العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolVOLGA RIVER
(Redirected from Volga)
The 'Volga' (, ) is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through the western part of Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. In fact, eleven out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, including its capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga basin. Some of the largest reservoirs in the world can be found along the Volga.
The Russian hydronym "Волга" is akin to the Slavic word for "wetness", "humidity" (влага, волога). The Russian name is transliterated as ''Volga'' in English and ''Wolga'' in German. Another possibility is that the river's name has Finnic roots.
The Turkic peoples living along the river formerly referred to it as Itil or Atil (probably the origin of Attila's name). In modern Turkic languages, the Volga is known as ''İdel'' (Идел) in Tatar, Атăл (''Atăl'') in Chuvash and ''İdil'' in Turkish. Another version of the same root is represented by Mari Юл (''Jul''). Under the Mongols, the river was known by its other Turkic name ''Sarı-su'' ("yellow water").
The modern Mordvin name for the Volga, Рав (''Raw''), may reflect the ancient Scythian hydronym ''
★ Rhā'', supposedly cognate with the ancient Avestan and Sanskrit names ''Rañha'' and ''Rasah'' for a mythical river supposed to flow around the earth[1]. These words are all connected in their primary meaning of "dew, liquid, moisture."
The Volga belongs to the closed basin of the Caspian Sea. Rising in the Valdai Hills above sea level north-west of Moscow and about south-east of Saint Petersburg, the Volga heads east past Lake Sterzh, Tver, Dubna, Rybinsk, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan. From there it turns south, flows past Ulyanovsk, Tolyatti, Samara, Saratov and Volgograd, and discharges into the Caspian Sea below Astrakhan at below sea level. At its most strategic point, it bends toward the Don ("the big bend"). Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is located there.
The Volga has many tributaries, most importantly the Kama, the Oka, the Vetluga, and the Sura rivers. The Volga and its tributaries form the Volga river system, which drains an area of about 1.35 million square kilometres in the most heavily populated part of Russia. The Volga Delta has a length of about 160 kilometres and includes as many as 500 channels and smaller rivers. The largest estuary in Europe, it is the only place in Russia where pelicans, flamingoes, and lotuses may be found. The Volga freezes for most of its length during three months of each year.
The Volga drains most of Western Russia. Its many large reservoirs provide irrigation and hydroelectric power. The Moscow Canal, the Volga-Don Canal, and the Volga-Baltic Waterway form navigable waterways connecting Moscow to the White Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. High levels of chemical pollution currently give cause for environmental concern.
The fertile river valley provides large quantities of wheat, and also has many mineral riches. A substantial petroleum industry centres on the Volga valley. Other minerals include natural gas, salt, and potash. The Volga Delta and the nearby Caspian Sea offer superb fishing grounds. Astrakhan, at the delta, is the centre of the caviar industry.
★ Akhtuba (near Volzhsky), a distributary
★ Samara (in Samara)
★ Kama (south of Kazan)
★ Kazanka (in Kazan)
★ Sviyaga (west of Kazan)
★ Vetluga (near Kozmodemyansk)
★ Sura (in Vasilsursk)
★ Kerzhenets (near Lyskovo)
★ Oka (in Nizhny Novgorod)
★ Uzola (near Balakhna)
★ Unzha (near Yuryevets)
★ Kostroma (in Kostroma)
★ Kotorosl (in Yaroslavl)
★ Sheksna (in Cherepovets)
★ Mologa (near Vesyegonsk)
★ Kashinka (near Kalyazin)
★ Nerl (near Kalyazin)
★ Medveditsa (near Kimry)
★ Dubna (in Dubna)
★ Shosha (near Konakovo)
★ Tvertsa (in Tver)
★ Vazuza (in Zubtsov)
★ Selizharovka (in Selizharovo)
A number of large hydroelectric reservoirs were constructed on the Volga during the Soviet rule. They are:
★ Ivankovo Reservoir
★ Uglich Reservoir
★ Rybinsk Reservoir
★ Gorky Reservoir
★ Cheboksary Reservoir
★ Kuybyshev Reservoir – the largest in Europe by surface
★ Saratov Reservoir
★ Volgograd Reservoir
The ancient scholar Ptolemy of Alexandria mentions the lower Volga in his ''Geography'' (Book 5, Chapter 8, 2nd Map of Asia). He calls it the ''Rha'', which was the Scythian name for the river. Ptolemy believed the Don and the Volga shared the same upper branch, which flowed from the Hyperborean Mountains.
