The Volga

Geography

Cours superior of the Volga

The Volga takes its source in the hills of Valdaï, a place located at the western north of Moscow and to approximately 320 km in the south-east of Saint-Pétersbourg. After having left these hills, the river reached Rjev and moves towards the North-East. From there, small ships of goods can circulate. Further, it sprinkles the town of Tver (old Kalinine) which was founded in 1135 and was located on the road connecting Moscow to Saint-Pétersbourg. The Volga crosses the lake of reserve of the Barrage of Ivankovo until Doubna, where it is joined by the Canal the Moscow-Volga. The tank of Doubna was built to feed Moscow. After Kimry, the river reaches the lake of reserve of the Barrage of Ouglitch (Réservoir Ouglitch). Then the river moves towards north to the lake of reserve of the Barrage of Rybinsk (Réservoir of Rybinsk), which oldest is built on the river. In this lake two affluents are thrown joining the Volga - the Mologa and the Cheksna - as well as the Canal Volga-sea Baltique.

Cours means of the Volga

Downstream from the stopping, one finds the town of Rybinsk (formerly renamed Andropov) which is the large transhipment port of the higher course of the Volga. This one runs then towards south-east and reached Iaroslavl, one of the oldest cities of central Russia, founded at the 11th century. Industries which are installed there pour the major part of their waste water in the river without them to have reprocessed. Approximately 70 km downstream are Kostroma founded in 1152, with the junction of the river with the Kostroma. Downstream from Kinechma, one finds a new lake of reserve (Réservoir Gorki): it is a water level 430 km length created by the Barrage of Nijni-Novgorod. With Nijni-Novgorod, the Oka, a right affluent, joined the Volga. Further on the territory of the Republic of the Husbands, is the Barrage of Tcheboksary. In the years 1980, during its construction, of tens of thousands of Husbands last being moved to make place with the lake of reserve (Réservoir Tcheboksary). Downstream from the stopping the towns of Tcheboksary and Novotcheboksarsk are. Kazan, capital of the Tatarstan, is located on the course of the river, 150 km more in the east, where the river inclines its course towards the south. The city is located at the beginning of the lake of 550 km reserve (Réservoir Kouïbychev) long created by the dam Samara: with its 6450 km2 of surface, it is about the more big lake of reserve of Europe. The Kama joined the Volga while being thrown in this lake. On the edges of the lake the towns of Oulianovsk and Togliatti are. The Volga forms an almost closed loop in which the town of Samara is located (formerly Kouïbychev) which counts more than one million inhabitants. The Samara, a left affluent, joined at this place the river. The town of Syzran is on the end of the loop.

Cours inferior of the Volga

The lake of reserve of Saratov (Réservoir Saratov), which starts at this place is created by the Barrage of Saratov builds close the town of Balakovo. The Grande Irguis is thrown in the Volga on the level of this industrial town. The people of the German of the Volga lived between Balakovo and Saratov before being off-set with the Kazakhstan and in Siberia after the Second world war. The towns of Engels and Marks located on left bank point out this time. The river preserved intact its aspect of formerly only on this part of its course. The forms characteristic of the landscape made up of meadows and hills - culminating with 375 meters - in the west and of a bank punt in the east are still perceptible between Kazan and Volgograd, even if the lakes of reserves partly drowned old banks. But it is only between Balakovo and Marks that the Volga is in its original state.

Opposite the town of Engels is the town of Saratov, university center of: 880000 inhabitants. The lake of reserve of the Dam Volgograd (Tank of Volgograd), 600 km length starts with height of this city. The town of Kamychine is on banks of this lake. Downstream from the stopping, are the towns of Volgograd (formerly Tsaritsyne then Stalingrad) and of Voljski. Volgograd is spread out over 80 km along western bank. Close to Svetly, the Canal Volga-Gift starts which makes it possible to reach the Black Sea. It was built essentially by deportees between 1950 and 1957. Close to Voljski is detached an arm from the Volga - the Akhtouba - which will follow its own course to the Caspian Sea. The Volga carries out a curve pronounced towards south-east to go to throw itself in the Caspian Sea. The town of Astrakhan (formerly Itil) is located at the beginning of the delta formed by the river. Part of the delta is protected because the area is a place of transit for the migratory birds. The two most important arms of the Volga are the Bakhtemir and the Tabola. More to the east, Akhtouba is thrown in more the big lake of the world (Caspian Sea).

Populations

The indigenous populations of the higher course of the Volga are Finnish Meryas which is assimilated today by the Russians. Other Finnish groups, like the Husbands and the Mordves resident along the middle price of the Volga. The Turkish populations appeared towards 600 and absorbed certain Finnish and Indo-European groups installed on the middle price and lower of the river: thereafter, they became the Chuvash Christian and the Moslem Tatars as well as Nogaïs now reinstalled with the Daguestan. Buddhist Mongolian Kalmouks colonized the Volga at the 17th century.

