| Kerzhenets | |
|---|---|
 The Kerzhenets near "Ozero" railway station | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Russia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Volga |
• coordinates | 56°05′25″N44°57′51″E / 56.09028°N 44.96417°E /56.09028; 44.96417 |
| Length | 290 km (180 mi) |
| Basin size | 6,140 km2 (2,370 sq mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Volga→Caspian Sea |
TheKerzhenets (Russian:Керженец) is ariver in theNizhny Novgorod Oblast inRussia. It is a lefttributary of theVolga, joining it nearLyskovo, about 70 km east ofNizhny Novgorod. It is 290 kilometres (180 mi) long, and has adrainage basin of 6,140 square kilometres (2,370 sq mi).[1]
After the schism (Raskol) of the 1660s within theRussian Orthodox Church, the densely forested shores of the Kerzhenets became the refuge for manyOld Believers. Their settlements, called Kerzhenetssketes (Russian:Керженские скиты), remained numerous into the 19th century, and the people themselves were known as theKerzhaks (Кержаки).
According to an Old Believer legend, the oldest of the sketes, the Olenevsky Skete (Russian:Оленевский скит, i.e. "The Skete of the Deer"), had supposedly been founded in the 15th century by some ofVenerable Macarius's monks to commemorate their leader'sMiracle of the Moose that took place at that site, and later joined theRaskol.
The former skete is now the village of Bolshoye Olenevo, located some 24 km south-east from the district capitalSemyonov.[2]
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