Beryozovye Islands (; ; , "Birch Island"), alternatively spelled Berezovye Islands, is an island group in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Geography

The islands are situated at the head of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

, just outside the town of

Primorsk Primorsk may refer to: * Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast, a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, formerly Koivisto or Björkö * Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, formerly Fischhausen * Primorsk, Krasno ...

on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

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

Environment

The archipelago is protected by the state as a seabird sanctuary and is one of the Russia's Ramsar sites. It has been designated an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it supports populations of many species of

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

and

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

s on passage.

History

Before the

Third Swedish Crusade The Third Swedish Crusade to Finland was a Swedish military expedition against the pagan Karelia (historical province of Finland), Karelians from 1293 to 1295 in which the Swedes successfully expanded their borders eastwards and gained further co ...

(1293–1295), the islands paid tax to

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

; 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 was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

with the province of

Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...

. In independent

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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 Seppo Saarenpää (born 5 September 1937) is a Finnish former sports shooter. Saarenp ...

(Krasnoostrovskiy). The islands gave their name to the

Treaty of Björkö The Treaty of Björkö, also known as the Treaty of Koivisto, was a secret mutual defence agreement signed on 24 July 1905 in Björkö between Wilhelm II of the German Empire and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Although Wilhelm was the chief author, ...

(1905). After World War II, they were ceded by Finland to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. 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.

References

Russian islands in the Baltic Islands of Leningrad Oblast Important Bird Areas of Baltic islands Important Bird Areas of Russia Ramsar sites in Russia

{{LeningradOblast-geo-stub

Geography

Environment

History

See also

References