Editing Lake Ladoga (section)

== History ==
[[File:Konevets Cathedral from east.JPG|thumb|Konevsky monastery]]
In the [[Middle Ages]], the lake formed a vital part of the [[trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks|trade route from the Varangians to the Eastern Roman Empire]], with the Norse emporium at [[Staraya Ladoga]] defending the mouth of the Volkhov since the 8th century. In the course of the [[Swedish–Novgorodian Wars]], the area was disputed between the [[Novgorod Republic]] and Sweden. In the early 14th century, the fortresses of [[Korela Fortress|Korela]] (Kexholm) and [[Oreshek]] (Nöteborg) were established along the banks of the lake.

During the [[Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658)|Russo-Swedish War]] of 1656–1658, the Swedes deployed several armed vessels (called Lodja) on lake Ladoga to combat the Russians though no large sea battles were fought.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Englund |first=Peter |title=Den oövervinnerlige: om den svenska stormaktstiden och en man i dess mitt |date=2000 |publisher=Atlantis |isbn=978-91-7486-999-6 |location=Stockholm |pages=649 |language=Swedish}}</ref>

The ancient [[Valaam Monastery]] was founded on the island of [[Valaam]], the largest in Lake Ladoga, abandoned between 1611 and 1715, restored in the 18th century, and evacuated to Finland during the [[Winter War]] in 1940. In 1989 the monastic activities in the Valaam were resumed. Other historic cloisters in the vicinity are the [[Konevets Monastery]], which sits on the [[Konevets]] island, and the [[Alexander-Svirsky Monastery]], which preserves samples of [[Culture of ancient Rus#Muscovite period|medieval Muscovite architecture]].

During the [[Ingrian War]], a fraction of the Ladoga coast was occupied by Sweden. In 1617, by the [[Treaty of Stolbovo]], the northern and western coast was ceded by Russia to Sweden. In 1721, after the [[Great Northern War]], it was restitutioned to Russia by the [[Treaty of Nystad]]. In the 18th century, the [[Ladoga Canal]] was built to bypass the lake which was prone to winds and storms that destroyed hundreds of cargo ships.<ref name="nezhikhovsky">Нежиховский Р.А. Река Нева. 3-е изд. Leningrad: Гидрометеоиздат, 1973. P. 158.</ref>

Later, from around 1812–1940 the lake was shared between Finland and Russia. According to the conditions of the 1920 [[Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Finnish)|Tartu Peace Treaty]] militarization of the lake was severely restricted. However, both Soviet Russia and Finland had flotillas in Ladoga (see also [[Finnish Ladoga Naval Detachment]]). After the [[Winter War]] (1939–40) according to the [[Moscow Peace Treaty]], Ladoga, previously shared with Finland, became an internal basin of the Soviet Union.

During World War II not only Finnish and Soviet, but also German and Italian vessels operated there (see also [[Naval Detachment K]] and [[Regia Marina#Lake Ladoga|Regia Marina]]). Under these circumstances, during much of the [[Siege of Leningrad]] (1941–44), Lake Ladoga provided the only access to the besieged city as a section of the eastern shore remained in Soviet hands. Supplies were transported into [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]] with trucks on winter roads over the ice, the "[[Road of Life]]", and by boat in the summer. After World War II, Finland lost the [[Karelia]] region again to the USSR, and all Finnish citizens were [[Evacuation of Finnish Karelia|evacuated from the ceded territory]]. Ladoga became an internal Soviet basin once again. The northern shore, [[Ladoga Karelia]] with the town of [[Sortavala]], is now part of the [[Republic of Karelia]]. The western shore, [[Karelian Isthmus]], became part of [[Leningrad Oblast]].