This 1823 map of Olonets Province is from a larger work, Geograficheskii atlas Rossiiskoi imperii, tsarstva Pol'skogo i velikogo kniazhestva Finliandskogo (Geographical atlas of the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Finland), containing 60 maps of the Russian Empire. Compiled and engraved by Colonel V.P. Piadyshev, it reflects the detailed mapping carried out by Russian military cartographers in the first quarter of the 19th century. The map shows population centers (six gradations by size), postal stations, roads (five types), provincial and district borders, the border with the Grand Duchy of Finland, monasteries, and factories. Distances are shown in versts, a Russian measure, now no longer used, equal to 1.07 kilometers. Legends and place-names are in Russian and French. The Olonets region, which encompasses eastern parts of historical Karelia and its Finnic-speaking population, has straddled the cultural boundary between Scandinavia and Russia for centuries. The area became a flash point between Sweden and the Republic of Novgorod as early as the 13th century when, in the era of the Northern Crusades, Sweden began to subjugate the Finnish people of the region to its hegemony. The Swedish ruler, Birger Jarl, clashed with Alexander Nevsky for control of the region. Peter the Great finally was able to establish the border in favor of Russia at the time of the Great Northern War (1700−1721). To commemorate his victory over the Swedes, Peter built the famous wooden church on Kizhi Island in Lake Onega. Peter also established iron foundries and factories in a new city and future capital of the region that later was named Petrozavodsk (Peter’s factory).