Siberia Abalak

Abalak stands on the Irtysh near Tobolsk, on high ground overlooking the river. Before the Russian conquest it was a Tatar settlement in the Siberian Khanate. The village later became known for an icon of the Mother of God and the religious buildings erected there to honour and house it.

Tradition tells of a vision received by a widow named Maria at Abalak in 1636, leading to the creation of an icon of the Sign of the Mother of God. A church was built soon afterwards, and the image became an object of devotion in Siberia. Abalak’s position near Tobolsk placed the shrine on a major river route, joining its religious history to the growth of Russian settlement along the Irtysh.