Lake Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe, with total area encompassing ; it has various fishes. In the post-World War I era, the lake became popular among tourists. The earliest proposal for creation of a national park was proposed by Karelian Research Centre of RAS in late 1980s. However, the project was stalled due to reasons such as close proximity in Sortavala and presence of various country houses. There was another unsuccessful attempt in 1999, when the European Union sponsored the project, spending 3.5 million euros. However, the authors of that project observed that: "the attitude of the local community toward the park is one of the thorniest questions." The park was finally established on December 28, 2017, by an order of the Government of Russia.
