Church Seeks to Restrict Access to Solovki

Roland Oliphant  - 2/2/13 Access to the Solovetsky islands, home to one of Russia’s most  important monasteries, could be restricted in a bid to preserve  the archipelago’s “special way of life,” a top ranking clergyman  said. Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin said Thursday that  the Solovetsky islands in the White Sea and the Valaam islands  in Lake Ladoga — both home to historic monasteries — were  among several sites the church is pushing to reclassify as  “religious-historical places.” “We are currently very carefully working in connection with  the topic of Solovki; there is an idea to develop  a full federal program. Meetings about this question are taking place  practically every week, the questions under discussion are not simple,” he  told Interfax on Thursday