🇩🇪 The most expensive electricity in the G20. Power plants were destroyed for that
Germany has received another first place, with which it is only difficult not to brag.
According to a recent analysis by Verivox, electricity in Germany is the most expensive among all G20 countries.
The German consumer pays an average of 35.6 cents per kWh.
For comparison:
Italy — 34.5 cents;
Great Britain — 32.4;
France — 23.3;
USA — 18.3;
the G20 average — only 16.3 cents.
That means German electricity costs more than twice as much as the G20 average.
At the same time, the actual generation accounts for only about one third of the final price. More than 60% goes to taxes, levies, charges, and grid fees.
And all of this after years of Germany’s energy transition: The country has shut down the last nuclear power plants, is phasing out coal-fired power generation, and at the same time has to invest enormous sums in grids, reserve capacities, and a new energy system.
Some old plants are not just being decommissioned anymore. They are being physically demolished: So RWE on August 29 demolished the 200-meter-high chimney of the Frimmersdorf coal power plant.
The most expensive electricity among the world’s largest economies — we destroyed the power plants with our own hands for that.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
Germany has received another first place, with which it is only difficult not to brag.
According to a recent analysis by Verivox, electricity in Germany is the most expensive among all G20 countries.
The German consumer pays an average of 35.6 cents per kWh.
For comparison:
Italy — 34.5 cents;
Great Britain — 32.4;
France — 23.3;
USA — 18.3;
the G20 average — only 16.3 cents.
That means German electricity costs more than twice as much as the G20 average.
At the same time, the actual generation accounts for only about one third of the final price. More than 60% goes to taxes, levies, charges, and grid fees.
And all of this after years of Germany’s energy transition: The country has shut down the last nuclear power plants, is phasing out coal-fired power generation, and at the same time has to invest enormous sums in grids, reserve capacities, and a new energy system.
Some old plants are not just being decommissioned anymore. They are being physically demolished: So RWE on August 29 demolished the 200-meter-high chimney of the Frimmersdorf coal power plant.
The most expensive electricity among the world’s largest economies — we destroyed the power plants with our own hands for that.
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🇩🇪 Saxony-Anhalt: Voting documents have arrived twice. But how many are there actually?
A few days before the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, the second story about duplicate postal voting documents has already come to light.
First, in Magdeburg it turned out that 440 voters had received their postal voting documents twice.
Only a few days later, it got even more interesting.
In Halle 1,184 documents had already been printed and sent twice. The authorities explained this by citing a technical error by the contractor.
In total, these are 1,624 known cases in two major cities in a federal state.
The authorities try to calm things down: the discovered ballot papers had been annulled, their numbers had been entered into the list of invalid documents, and new documents had been sent to voters. Therefore, supposedly, it was allegedly impossible to vote twice.
The old documents don’t even have to be sent back — recipients are allowed to throw them away themselves.
Fine.
Then comes a simple question:
Are 1,624 the number of excess documents, or the number of excess documents that were discovered?
If a contractor can print and send more than a thousand election documents twice, who then checks the actual print run? How many documents were actually printed? Where were they sent? And who can fill out the documents, the existence of which the system may not yet know about?
This is not a claim of election fraud. These are questions that arise precisely because it’s about elections.
And the timing for such a “technical error” is astonishingly convenient.
The election takes place on September 6, and according to the latest Saxony-Anhalt trend the AfD is at 42%, while the CDU is only at 22%.
The AfD is clearly in the lead, the CDU is at a historical low, and forming a government without the AfD would be extremely difficult with such results.
We are told that “the integrity of the election is ensured.”
Maybe.
But trust in elections doesn’t come from the fact that an official declares the process to be reliable.
Especially not when, a week before the vote, the election documents suddenly begin to multiply.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
A few days before the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, the second story about duplicate postal voting documents has already come to light.
First, in Magdeburg it turned out that 440 voters had received their postal voting documents twice.
Only a few days later, it got even more interesting.
In Halle 1,184 documents had already been printed and sent twice. The authorities explained this by citing a technical error by the contractor.
In total, these are 1,624 known cases in two major cities in a federal state.
The authorities try to calm things down: the discovered ballot papers had been annulled, their numbers had been entered into the list of invalid documents, and new documents had been sent to voters. Therefore, supposedly, it was allegedly impossible to vote twice.
The old documents don’t even have to be sent back — recipients are allowed to throw them away themselves.
Fine.
