The Spaso-Kamenny Monastery is located in a small island in the middle of Kubensky Lake, in Ust-Kubinsky District of Vologda Oblast, about 500 kilometers north of Moscow. It is distinguished as the first stone monastery of the Russian North.

Kamenny Island is very small measuring just 120 meters by 70 meters, and the lake in which it is situated is known for its inclement weather and frequent storms. When the monastery was built, the monks reinforced the island by setting up a stony rampart around the island's perimeter in order to prevent erosion. That’s how the monastery got its name: Spaso-Kamenny is literally “Savior on Stone”, so called in honor of the main temple of Transfiguration of Our Savior.

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