60.31° N, 28.47° E
23 November 2019 12:21![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kmusserSince the first one went so well, let's try a new random point: 60.31° N, 28.47° E. I was going to skip any ocean points, but this is less than a mile off-shore, so we'll allow it.
Physical geography:
We are in the Gulf of Finland just off the coast of Tiurinsaari island (if you're Finnish) or Zapadny Beryozovy island (if you're Russian), one of the Beryozovye Islands. The islands themselves are close to shore, we're only 5 miles out from the mainland. The point is in between the coast and some shoals and relatively shallow with depths under 10 meters, so I'm guessing good fishing. The island is forested, with a mix of pine and birch. Also has extensive marshy areas and tons of seabirds and is today a seabird sanctuary. Flora and fauna report. The climate is cold and wet, similar to the maritime provinces of Canada, climate report for the nearest city.
Human geography:
Today I don't think the island has any permanent residents other than the birds, but that definitely was not always the case. For most of history Tiurinsaari was a Finnish fishing village. Control of the area has generally been included as part of the adjacent Karelian mainland. It was conquered by Sweden in 1293, then by Russia in 1721. When Finland finally gained its independence in 1917 it included the islands. I imagine life in Tiurinsaari, a small, out of the way fishing village, didn't change much through most of that. That would change with World War II. The islands were not far from the Russian border and Tiurinsaari was fortified by Finland, it would change hands twice during the course of the war, and at the end of it was included in the area ceded to the Soviet Union and made part of the Leningrad Oblast. The local Finnish population was expelled to Finland. It was not resettled however, the former town site would be taken by the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy, a college-level institution in St. Petersburg, and is used as a training facility to this day. Though training facility makes it sound grander that it is, from photos it looks like a boy scout camp.
Somewhere very near our point two yachts dropped anchor in 1905. On one of those yachts was Kaiser Wilhelm II, and on the other Tsar Nicholas II. They negotiated a secret alliance that had it gone into effect would've put Russia on the side of Germany in World War I. The Russian government however refused to honor it, preferring to keep their alliance with France.
It's unclear whether the waters around the island are still be open to fishing. The nature reserve boundaries include the off-shore waters, including our point. If so the main commercial fish around here would be herring, though presumably the people doing the fishing are Russians rather than Finns. The waters nearby are fairly busy, besides fishing, the Helsinki-St. Petersburg ferry runs by daily. The nearest town on the mainland, Primorsk, is only about 5 miles away and is a major port. It is the endpoint of a oil pipeline system and one of Russia's largest oil terminals. A peek at marinetraffic.com shows fishing boats, tankers, and container ships nearby.
I'll leave you with a 1938 map of the island, while it was still part of Finland. Our point is just off the SW coast while the fishing villages are on the more protected east coast. https://www.discusmedia.com/maps/karelia/9067/
Pictures of the island and ruins of World War II fortifications: http://www.nortfort.ru/coastal/foto_bjk1_e.html
Video of some Russians visiting the island, vodka and herring may be involved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTKWdrLq2HM
Physical geography:
We are in the Gulf of Finland just off the coast of Tiurinsaari island (if you're Finnish) or Zapadny Beryozovy island (if you're Russian), one of the Beryozovye Islands. The islands themselves are close to shore, we're only 5 miles out from the mainland. The point is in between the coast and some shoals and relatively shallow with depths under 10 meters, so I'm guessing good fishing. The island is forested, with a mix of pine and birch. Also has extensive marshy areas and tons of seabirds and is today a seabird sanctuary. Flora and fauna report. The climate is cold and wet, similar to the maritime provinces of Canada, climate report for the nearest city.
Human geography:
Today I don't think the island has any permanent residents other than the birds, but that definitely was not always the case. For most of history Tiurinsaari was a Finnish fishing village. Control of the area has generally been included as part of the adjacent Karelian mainland. It was conquered by Sweden in 1293, then by Russia in 1721. When Finland finally gained its independence in 1917 it included the islands. I imagine life in Tiurinsaari, a small, out of the way fishing village, didn't change much through most of that. That would change with World War II. The islands were not far from the Russian border and Tiurinsaari was fortified by Finland, it would change hands twice during the course of the war, and at the end of it was included in the area ceded to the Soviet Union and made part of the Leningrad Oblast. The local Finnish population was expelled to Finland. It was not resettled however, the former town site would be taken by the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy, a college-level institution in St. Petersburg, and is used as a training facility to this day. Though training facility makes it sound grander that it is, from photos it looks like a boy scout camp.
Somewhere very near our point two yachts dropped anchor in 1905. On one of those yachts was Kaiser Wilhelm II, and on the other Tsar Nicholas II. They negotiated a secret alliance that had it gone into effect would've put Russia on the side of Germany in World War I. The Russian government however refused to honor it, preferring to keep their alliance with France.
It's unclear whether the waters around the island are still be open to fishing. The nature reserve boundaries include the off-shore waters, including our point. If so the main commercial fish around here would be herring, though presumably the people doing the fishing are Russians rather than Finns. The waters nearby are fairly busy, besides fishing, the Helsinki-St. Petersburg ferry runs by daily. The nearest town on the mainland, Primorsk, is only about 5 miles away and is a major port. It is the endpoint of a oil pipeline system and one of Russia's largest oil terminals. A peek at marinetraffic.com shows fishing boats, tankers, and container ships nearby.
I'll leave you with a 1938 map of the island, while it was still part of Finland. Our point is just off the SW coast while the fishing villages are on the more protected east coast. https://www.discusmedia.com/maps/karelia/9067/
Pictures of the island and ruins of World War II fortifications: http://www.nortfort.ru/coastal/foto_bjk1_e.html
Video of some Russians visiting the island, vodka and herring may be involved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTKWdrLq2HM