Then comes a simple question:
Are 1,624 the number of excess documents, or the number of excess documents that were discovered?
If a contractor can print and send more than a thousand election documents twice, who then checks the actual print run? How many documents were actually printed? Where were they sent? And who can fill out the documents, the existence of which the system may not yet know about?
This is not a claim of election fraud. These are questions that arise precisely because it’s about elections.
And the timing for such a “technical error” is astonishingly convenient.
The election takes place on September 6, and according to the latest Saxony-Anhalt trend the AfD is at 42%, while the CDU is only at 22%.
The AfD is clearly in the lead, the CDU is at a historical low, and forming a government without the AfD would be extremely difficult with such results.
We are told that “the integrity of the election is ensured.”
Maybe.
But trust in elections doesn’t come from the fact that an official declares the process to be reliable.
Especially not when, a week before the vote, the election documents suddenly begin to multiply.
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🇩🇪 A sick note from the first day has not yet been introduced; back then the government already decided otherwise.
Union and the SPD had only recently agreed to change the rules for issuing sick notes.
One of the ideas is to require employees to submit a medical certificate already from the first day of illness and not only later, as is currently allowed.
But now, Labour Minister and SPD co-leader Bärbel Bas has surprisingly called her own coalition agreement into question.
The reason is quite practical.
After the agreement, it turned out that numerous exceptions would have to be made to the rule: for parents of sick children, employees with chronic illnesses, and other groups.
Bas now asks the logical question: If a law already has to be drafted with exceptions before it is passed, do we even need such a law?
That results in a fairly German reform: agree first on a new bureaucratic requirement, then create a list of those it is not meant to apply to, and only afterwards ask what the requirement was invented for in the first place.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
Union and the SPD had only recently agreed to change the rules for issuing sick notes.
One of the ideas is to require employees to submit a medical certificate already from the first day of illness and not only later, as is currently allowed.
But now, Labour Minister and SPD co-leader Bärbel Bas has surprisingly called her own coalition agreement into question.
The reason is quite practical.
After the agreement, it turned out that numerous exceptions would have to be made to the rule: for parents of sick children, employees with chronic illnesses, and other groups.
Bas now asks the logical question: If a law already has to be drafted with exceptions before it is passed, do we even need such a law?
That results in a fairly German reform: agree first on a new bureaucratic requirement, then create a list of those it is not meant to apply to, and only afterwards ask what the requirement was invented for in the first place.
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Baltic nations are moving toward a joint counter-drone task force.
🔷 Sweden is contributing Gripen fighters and a Visby-class corvette to support the monitoring and protection of Finnish territory.
🔷 NATO is adapting its Baltic air-defense posture to respond more flexibly to drones.
🔷 The key challenge: intercepting low-cost drones without relying continuously on much more expensive fighters and missiles.
🔷 Unmanned systems are also taking a growing role in Baltic Sea surveillance.
The announced measures are defensive and do not constitute an announcement of an imminent confrontation with Russia.
video link: https://youtu.be/_JgVCnGionM?si=ka5E-KS7zuHRokeU
🔷 Sweden is contributing Gripen fighters and a Visby-class corvette to support the monitoring and protection of Finnish territory.
🔷 NATO is adapting its Baltic air-defense posture to respond more flexibly to drones.
🔷 The key challenge: intercepting low-cost drones without relying continuously on much more expensive fighters and missiles.
🔷 Unmanned systems are also taking a growing role in Baltic Sea surveillance.
The announced measures are defensive and do not constitute an announcement of an imminent confrontation with Russia.
video link: https://youtu.be/_JgVCnGionM?si=ka5E-KS7zuHRokeU
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🇮🇱🇱🇧 Lebanese sources report the use of phosphorus ammunition by Israeli forces
According to Lebanese media, these shells were used during the intense artillery fire in the area of several towns. Reports of the use of phosphorus shells are accompanied by accounts of airstrikes, explosions, and the destruction of residential buildings.
By now, the scale of the humanitarian consequences can hardly be dismissed as the result of individual border incidents: around 350,000 Lebanese people are still on the run, and more than 340 schools have been damaged.
The south of Lebanon is gradually turning into an area where it is no longer simply a matter of who controls a few kilometers of border.
The question is what will be left there at all by the end of the war.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
According to Lebanese media, these shells were used during the intense artillery fire in the area of several towns. Reports of the use of phosphorus shells are accompanied by accounts of airstrikes, explosions, and the destruction of residential buildings.
