Izborsk is a small town located on the territory of the Pskov region 30km from Pskov, 85-km from Moscow and 300km from St. Petersburg. For everyone who visited this remote village, Izborsk means something else than just a provincial Russian town with ancient architecture and rich cultural traditions. There is something mysterious about Izborsk. The ancient town of Izborsk is a unique example of harmonious coexistence of men and nature. This is the land where the Russian history began, where different peoples and cultures meet and live in harmony.

Izborsk is a kind of northwestern gates to Russia, the town built on saint springs, the town that preserves mysteries of the past and inspires artists and writers.

Nature

Izborsk is not only one of the most ancient towns of the Pskov region, it us also a unique nature reserve. The ancient town is often called the pearl hidden amongst Russian plains.

One of hydrological monuments is Slovenskie Springs – natural point of interest of Izborsk. Numerous springs dotted around Izborsk are thought to be of healing nature and attract pilgrims from all over the country. At all times people believed that every spring has a unique healing power. Some make people healthy, others make people happy, and there are also those that help to fall in love and to be loved. That’s why, according to popular belief, you should wash yourself in each of them to have all treasures – health, happiness and love.

The unique feature of local flora is ferns remained here from the times of the glacial epoch.

Due to a great number of historical, archeological and cultural monuments and nature reserves, the Izborsk valley is a unique nature complex of Federal importance.

People of Setto (Village of Sigovo)

For several centuries the people of Setto have been living on the Russian-Estonian border. The ethnic history of this small people is still not clear enough.

Owing to the location of their native land, from the earliest times the Setto people have adjoined both Russia and Estonia, which had a great effect on their language, history and culture.

The Setto people and their culture were deeply influenced by the Pechorsky Monastery. In the 16th century the Setto adopted Orthodox Christianity. Yet, the Setto culture has some elements of Estonian influence as well. The language of this people reminds Estonian. The culture of the Setto preserved pagan traditions reflected in national holidays and ancient legends and folklore. The population of the Setto is difficult to ascertain as this ethnic group is not included into the list of peoples residing on the territory if the Russian federation or Estonia.

In terms of ethno-linguistics, the Setto belong to the Finno-Ugric group of the Ural language group. The Setto language is a southern Estonian dialect that almost disappeared in Estonia due to the expansion of the literary Estonian language. The Setto themselves believe that their native language is an independent language that has no analogues with the Estonian dialects.