In the mid-19th century, Kyiv was the largest center of miniature carving. The carved icons were distinguished by originality and a special manner of execution, as well as smoothness and dimensionality. They cost more than painted icons, but were always in demand.

Apparently, the presented icon belonged to the last abbess of the Kargopol Dormition Convent and was brought from a pilgrimage trip to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.

The appointment of Varvara Tikhomandritskaya as abbess in March 1901 was reported by the Olonets “Eparchial Bulletin”. Prior to that, Mother Varvara was a nun of the Pyatogorsky Convent of the Most Holy Theotokos of the St. Petersburg Diocese.

In the early 20th century, about 200 people lived in the Dormition Convent, classified as a monastery of the third class. Those were 20 nuns, 33 rasophore-nuns, more than 100 novices of the lowest rank, women who ran away from home to become nuns and workers. Knowing how famous the Pyatogorsky Convent was for sewing and embroidering church vestments, the abbess began to encourage the sisters of the monastery entrusted to her to take up arts and crafts.

In 1903, noticing the poor literacy of the sisters and the townspeople, the abbess turned to the school council with a proposal to open a parish school. On behalf of the monastery, she pledged “a room… with heating, lighting and servants, lunch and dinner for the poor and willing students… overnight stay at the monastery hotel.”

The initiative was supported: the council allocated funds for the repair of a stone wing — a former almshouse. Large windows were installed in the house, and Abbess Varvara donated icons, lamps, a bookcase and portraits of the royal couple to the new school. All pupils were provided with scarves and dresses, as well as a “clothing and footwear allowance” of 8 rubles from the council and 3 rubles from the abbess.

With the participation of the clergy, townspeople and government representatives, the school was opened and welcomed its first students on September 9, 1904, on the church feast of Joachim and Anne (a feast in memory of the saint in whose name the church or the altar was consecrated). The three-year course program included the Law of God, church singing, Russian and Slavic languages, arithmetic, reading, penmanship, history, geography, needlework and natural history.

In 1907, Bishop Misail (Krylov) of Olonets and Petrozavodsk visited the Dormition Convent and was satisfied with both the monastery and its leadership. Later, Abbess Varvara became a full member of the diocesan committee of the Orthodox Missionary Society; in 1909 she took part in the congress of the monks of the Olonets diocese.

Abbess Varvara died on November 30, 1931 in Kargopol “from old age”, protected by her patron saint Barbara, a defender from sudden and violent death.