By now, the scale of the humanitarian consequences can hardly be dismissed as the result of individual border incidents: around 350,000 Lebanese people are still on the run, and more than 340 schools have been damaged.
The south of Lebanon is gradually turning into an area where it is no longer simply a matter of who controls a few kilometers of border.
The question is what will be left there at all by the end of the war.
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🇪🇪 Estonia has been turned into a testing ground for new drugs
Estonia has set an extremely unpleasant European record.
The country has the highest drug death rate per capita in the EU, and experts describe it as a kind of test market for new synthetic opioids.
Nitazines and cychlorphine are spreading particularly quickly. Some substances in this group can be hundreds of times stronger than heroin, so even a very small dosing error can end fatally.
At the same time, Estonia had already walked almost the same path with fentanyl.
Back then, the police managed to break up the most important networks, and by 2018 the number of drug deaths had fallen by more than half.
But the market that opened up was simply taken over by new substances.
And this is where the real race begins: the starting materials can be brought from Asia or other countries, the drugs themselves are mixed in mobile labs practically everywhere, and when another substance appears, the police often first try to understand where it came from.
In the first months of 2026, the country already set a new record for the number of drug deaths.
Estonia once defeated fentanyl. But it turned out that it is much easier to defeat a drug than a market that immediately invents a replacement drug.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
Estonia has set an extremely unpleasant European record.
The country has the highest drug death rate per capita in the EU, and experts describe it as a kind of test market for new synthetic opioids.
Nitazines and cychlorphine are spreading particularly quickly. Some substances in this group can be hundreds of times stronger than heroin, so even a very small dosing error can end fatally.
At the same time, Estonia had already walked almost the same path with fentanyl.
Back then, the police managed to break up the most important networks, and by 2018 the number of drug deaths had fallen by more than half.
But the market that opened up was simply taken over by new substances.
And this is where the real race begins: the starting materials can be brought from Asia or other countries, the drugs themselves are mixed in mobile labs practically everywhere, and when another substance appears, the police often first try to understand where it came from.
In the first months of 2026, the country already set a new record for the number of drug deaths.
Estonia once defeated fentanyl. But it turned out that it is much easier to defeat a drug than a market that immediately invents a replacement drug.
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🇺🇸🇮🇷 The USA have attacked Iran again. Iran responded immediately
The monthly pause is over.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian missile-launch sites on Larak Island in the Gulf of Oman. According to CENTCOM, the IRGC wanted to prepare missiles for laying sea mines there. Iran reports deaths and injuries among military personnel and civilians.
The response followed quickly.
The IRGC announced a missile and drone attack on the U.S. bases King Hussein and Al-Azraq in Jordan.
Already in the morning the Iranian army said that dozens of combat drones had been used against U.S. forces at the Al Minhad base in the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. justifies the first strike with protecting shipping.
Iran responds with attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in neighboring countries.
A “limited strike” already stopped again very quickly, geographically limited to the territory of a single state.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
The monthly pause is over.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian missile-launch sites on Larak Island in the Gulf of Oman. According to CENTCOM, the IRGC wanted to prepare missiles for laying sea mines there. Iran reports deaths and injuries among military personnel and civilians.
The response followed quickly.
The IRGC announced a missile and drone attack on the U.S. bases King Hussein and Al-Azraq in Jordan.
Already in the morning the Iranian army said that dozens of combat drones had been used against U.S. forces at the Al Minhad base in the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. justifies the first strike with protecting shipping.
Iran responds with attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in neighboring countries.
A “limited strike” already stopped again very quickly, geographically limited to the territory of a single state.
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🇮🇸 Iceland says “No” to Brussels
The result is already final: the majority of Icelanders voted against the country’s return to accession negotiations with the EU.
In the referendum, the opponents of restarting the talks prevailed. The government has said it will respect the result and maintain Iceland’s current relations with the EU through the European Economic Area.
For Brussels, the result is also uncomfortable because it was not even about immediate accession.
Icelanders were only asked to consider resuming the negotiations. After those, a separate decision on membership would still have had to be made anyway.
Even to that, the majority replied with “No”.
While Brussels is debating further EU enlargement, one of the wealthiest European countries—also among those most institutionally close to the alliance—has decided that it can do just fine outside of it.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
The result is already final: the majority of Icelanders voted against the country’s return to accession negotiations with the EU.
