Ruskeala (russian: Рускеала; ) is a rural locality (a settlement) under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of republic significance of Sortavala in the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...

, Russia. Within the framework of municipal divisions, Ruskeala is a part of Kaalamskoye Rural Settlement in Sortavalsky Municipal District. An international tourist route, Blue Highway (Norway-Sweden-Finland-Russia) goes through Ruskeala.

History

Before the Winter War and Continuation War, it was the seat of Ruskeala Municipality of the Viipuri Province in Finland. Ruskeala became the main village of its own parish, independent of Kitee, in 1721. the red area in Karelian. in Finnish, brown, Russians with communism and red will be associated with the Veps knew 5 centuries ago

Quarries

Not far from the settlement, the Ruskeala marble quarries are located. The deposit was discovered in 1765 and has been in operation since 1769. The integrity of the massif of the marble was cracked in the 20th century due to the use of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

. For this reason some quarries were abandoned and inundated. Now these picturesque deep quarries and adits with limpid water serve as a popular tourist attraction. The length of the quarries from north to south is 460 meters, width - up to 100 meters. The distance from the highest point to the bottom is more than 50 meters. The transparency of the water reaches 15–18 meters. The quarries, as well as some other marble deposits of Karelia, the Urals, and Italy, supplied various projects in St. Petersburg, including St. Isaac's Cathedral, Marble Palace, St. Michael's Castle, the interiors of the Winter Palace,

New Hermitage The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...

and Kazan Cathedral, and decorations of the St. Petersburg Metro (namely the Primorskaya and

Ladozhskaya Ladozhskaya (russian: Ладожская) is a rural locality (a ''stanitsa'') in Ust-Labinsky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къв ...

stations).

Nature

The quarry site has been designed to become Ruskeala Park, a regional park. A series of small cascade waterfalls on the Tokhmayoki River is another popular tourist attraction situated near the settlement. The height of the waterfalls ranges from 3 to 4 meters. Waterfalls are known to tourists and extremes, overcoming them on kayaks.

Notable people

Teuvo Aura Teuvo Ensio Aura (28 December 1912, in Ruskeala – 11 January 1999, in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician of the Liberal People's Party. He served as Mayor of Helsinki and interim Prime Minister of Finland twice, in 1970 and 1971–72. Cabinets ...

(1912–1999), former

Mayor of Helsinki The City Council of Helsinki (, ) is the main decision-making organ in the local politics of Helsinki, Finland. The City Council deals with issues such as city planning, schools, health care, and public transport. The 85-seat Council's members a ...

and Prime Minister of Finland; and

Yrjö Keinonen Yrjö Ilmari Keinonen (31 August 1912, in Ruskeala – 29 October 1977, in Nurmijärvi) was a Finnish General of the Infantry and Knight of the Mannerheim Cross. He was the Chief of Defence of the Finnish Defence Forces between 1965 and 1969. G ...

(1912–1977), the

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

of the Finnish Defence Forces between 1965 and 1969; were both born in Ruskeala.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Rural localities in the Republic of Karelia Former municipalities of Finland Marble Quarries in Russia