Beryozovye Islands (russian: Берёзовые острова, Finnish: Koivisto, Swedish: Björkö; literally: "Birch Islands"), alternatively spelled Berezovye Islands, is an island group in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. The islands are situated at the head of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and ...

, just outside the town of Primorsk on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

. There are 15 islands in the group, the largest is Bolshoy Beryozovy (Large Berezovy, Finnish: Koivistonsaari). Other islands include Zapadny Beryozovy (West Beryozovy, Finnish: Tiurinsaari) and Severny Beryozovy (North Beryozovy, Finnish: Piisaari). The total area of the group, stretching along the coast for 200 km, is 92 km². They are protected by the state as a seabird sanctuary and one of the

Ramsar sites in Russia Ramsar sites are natural locations under the protection of the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. As of March 2013 there were 35 Ramsar sites in Russia, totalling an area of . The first Russian sites re ...

. Before the third Swedish crusade, the islands paid tax to

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

; after the crusade they became Swedish. In 1721 they became part of Russia, and in 1812 they were restored to the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...

with the province of

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ...

. In independent

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

they belonged to the parish then called Koivisto (Swedish: Björkö). The main settlement on the islands was then called

Saarenpää Saarenpää is a Finnish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Klebér Saarenpää (born 1975), Swedish footballer and manager * Seppo Saarenpää (born 1937), Finnish sport shooter {{DEFAULTSORT:Saarenpaa Finnish-language surname ...

(Krasnoostrovskiy). After World War II, they were ceded by Finland to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. The whole historical Finnish population was expelled and replaced by a population of Soviet origin from September 1944 onwards. Place names were russified after 1947 concurrently with the rest of the formerly Finnish Karelian Isthmus occupied in 1944. The islands gave their name to the Treaty of Björkö (1905).

References

Russian islands in the Baltic Islands of Leningrad Oblast Ramsar sites in Russia {{LeningradOblast-geo-stub

See also

References