In the referendum, the opponents of restarting the talks prevailed. The government has said it will respect the result and maintain Iceland’s current relations with the EU through the European Economic Area.
For Brussels, the result is also uncomfortable because it was not even about immediate accession.
Icelanders were only asked to consider resuming the negotiations. After those, a separate decision on membership would still have had to be made anyway.
Even to that, the majority replied with “No”.
While Brussels is debating further EU enlargement, one of the wealthiest European countries—also among those most institutionally close to the alliance—has decided that it can do just fine outside of it.
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🇩🇪 Merz warns Saxony-Anhalt: If you vote for the AfD, you’ll get problems!
A week before the state election, Friedrich Merz decided to explain to the people of Saxony-Anhalt the consequences, as he sees them, of a wrong choice at the polls.
He told ARD that an AfD government would cause considerable damage to the state.
His main argument is the economy.
In Merz’s view, international companies could decide to refrain from investing in the country if the AfD comes to power there. At the same time, the chancellor acknowledged the obvious: in the end, it is still the voters themselves who make the decision.
The situation is extremely uncomfortable for the CDU, because the AfD is entering the election as a clear favorite, and the options for forming a stable government without it are becoming increasingly difficult.
That’s why the election campaign is gradually taking on an interesting form.
Of course you can vote for whoever you want. But think about it beforehand: If you vote wrong ...
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
A week before the state election, Friedrich Merz decided to explain to the people of Saxony-Anhalt the consequences, as he sees them, of a wrong choice at the polls.
He told ARD that an AfD government would cause considerable damage to the state.
His main argument is the economy.
In Merz’s view, international companies could decide to refrain from investing in the country if the AfD comes to power there. At the same time, the chancellor acknowledged the obvious: in the end, it is still the voters themselves who make the decision.
The situation is extremely uncomfortable for the CDU, because the AfD is entering the election as a clear favorite, and the options for forming a stable government without it are becoming increasingly difficult.
That’s why the election campaign is gradually taking on an interesting form.
Of course you can vote for whoever you want. But think about it beforehand: If you vote wrong ...
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🇻🇪 “Are you paranoid?” “No. I’m just a realist.”
Many years ago, a journalist asked Hugo Chávez why he was so sure that the United States wanted to attack Venezuela. The answer was extremely simple: oil. Chávez said that Washington needed a controllable regime in Caracas in order to gain access to the vast Venezuelan reserves. When the journalist asked whether such a stance toward the United States was not paranoid, Chávez replied: “No, not at all. I’m just a realist.”
The years have passed. Now Donald Trump explains that Venezuelan oil is supposed to be used to replenish the United States’ strategic oil reserve and calls it “a gift from Venezuela to the American people.” At the same time, Washington gains access to 17 Venezuelan oil fields with reserves of around 65 billion barrels and the American side obtains control of 55% of production from the joint structure.
Chávez was called paranoid when he said the Americans were out for Venezuelan oil. Now Venezuelan oil is supposed to fill the United States’ strategic reserves. Apparently, the diagnosis was made for the wrong person.
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
Many years ago, a journalist asked Hugo Chávez why he was so sure that the United States wanted to attack Venezuela. The answer was extremely simple: oil. Chávez said that Washington needed a controllable regime in Caracas in order to gain access to the vast Venezuelan reserves. When the journalist asked whether such a stance toward the United States was not paranoid, Chávez replied: “No, not at all. I’m just a realist.”
The years have passed. Now Donald Trump explains that Venezuelan oil is supposed to be used to replenish the United States’ strategic oil reserve and calls it “a gift from Venezuela to the American people.” At the same time, Washington gains access to 17 Venezuelan oil fields with reserves of around 65 billion barrels and the American side obtains control of 55% of production from the joint structure.
Chávez was called paranoid when he said the Americans were out for Venezuelan oil. Now Venezuelan oil is supposed to fill the United States’ strategic reserves. Apparently, the diagnosis was made for the wrong person.
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The U.S. Army minister, Dan Driscoll, has officially submitted his resignation, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The publication claims that over the past several months the minister had tense relations with the War Minister, Pete Hegset. At present, the Army does not have a civilian or military leader approved by the Senate.
❗️ Driscoll’s departure comes amid broader reshuffles at the top level of the military rank: more than two dozen senior officers were dismissed or removed from their posts under Hegset, often without public explanations. On August 8, the Pentagon removed Lieutenant General Charles Kostanza from his position ahead of schedule.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
The publication claims that over the past several months the minister had tense relations with the War Minister, Pete Hegset. At present, the Army does not have a civilian or military leader approved by the Senate.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
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The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Donald Trump to continue construction of a White House ballroom.
