A project to save the unique Vepsian church has been launched in Leningrad Oblast.translated

In Leningrad Oblast, a project called "Meygözere: The Link of Time" has been launched to save the unique Vepsian church in the Vepsian village of Meygözere in Podporozhsky District.

The project is being implemented by the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization for the Preservation of Cultural and Spiritual Heritage of the Veps and Development of Ethnographic Tourism "The Link of Time" (SIDO AIG) with support from the Presidential Grants Fund as part of the large-scale cycle "Heavenly Chariot of the Veps," reported to the journal "Foma" by the press service of ANO "The Link of Time."

The backstory of the project emerged at the intersection of art and ethnography. In October 2025, a unique plein air by itinerant artists was held in the old village of Meygözere (Minitskaya).

Tatyana Yarchenko, "Meygözere - A Village You Can't Forget," oil on canvas. Photo provided by ANO "The Link of Time."

The result of this plein air was an exhibition titled "Meygözere – A Village You Can't Forget," which opened on February 1, 2026, at the Ribački Cultural Center in Saint Petersburg as part of the program "Small Peoples of a Great Homeland."

It is noted that the exhibition, bringing together Veps, Izhorians, Vodists, and Ingrian Finns, became an actual revelation because on the opening night, "people found relatives and rediscovered their roots."