. As the eighteenth century continued, the monastery recovered. Buildings were restored and built as the monastery prospered. By the beginning of the twentieth century the monastery had become very wealthy with about twenty smaller sketes under its control.
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The origins of Valaam Monastery are not clear. Situated in the frontier of civilization the monastery was often attacked and burned as the area was contested by both Russians and Swedes. As the monastery is not mentioned in documents before the 16th century, different dates - from the 10th to 15th centuries - have been proposed for its founding. In Church tradition the founding of the Holy Transfiguration Valaam Monastery has been attributed to Ss. Sergius and Herman who were among the first missionaries to the city of [[Novgorod]] in the tenth century and created a monastery on Valaam Island in Lake Ladoga, north of Novgorod.
In 1793, the abbot of Valaam Monastery, Nazarius, was tasked by Catherine II with recruiting missionaries for the Russian colony in Alaska. A group of eight monks was assembled and departed Valaam on [[December 25]], 1793 for Alaska. After a long journey through the length of Siberia the group arrived in Kodiak, Alaska on [[September 24]], 1974.