Optina Pustyn monastery is located near a little town of Kozelsk in Kaluga Region (250 km to the South-West from Moscow). Kozelsk became famous in XIII century, when it managed to defend for 7 weeks against Mongol hordes. If you dare ask why Mongols spent so much time in such an insignificant place, I can tell you a slightly different story. These "hordes" consisted of not more then 3 tumens (tumen = 10000 warriors). And Kozelsk citizens killed Mongol negotiators, which was one of the severest crimes according to Mongol law Yasa, and such a crime should have been punished. This is why Mongols captured the town despite all casualties, and called it "evil town" (not because it defended fiercely, as patriotic chronicler thought). In excuse for Kozelskians I might say that killing negotiators was a normal way to say "no" in "civilized" Europe at that time...

There is a legend that the monastery was founded by a reclaimed robber Opta in XIV century. This legend does not have written confirmation, but it at least explains the name of the monastery (Optina Pustyn means "Opta's hermitage"). In XVIII century the monastery went through very difficult times because of tzar's Peter I and later Catherine II actions against cloisters - they dramatically reduced cloister maintenance expenses by state. At the end of XVIII century there were only 3 monks at the monastery, and it was at the verge of closing.

But XIX century was the period of revival for the monastery. By the end of the century the monastery was inhabited by about 300 monks and several "starets". "Starets" in the Russian Orthodox tradition is a spiritual teacher for novitiates and ordinary monks; it is beleived that they are capable of prophecy, curing and wonder-working. People from all over Russia, including prominent Russian personalities like Chaikovsky, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol and others, came to starets to seek for spiritual advice.

  

In the middle of XIX century starets Amvrosiy from Optina organized nearby a nunnery called Shamordino. Merchant Perlov sponsored the construction work, and the buildings were designed by the best Russian architects. In its best days 1000 nuns lived here. By the way, Lev Tolstoy's (who was excommunicated) sister Maria was a nun in Shamordino.

  

After revolution in 1917 both cloisters were closed, many monks and nuns were either sent to hard labour or killed.

Now both cloisters rebirthed.