Sukho (russian: Сухо) island is a small artificial island located in the south-east of
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...
20 km near its southern shore. The island has the shape of an irregular horseshoe. Dimensions of this island is approximately 90 to 60 m.
The island was built from a
shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...
in the early 18th century by order of
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the te ...
Peter I Peter I may refer to:
Religious hierarchs
* Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus
* Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint
* Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...
as a navigational aid.
History
According to legend, Peter I discovered the shoal by grounding on it while sailing from
Volkhov Bay in a ''
yal'', exclaiming: "it's dry here!" ("Zdes sukho"). He ordered all passing vessels to leave stones on the shoal to build the island, which became known as Sukho (Dry). The entrance to the bay was to the south-east because the easterly winds rarely blew there.
[Остров Сухо » Тайны XX века (russian)]
/ref>
A tall stone lighthouse was built in 1891.
During the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the Soviets garrisoned Sukho to help secure the southern part of the lake. This provided protection for the cross-lake supply routes - such as the Road of Life
The Road of Life () was the set of ice road transport routes across Lake Ladoga to Leningrad during the Second World War. They were the only Soviet winter surface routes into the city while it was besieged by the German Army Group North under ...
in the winter - to besieged Leningrad, and covered the approaches to the Soviet Ladoga Flotilla's base at Novaya Ladoga
Novaya Ladoga (russian: Но́вая Ла́дога, lit=New Ladoga) is a town in Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the point where the Volkhov River flows into Lake Ladoga, east of St. Petersburg. Population:
H ...
on Volkhov Bay. An Axis amphibious assault on the island in October 1942 using armed Siebel ferries suffered heavy losses to neutralize the Soviet shore battery; it marked the end of effective Axis offensive activity on the lake.
References
{{Reflist
External links
22.10.1942. Battle at the Sukho island scheme
"Battle at the Sukho island." Picture by I.Rodionov
Волховский район, Сухо
Artificial islands of Russia
Lake islands of Russia
Uninhabited islands of Russia
Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Leningrad Oblast