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With the loss of its monastic community and the inclusion of Lake Ladoga in the Soviet Union the buildings of the original monastery on Valaam Island remained unused as a secular population moved on to the island. In time the island became a Soviet military base. As restrictions on the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union eased during the 1980s, the original monastery was reactivated in 1989 and the facilities restored over the years.
In the late 1990s, Valaam Monastery gained significant legal power over the island under the Patriarch Alexey [[ Alexei II(Ridiger) of Moscow|Alexei II]]. In an effort to return to a state of spiritual seclusion and enticed by the prospect of monopolizing the vast tourism industry on the island, the monastery forced many longtime residents to move out to the mainland. After years of fruitless legal proceedings, many residents of the island chose to leave rather than continue the fight, though a few still remain.
==External links==