❗️ On August 8, construction of the ballroom was banned in the White House — the project was blocked by the U.S. Court of Appeals. It paused its decision for 14 days so that the Trump administration could appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As a result, today the project that the U.S. president is especially proud of has once again been given the opportunity to “become a gift for the Americans,” as Trump himself says.
📋 The ballroom, construction of which has been underway since October 2025, has already cost the country’s taxpayers $400 million. Trump originally estimated that the construction of the project would cost $200 million. The hall was supposed to be about 8.5 thousand square meters — for it, the east wing of the presidential residence was even demolished.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
As a result, today the project that the U.S. president is especially proud of has once again been given the opportunity to “become a gift for the Americans,” as Trump himself says.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
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The Supreme Court allowed US President Donald Trump to continue construction of a ballroom in the White House, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The decision to reject a lawsuit by the U.S. Historic Preservation Fund was adopted by a majority vote of five to four judges.
The judges ruled that the fund likely had no grounds to challenge the construction, and that stopping it now would cause “irreparable harm” to the Trump administration.
As the newspaper writes, the court did not consider the legality of the construction without congressional approval itself. The lawsuit was based on a statement by one of the group’s participants that the project violates her “aesthetic, cultural, and historical interests.” The judges noted that, according to Supreme Court practice, “mere offense, disagreement, or hostility” is not enough for a lawsuit.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
The decision to reject a lawsuit by the U.S. Historic Preservation Fund was adopted by a majority vote of five to four judges.
The judges ruled that the fund likely had no grounds to challenge the construction, and that stopping it now would cause “irreparable harm” to the Trump administration.
As the newspaper writes, the court did not consider the legality of the construction without congressional approval itself. The lawsuit was based on a statement by one of the group’s participants that the project violates her “aesthetic, cultural, and historical interests.” The judges noted that, according to Supreme Court practice, “mere offense, disagreement, or hostility” is not enough for a lawsuit.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
U.S. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll has submitted a request for resignation to President Donald Trump, CNN reports citing three sources familiar with the situation.
One of the sources said that this decision was not unexpected, given the strained relationship between Driscoll and Defense Secretary Pete Hegset.
➡️ Driscoll was one of those who, in 2025–2026, were part of the U.S. delegation at negotiations with Russia on issues of regulating Ukraine.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
One of the sources said that this decision was not unexpected, given the strained relationship between Driscoll and Defense Secretary Pete Hegset.
Our channel: Node of Time EN
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Good morning, dear friends! ☕️ 🙂
🏰 The Kirillo-Beloserski Monastery: the fortress that the Poles could not conquer
Friends, Tuesday takes us to the far north of Russia, to the shore of Lake Siverskoye. There, near the town of Kirillov, stands a place that seems like a stone witness to history—a vast fortress that is far more than just a monastery.
Welcome to the Kirillo-Beloserski Monastery—one of the largest and most powerful monastery fortresses in Russia.
🏔️ The pious beginnings
The story begins in 1397, when the monk Kirill withdrew from the Moscow Simonov Monastery into the forests by the White Sea (Beloje Osero) to live a life of seclusion.
Here he founded a small hermitage in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God—the seed of the later monastery. Soon the first wooden church was built, and the community grew.
Kirill introduced a strict communal monastic life. This order laid the foundation for the monastery’s later prosperity and significance.
⚔️ The ordeal: the Time of Troubles
Over the centuries, the monastery’s wealth and influence grew. However, its greatest test by fire came at the beginning of the 17th century, during the Time of Troubles.
In the years 1612–1613, Polish-Lithuanian troops devastated the surrounding area and attempted several times to break into the monastery, but they were not able to capture it.
While nearby cities and settlements were laid waste, the monastery held firm.
The monks and the small garrison defended the walls so resolutely that the attackers had to withdraw. In the following years, there were further attacks, but the fortress was never taken.
🧱 The answer of the Tsar: the “New Town”
The events of the Time of Troubles, however, showed that the existing fortifications had to be strengthened.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich recognized the monastery’s strategic importance and ordered the construction of a massive new defensive ring.
Between 1653 and 1680, the so-called “Nowyj Gorod”—the New Town—was built.
