The Kola Peninsula is located on the northwestern rim of Russia, mostly above the Arctic Circle. It lies between the White Sea to the south and the Barents Sea to the north. Here, a number of anthropological, natural, and mystical enigmas co-exist side by side.

Native Saami tribes have been living in this area for thousands of years. According to their legends, a great choom (a tent made of skins or bark) was placed near Seidozero Lake, and presents from all Saami nomad camps were brought there. The tribute was quite valuable, and included gold nuggets. During the invasion of Norwegian King Hakon, the old choom was destroyed and burned down. The shamans were able to hide the treasures collected through the ages in the deep waters of the sacred lake. There are rumors even nowadays about strange rituals performed by shamans in the vicinity of the lake.

Spirit Stones

Seid, the sacred stone of the Saami, is said to contain the spirits and souls of the deceased noaidi (shamans). Seids believed to possess magical powers were worshiped and sacrifices were performed in front of them. They were also used for fortune-telling. If a seid was not worshiped sufficiently, the spirit inside would leave it, and the rock became an empty vessel. Some Russian researchers believe there are 30 seids in the area.

When Saami sail past the Kuiva seid on the shore of Seidozero, they are afraid to make loud noises or cuss, because the Old Man, as they call Kuiva, might overhear them. They are careful not to dirty the waters of the sacred lake, lest the Old Man take the fish away.

On the Nepeslogchorr plain near Seidozero Lake, according to Saami mythology, there once stood three sorceresses, a mother and her daughters, who were turned to stone.

The isthmus between the two lakes is called Motka. Over it is a constant clearing of blue sky. Hurricane-like winds blow from the Seidozero hollow. The surrounding mountains do not protect the lake from winds. Rain and clouds are frequent, and huge waves sometimes make sailing virtually impossible.

It is a very hard task to get to Seidozero, either by water or by land. The lake is surrounded by a thick, almost impenetrable evergreen forest that separates it from the mountains. The trees here are the tallest in the Kola Peninsula, and one can find black currants in the forest and wild grapes in the foothills.

The climb to the top of the nearby Ninchurg Mountain is both difficult and fascinating. The higher one climbs, the more beautiful the mysterious lake below becomes. Strange signs are found carved into the vertical sides of the steps. The inscriptions are complex, incomprehensible, and eerie, as are the monuments made of stacked-up stones found at regular intervals on the path to the summit

This is a place of many enigmas, including gigantic, geometrically correct plates, huge rocks bored through by some unknown and sizable drill, underground tunnels, strange wells, and seven mysterious pillars standing next to each other like a wall.

Were the tunnels built by Stalin's slaves looking for uranium? This was one explanation proffered by Soviet scientists who arrived in the area to elucidate its many puzzles, including the unexplained disappearances of visiting tourists. But they could not fully explain the many mysteries of the region.

According to legend, Seidozero Lake has a false bottom. Soviet expeditions sponsored by the secret police in the 1920s apparently visited a cave under the lake.

The 1998 expedition led by Mikhail Dyomin discovered a ritual well, mysterious signs and writings, and the ruins of an ancient observatorya 15-meter-long trench pointing at the sky. In 2001, a new expedition led by Dyomin discovered a huge cave on the lakeshore.The next year they found more surprises, including stone panels made with metallic tools that dated back to 8000 B.C.

World War II Interest

A recent article by Igor Gusev in the Russian newspaper Anomaliya (Issue 1, 2005) revealed that Nazi intelligence agents also visited Seidozero. Gusev claims that some tourists found clothing with Nazi insignias in a cave by the lake.

The Ahnenerbe Forschungs und Lehrgemeinschaft (Ancestral Heritage Research and Teaching Society), founded in 1935 with Hitler's blessing and merged with the SS two years later, may have been active in the region. The Ahnenerbe's mission was to provide anthropological and archaeological evidence to determine the origins of the Aryan race. Some Nazi ideologues believed that the answer to this mystery lay in the lost city of Atlantis. Their Atlantis was the mythical land of Thule, lying between Greenland and Icelandor, according to some, in the Kola Peninsula.

From 1940 through 1944, the Nazis occupied the north of Russia with the exception of the Kola Peninsula. The Germans knew the strategic importance of the ice-free port of Murmansk and the vast natural wealth of the region. Perhaps they knew about its paranormal phenomena too. But the Soviets also knew the importance of their northern peninsula and defended it at all costs.

The Lake of the Mountain Spirits is mysterious, pristine, and remote. I hope it remains so until the time to unlock its secrets comes. Until then, Seidozero should rest undisturbed by noisy and prying tourists.

Paul Stonehill is the author of the Soviet UFO Files (1998) and co-author of UFO-USSR (2005).