On September 24, 2026, Petrozavodsk hosted the IV Tourism Industry Forum "Legendary Karelia: Territory of Tourist Opportunities", dedicated to World Tourism Day.
The event brought together representatives of government authorities, the Russian Orthodox Church, experts and heads of travel companies from the regions of Russia, Belarus, and Uzbekistan, and this year it gained an international status.
The organizers were the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Karelia, the Republic's Tourist Information Center, the Directorate of Specially Protected Natural Territories and the "My Business" Center with the support of Sberbank.
The forum program included new routes, church-state pilgrimage and tourism projects, accommodation facilities, a discussion of industry development mechanisms, and a strategic session to analyze the results of the year and plan the next season.
"Russian Orthodox Church" "" Abbess Margarita (Feoktistova) of the Novodevichy Stavropol Convent in Moscow presented the report "The Path of the Apostles of Northern Russia project is an example of the integrated integration of cultural heritage sites, Orthodox shrines and places of interest into the innovative interregional tourist and pilgrimage route "The Great Russian Northern Way."
The implementation of the project "The Way of the Apostles of Northern Russia" is timed to coincide with the memorable date — the 800th anniversary of the baptism of the Karelians, which will be celebrated in 2027. The Way of the Apostles of Northern Russia"" route is the Karelian part of the church-state project "The Great Russian Northern Way" (VRSP).
Each region of the Russian Federation participating in the VRSP project has its own track, which has its own original name. Regional sections have common entry and exit points agreed upon between the subjects. "The longest section of the route is the Karelian section, called the "Way of the Apostles of Northern Russia".
Russian Russian saint Alexander Svirsky began his spiritual journey, passes through the land where his disciple, St. Jonah of Yashezersky, asceticized, and heads to the White Sea and Solovki, the main shrine of the Russian North.
The great saints of God, the Venerable Alexander Svirsky and Jonah Yashezersky, come from the Vepp people, so they "lead" the pilgrims to the Vepp region, to the village of Sheltozero, the village of Vekhruchey, the village of Kvartsitny.
"Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Christ" in the village of Vekhruchey is a compound of the Moscow Novodevichy Monastery, established with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in October 2025 in connection with the development of the Great Russian Northern Way project and preparations for the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the baptism of Karelians. The village of Vekhruchey is a landmark historical place of great importance for the entire Orthodox Karelia. It was here, in the waters of Lake Onega, in Brusnenskaya Bay, several centuries ago, on August 11, the feast of the Nativity of St. Nicholas, that the Vepp people were baptized. In memory of this event, St. Nicholas Monastery (now lost) was founded on the island of Brusno, which is located in the bay of the same name 300-400 meters from the shore.
In 2027, the year of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the baptism of the Karelians, on "St. Nicholas the Warm", as the Vepps call this memorable day, on August 11, after the Divine Liturgy, a procession will take place from the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the village of Vehruchey to Brusnenskaya Bay. There, believers will board boats and head to the island of Brusno, where a cross of worship will be erected and a prayer service will be held in memory of the great event for the whole of Karelia — the baptism of the Veps, and the St. Nicholas Monastery that once stood here. A visit to the island of Brusno will become a good tradition and will take place annually.
The compound of the Moscow Novodevichy Monastery in the village of Vekhruchey is intended to become a point of attraction along the entire route of the "Path of the Apostles of Northern Russia".
From the courtyard of the Novodevichy Monastery, pilgrims head to Kem and further to Solovki. ""The Way of the Apostles of Northern Russia" leads travelers, tourists and pilgrims along ancient pilgrimage routes and new tourist routes, showing all the beauty of the Russian North.