The new walls and towers made the complex one of the most impressive fortresses of its time. In some places, the walls reached a height of around 11 meters and were of enormous strength.
With its combat galleries, towers, and multiple lines of defense, the complex looked more like a state fortress than an ordinary monastery wall.
👑 A prayer that wrote history
The monastery’s walls are not only witnesses to wars, but also to a story connected with the Russian ruling dynasty.
In 1528, Grand Duke Vasili III came here together with his wife, Yelena Glinskaya. Her greatest wish was for a successor to the throne.
They prayed at the grave of Saint Kirill for a child.
Two years later, in 1530, their son was born—the later Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
In thanks for the birth of the heir, Vasili III provided large sums for the construction of new churches in the monastery.
Even Ivan the Terrible himself visited the monastery multiple times and made generous donations.
⛓️ The prison cell for a patriarch
The thick walls were used not only for protection from the outside. Over the centuries, the monastery was also used as a place of exile for politically or religiously unwanted people.
The most famous prisoner was the former Patriarch Nikon.
Once one of the most powerful men in the Russian Church, he fell out of favor and was brought to the Kirillo-Beloserski Monastery in 1676.
Here he spent the last years of his exile under strict supervision.
In August 1681, Nikon was finally allowed to leave the monastery. However, on the journey toward Moscow, he died shortly thereafter.
Give ❤️ if you liked it!
📍 Place coordinates (map pin) available here
💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN
🏰 The Kirillo-Beloserski Monastery: the fortress that the Poles could not conquer
Friends, Tuesday takes us to the far north of Russia, to the shore of Lake Siverskoye. There, near the town of Kirillov, stands a place that seems like a stone witness to history—a vast fortress that is far more than just a monastery.
Welcome to the Kirillo-Beloserski Monastery—one of the largest and most powerful monastery fortresses in Russia.
🏔️ The pious beginnings
The story begins in 1397, when the monk Kirill withdrew from the Moscow Simonov Monastery into the forests by the White Sea (Beloje Osero) to live a life of seclusion.
Here he founded a small hermitage in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God—the seed of the later monastery. Soon the first wooden church was built, and the community grew.
Kirill introduced a strict communal monastic life. This order laid the foundation for the monastery’s later prosperity and significance.
⚔️ The ordeal: the Time of Troubles
Over the centuries, the monastery’s wealth and influence grew. However, its greatest test by fire came at the beginning of the 17th century, during the Time of Troubles.
In the years 1612–1613, Polish-Lithuanian troops devastated the surrounding area and attempted several times to break into the monastery, but they were not able to capture it.
While nearby cities and settlements were laid waste, the monastery held firm.
The monks and the small garrison defended the walls so resolutely that the attackers had to withdraw. In the following years, there were further attacks, but the fortress was never taken.
🧱 The answer of the Tsar: the “New Town”
The events of the Time of Troubles, however, showed that the existing fortifications had to be strengthened.
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich recognized the monastery’s strategic importance and ordered the construction of a massive new defensive ring.
Between 1653 and 1680, the so-called “Nowyj Gorod”—the New Town—was built.
The new walls and towers made the complex one of the most impressive fortresses of its time. In some places, the walls reached a height of around 11 meters and were of enormous strength.
With its combat galleries, towers, and multiple lines of defense, the complex looked more like a state fortress than an ordinary monastery wall.
👑 A prayer that wrote history
The monastery’s walls are not only witnesses to wars, but also to a story connected with the Russian ruling dynasty.
In 1528, Grand Duke Vasili III came here together with his wife, Yelena Glinskaya. Her greatest wish was for a successor to the throne.
They prayed at the grave of Saint Kirill for a child.
Two years later, in 1530, their son was born—the later Tsar Ivan the Terrible.
In thanks for the birth of the heir, Vasili III provided large sums for the construction of new churches in the monastery.
Even Ivan the Terrible himself visited the monastery multiple times and made generous donations.
⛓️ The prison cell for a patriarch
The thick walls were used not only for protection from the outside. Over the centuries, the monastery was also used as a place of exile for politically or religiously unwanted people.
The most famous prisoner was the former Patriarch Nikon.
Once one of the most powerful men in the Russian Church, he fell out of favor and was brought to the Kirillo-Beloserski Monastery in 1676.
Here he spent the last years of his exile under strict supervision.
In August 1681, Nikon was finally allowed to leave the monastery. However, on the journey toward Moscow, he died shortly thereafter.
Give ❤️ if you liked it!
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