The downstream of the Volga, widely believed to have been a cradle of the Proto-Indo-European civilization, was settled by Huns and other Turkic peoples in the first millennium AD, replacing Scythians.
Subsequently the river basin played an important role in the movements of peoples from Asia to Europe. A powerful polity of Volga Bulgaria once flourished where the Kama river joins the Volga, while Khazaria controlled the lower stretches of the river. Such Volga cities as Atil, Saqsin, or Sarai were among the largest in the medieval world. The river served as an important trade route
connecting Scandinavia, Rus', and Volga Bulgaria with Khazaria and Persia.
Khazars were replaced by Kipchaks, Kimeks and Mongols, who founded the Golden Horde in the lower stream of Volga. Later the Empire broke into the Khanate of Kazan and Khanate of Astrakhan; subsequently they were conquered by Russians in the 16th century.
In modern times, the city on the big bend of the Volga, currently known as Volgograd, witnessed the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history. The Russian people's deep feeling for the Volga often finds echoes in their songs and literature (see The Volga Boatmen's Song for one conspicuous example).
The indigenous population of Upper Volga were Finnic Merya, that were assimilated to Russians. Other Finnic ethnic groups are Maris and Mordvins of middle Volga. Turkic populations appeared in the 600s and assimilated some Finnic and Indo-European population at the middle and lower Volga, later they were transformed to Christian Chuvash and Muslim Tatars; also to Nogais, which were supplanted to Daghestan later. Mongolian Buddhists Kalmyks resettled to Volga in the 17th century.
The Volga region is home to a German minority group, the Volga Germans. Catherine the Great had issued a Manifesto in 1763 inviting all foreigners to come and populate the region, offering them numerous incentives to do so. This was partly to develop the region but also to provide a buffer zone between the Russians and the Mongol hordes to the east. Because of conditions in German territories, the Germans responded in the largest numbers. Under the Soviet Union a slice of the region was turned into the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to house many of the Volga Germans. Others were executed or dispersed throughout the Soviet Union prior to and after World War II.
The Volga is of great importance to inland shipping and transport in Russia: all the dams in the river have been equipped with large (double) ship locks, so that vessels of considerable dimensions can actually travel from the Caspian Sea almost to the upstream end of the river. Connections with the Don River and the Black Sea are possible through the Volga-Don Canal. Connections with the lakes of the north (Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega), Saint Petersburg and the Baltic Sea are possible through the Volga-Baltic Waterway; and a liaison with Moscow has been realised by the Moscow Canal connecting the Volga and the Moskva rivers. This infrastructure has been designed for vessels of a relatively large scale (lock dimensions of 290 x 30 meters on the Volga, slightly smaller on some of the other rivers and canals) and it spans many thousands of kilometers.
Until recently access to the Russian waterways was only granted on a very limited scale. The increasing contacts between the European Union and Russia have led to new policies with regard to the access to the Russian inland waterways. It is expected that vessels of other nations will be allowed on the Russian rivers soon. (Source: NoorderSoft Waterways Database)
★ Volga trip video
★
★ Rivers of Russia
★ The Volga Boatmen's Song
★ Volga Delta
1. Lebedynsky, Iaroslav. ''Les Sarmates : Amazones et lanciers cuirassés entre Oural et Danube''. Paris: Editions Errance, 2002.
★ short video of a cruise on the stunning Volga
★ Information and a map of the Volga's watershed
★ Volga Delta from Space
★ Photos of the Volga coasts
★ "CABRI-Volga": EU-Russian project on environmental risk management in the Volga Basin
The 'Volga' (, ) is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through the western part of Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. In fact, eleven out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, including its capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga basin. Some of the largest reservoirs in the world can be found along the Volga.
| Contents |
| Nomenclature |
| Description |
| Confluents (downstream to upstream) |
| Reservoirs (downstream to upstream) |
| Human history |
| Ethnic groups |
| Navigation |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Nomenclature
The Russian hydronym "Волга" is akin to the Slavic word for "wetness", "humidity" (влага, волога). The Russian name is transliterated as ''Volga'' in English and ''Wolga'' in German. Another possibility is that the river's name has Finnic roots.
