During its centuries-old history, the Monastery has undergone devastation and desolation time and again. But, by God’s mercy, every time it revived again. On December 14, 1989, a ship moored in the Great Nikon harbour near the Resurrection hermitage, there were the first six monks on board (four hieromonks and two novices) and gradually monastic life started to revive. Since that day, the new history of Valaam began.

Restoring the monastery was difficult at first the brothers had to stay in the public hotel of Valaam locality, conducting long divine services in the lower church of the Saviour-Transfiguration Cathedral, whose darkened and wet walls reminded of decades of abomination of desolation, having reigned in this holy place.