Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, located about 5 km from Bolshoy Solovetsky Island, is one of the six largest islands in the Solovetsky Archipelago. Its name is thought to derive from White Sea seals — the locals call them «sea hares» — which visit the island in spring. Its total area is about 1.5 km².
Despite its small size, the island preserves monuments from two cultures — pagan and Christian — making it a unique site for exploring the archipelago’s centuries-long history. The island is almost completely flat and rocky, with no lakes, swamps, or forests. Grass, moss, and lichen cover its rocky soil, swept by cold sea winds.
Shrubs and low-growing trees also grow here, including the crooked «dancing» birches. The landscape resembles subpolar tundra.
Among the mosses and lichens, one can find mysterious stone labyrinths dating back to the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. This suggests that humans inhabited the island in ancient times. One of the largest labyrinth complexes in Northern Europe consists of nine ancient labyrinths made of small stones arranged in spirals, each with a diameter of about three metres and a height of 30–40 centimetres.
In addition, there are around 900 cairns — stone mounds and symbolic arrangements. The island is also home to one of the world’s largest stone labyrinths, with a diameter of over 25 metres.
Researchers have proposed several theories regarding the purpose of these labyrinths: they may have served as fishing traps, astronomical calendars or instruments, or sites for rituals and burial ceremonies. According to archaeologists, the most recent labyrinth was constructed in the 14th century.
Bolshoy Zayatsky Island has long served as a kind of «sea gateway» to Solovki. In the mid-16th century, under the leadership of Hegumen Philip Kolychev, stone structures were built on the island, including a travellers’ chamber, a kitchen, and a harbour, the remains of which have survived to this day.
The stone harbour on Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, equipped with docks for mooring and servicing ships — including foreign vessels — was the first of its kind in the archipelago and in Russia.
In 1691, a wooden chapel built by the Streltsy, who had besieged the monastery during the famous «Solovetskoye Sideniye», was relocated from Bolshoy Solovetsky Island to the island.
In 1702, Peter I visited Solovki for the second time, and in his presence the chapel was rebuilt as a church and consecrated in honour of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
According to legend, the first St Andrew’s flag — which later became the ensign of the Russian Navy — was consecrated in this church.
It was also here that the Father Superior of the Solovetsky Monastery, Archimandrite Firs, blessed Peter the Great before his military campaign along the so-called «Tsar’s Road» to Lake Onega, the Svir River, and the walls of the Swedish fortress of Noteburg.
St Andrew’s Church resembles the town churches of central Russia and is atypical of the Russian North. It is one of the oldest surviving monuments of wooden architecture in the region and forms part of the ensemble of St Andrew’s Pustyn.
In the 18th century, a monastic «customs office» was established at St Andrew’s Pustyn to regulate the flow of imported goods and inspect incoming ships. Its purpose was to ensure that unauthorized items, such as wine and tobacco, were not brought into the monastery, and that no sick people entered during epidemics.
During the Crimean War (1854–1855), the pustyn was attacked by British ships, and the church was looted.
During the period of the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp, a women’s penal isolation unit operated on the island.
Since monastic life resumed on Solovki in 1990, divine services have been held in St Andrew’s Church.
The iconostasis has been restored, and every year on 13 July — the feast of the Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles — the Divine Liturgy is celebrated.