The Turkic peoples living along the river formerly referred to it as Itil or Atil (probably the origin of Attila's name). In modern Turkic languages, the Volga is known as ''İdel'' (Идел) in Tatar, Атăл (''Atăl'') in Chuvash and ''İdil'' in Turkish. Another version of the same root is represented by Mari Юл (''Jul''). Under the Mongols, the river was known by its other Turkic name ''Sarı-su'' ("yellow water").
The modern Mordvin name for the Volga, Рав (''Raw''), may reflect the ancient Scythian hydronym ''
★ Rhā'', supposedly cognate with the ancient Avestan and Sanskrit names ''Rañha'' and ''Rasah'' for a mythical river supposed to flow around the earth[1]. These words are all connected in their primary meaning of "dew, liquid, moisture."
Description
The Volga belongs to the closed basin of the Caspian Sea. Rising in the Valdai Hills above sea level north-west of Moscow and about south-east of Saint Petersburg, the Volga heads east past Lake Sterzh, Tver, Dubna, Rybinsk, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan. From there it turns south, flows past Ulyanovsk, Tolyatti, Samara, Saratov and Volgograd, and discharges into the Caspian Sea below Astrakhan at below sea level. At its most strategic point, it bends toward the Don ("the big bend"). Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is located there.
The Volga has many tributaries, most importantly the Kama, the Oka, the Vetluga, and the Sura rivers. The Volga and its tributaries form the Volga river system, which drains an area of about 1.35 million square kilometres in the most heavily populated part of Russia. The Volga Delta has a length of about 160 kilometres and includes as many as 500 channels and smaller rivers. The largest estuary in Europe, it is the only place in Russia where pelicans, flamingoes, and lotuses may be found. The Volga freezes for most of its length during three months of each year.
The Volga drains most of Western Russia. Its many large reservoirs provide irrigation and hydroelectric power. The Moscow Canal, the Volga-Don Canal, and the Volga-Baltic Waterway form navigable waterways connecting Moscow to the White Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. High levels of chemical pollution currently give cause for environmental concern.
The fertile river valley provides large quantities of wheat, and also has many mineral riches. A substantial petroleum industry centres on the Volga valley. Other minerals include natural gas, salt, and potash. The Volga Delta and the nearby Caspian Sea offer superb fishing grounds. Astrakhan, at the delta, is the centre of the caviar industry.
Confluents (downstream to upstream)
Rzhev is the uppermost town situated on the Volga (early part of 20th century).
★ Akhtuba (near Volzhsky), a distributary
★ Samara (in Samara)
★ Kama (south of Kazan)
★ Kazanka (in Kazan)
★ Sviyaga (west of Kazan)
★ Vetluga (near Kozmodemyansk)
★ Sura (in Vasilsursk)
★ Kerzhenets (near Lyskovo)
★ Oka (in Nizhny Novgorod)
★ Uzola (near Balakhna)
★ Unzha (near Yuryevets)
★ Kostroma (in Kostroma)
★ Kotorosl (in Yaroslavl)
★ Sheksna (in Cherepovets)
★ Mologa (near Vesyegonsk)
★ Kashinka (near Kalyazin)
★ Nerl (near Kalyazin)
★ Medveditsa (near Kimry)
★ Dubna (in Dubna)
★ Shosha (near Konakovo)
★ Tvertsa (in Tver)
★ Vazuza (in Zubtsov)
★ Selizharovka (in Selizharovo)
The Saratov Bridge, running across the Volga, used to be the longest in Europe.
Reservoirs (downstream to upstream)
A number of large hydroelectric reservoirs were constructed on the Volga during the Soviet rule. They are:
★ Ivankovo Reservoir
★ Uglich Reservoir
★ Rybinsk Reservoir
★ Gorky Reservoir
★ Cheboksary Reservoir
★ Kuybyshev Reservoir – the largest in Europe by surface
★ Saratov Reservoir
★ Volgograd Reservoir
Human history
Many Orthodox shrines and monasteries are strewn along the banks of the Volga
The ancient scholar Ptolemy of Alexandria mentions the lower Volga in his ''Geography'' (Book 5, Chapter 8, 2nd Map of Asia). He calls it the ''Rha'', which was the Scythian name for the river. Ptolemy believed the Don and the Volga shared the same upper branch, which flowed from the Hyperborean Mountains.
The downstream of the Volga, widely believed to have been a cradle of the Proto-Indo-European civilization, was settled by Huns and other Turkic peoples in the first millennium AD, replacing Scythians.
Subsequently the river basin played an important role in the movements of peoples from Asia to Europe. A powerful polity of Volga Bulgaria once flourished where the Kama river joins the Volga, while Khazaria controlled the lower stretches of the river. Such Volga cities as Atil, Saqsin, or Sarai were among the largest in the medieval world. The river served as an important trade route
connecting Scandinavia, Rus', and Volga Bulgaria with Khazaria and Persia.
Khazars were replaced by Kipchaks, Kimeks and Mongols, who founded the Golden Horde in the lower stream of Volga. Later the Empire broke into the Khanate of Kazan and Khanate of Astrakhan; subsequently they were conquered by Russians in the 16th century.
In modern times, the city on the big bend of the Volga, currently known as Volgograd, witnessed the Battle of Stalingrad, the bloodiest battle in human history. The Russian people's deep feeling for the Volga often finds echoes in their songs and literature (see The Volga Boatmen's Song for one conspicuous example).
Ethnic groups
The indigenous population of Upper Volga were Finnic Merya, that were assimilated to Russians. Other Finnic ethnic groups are Maris and Mordvins of middle Volga. Turkic populations appeared in the 600s and assimilated some Finnic and Indo-European population at the middle and lower Volga, later they were transformed to Christian Chuvash and Muslim Tatars; also to Nogais, which were supplanted to Daghestan later. Mongolian Buddhists Kalmyks resettled to Volga in the 17th century.
The Volga region is home to a German minority group, the Volga Germans. Catherine the Great had issued a Manifesto in 1763 inviting all foreigners to come and populate the region, offering them numerous incentives to do so. This was partly to develop the region but also to provide a buffer zone between the Russians and the Mongol hordes to the east. Because of conditions in German territories, the Germans responded in the largest numbers. Under the Soviet Union a slice of the region was turned into the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to house many of the Volga Germans. Others were executed or dispersed throughout the Soviet Union prior to and after World War II.
Navigation
The Volga is of great importance to inland shipping and transport in Russia: all the dams in the river have been equipped with large (double) ship locks, so that vessels of considerable dimensions can actually travel from the Caspian Sea almost to the upstream end of the river. Connections with the Don River and the Black Sea are possible through the Volga-Don Canal. Connections with the lakes of the north (Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega), Saint Petersburg and the Baltic Sea are possible through the Volga-Baltic Waterway; and a liaison with Moscow has been realised by the Moscow Canal connecting the Volga and the Moskva rivers. This infrastructure has been designed for vessels of a relatively large scale (lock dimensions of 290 x 30 meters on the Volga, slightly smaller on some of the other rivers and canals) and it spans many thousands of kilometers.
Until recently access to the Russian waterways was only granted on a very limited scale. The increasing contacts between the European Union and Russia have led to new policies with regard to the access to the Russian inland waterways. It is expected that vessels of other nations will be allowed on the Russian rivers soon. (Source: NoorderSoft Waterways Database)
See also
★ Volga trip video
★
★ Rivers of Russia
★ The Volga Boatmen's Song
★ Volga Delta
References
1. Lebedynsky, Iaroslav. ''Les Sarmates : Amazones et lanciers cuirassés entre Oural et Danube''. Paris: Editions Errance, 2002.
External links
★ short video of a cruise on the stunning Volga
★ Information and a map of the Volga's watershed
★ Volga Delta from Space
★ Photos of the Volga coasts
★ "CABRI-Volga": EU-Russian project on environmental risk management in the Volga Basin
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
Featured Companies
| Travelbugs, LLC | |
| Golf Holidays International |
Newest Companies
Volga River Travel Deals