The area of the Volga also lodges German Russians who had been incited by Catherine II of Russia to be installed on these grounds to cultivate them and also to create an area plug against the attacks of the Mongolian hordes of the east. The Germans came in great number. Under the Soviet mode, part of the area became the Soviet socialist Republic of the Germans of the Volga. After the Second world war, Stalin dissolves the republic: its inhabitants were partly off-set in other areas to punish acts of collaboration with the German occupants.

History

The Volga was known by the former Greeks under the name of river Rha . In the Russian folklore, the Volga is known under the name of “Volga Mother” because of her importance. The river constituted during several centuries the Eastern border of Russia.

With the Early middle ages, tribes Slaves were established on its higher course, while Bulgares were established on its middle price (the Bulgarian ones of the Volga, of the 8th century at the 14th century) and the Khazars on its lower course.

The latter established in Itil, close to the delta of the Volga, the capital of a transitory “Empire” (8th century-10th century) which extended from Kiev to the the Ural, with the detriment of the Slavic Eastern ones and of Bulgarian of the Volga. They are especially known to be converted with the Judaïsme, before being overcome by the armies of the Large-Duke of Kiev Sviatoslav I {{er}} in 965.

It is during this period that the Volga became a major shopping street in the east of Europe. Controlled by the Mongolian of the Horde of Gold downstream from Nijni-Novgorod at the 13th century, it was disputed at the 15th century by the Khanat S of Astrakhan and Kazan. With, the Volga on which the capital of the gold Horde was - Saraï, close to current the Volgograd - played a paramount role in the conquests of the Cosaques which made it pass under the control of Moscow. After the catch of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in 1552 then that of Astrakhan in 1556, the whole of the course of the river passed under the control of the Russian empire. To sit its influence on the area many the Kremlin S was almost built all on escarpée Right Bank. Among those, some became great agglomerations: Saratov created in 1590, Tsaritsyne (today Volgograd) in 1589, Simbirsk (today Oulianovsk) in 1648, Samara in 1648. The settlement of the area was ensured by Russian colonists, Cossacks and Germans fleeing their native soil over-populated and attracted by the offer of installation of the queen Catherine II (1767). The Volga became an axis of communication facilitating the Russian expansion in Siberia and on the Caspienne, in particular under Stenka Razine. At that time, the area of the low Volga was mainly occupied by turco-Mongolian and Finnish populations.

The railroad, at the 19th century, consolidated the preeminence of the cities built along the river. The activities of these urban centres related to the trade, the Minoterie, the fish canning facility, the naval construction and the maintenance of the railway material. But the area remained overall in margin of the industrial revolution until in the years 1930, date on which was built a first metallurgical combine and a factory of tractors (in Stalingrad). During the Second world war, the Volga was the last line of cutting off of the Russian army until overcome there by the German troops. Bloody the Bataille of Stalingrad (today Volgograd) located on the projecting one is which the Volga draws, allowed the Russians to reverse the power struggle and to change the course of the war.

Economy

It is only after the Second world war that the area really developed: more than 200 factories (machine tool, car) were built in the principal agglomerations. Gigantic alteration work was undertaken on the Volga and its affluent, Kama, to make permanent arteries of communication, to produce electricity and to irrigate of them the little sprinkled grounds located along the lower course. The introduction after the second world war of important gas and oil reservoirs throughout the basin (90 oil MT and 28 mds of m ³ produced during the year 2001) supported the creation of an important dynamic petrochemical industry even if the layers tend to become exhausted today.

The central part of the basin of the river is relatively fertile, though precipitations are very irregular one year on the other. On the other hand, the attempts at irrigation of the grounds southernmost did not give the expected results. Moreover, part of the cultivable grounds located at the edge of the Caspian Sea were submerged in the years 1980 following the increase of the Caspienne sea level which took the specialists with deprived.

The basin of the Volga is rich in mining resources such as the Potasse and the salt. The delta of the Volga as well as the accesses of the Caspian Sea are rich in fish. Astrakhan, located on the delta of the Volga, is the center of the industry of the Caviar.

Installations of the Volga

Several channels - the Channel of Moscow, the Channel Volga-Gift, the Channel of Mariinsk - put in communication Moscow with the White Mer, the the Baltic, the Mer of Azov, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.

After the Second world war, a plan of installation of the Volga imagined in the years 1920 is put at execution. It is initially a question of making navigable the river subjected to strong variations of flow associated with an extremely weak slope (250 meters of uneven on the whole of the course) with material changes with level according to the season (up to 20 meters). The two other objectives are to produce electricity and to irrigate the little sprinkled grounds located on the lower course.

Ten dam are built on the course the Volga and its affluents the Kama and the Oufa creating gigantic lakes reserve. The built works have assagi the river and guarantee from now on in any season (when the river is not taken by the ices) a depth higher than 4 meters. N the other hand, more: 10000 km ² of grounds were drowned as well as hundreds of villages and some cities. The powerplants produce 40 Mds kWh per annum. On the other hand, the program of irrigation is a failure because it suffers from the disorganization of the Russian administration and problems of salt increase on too irrigated grounds.

Stoppings built on the Volga (surface of the lake of reserve, volume, electric production, date of construction):

Dam Ivankovo (327 km ²; 1,12 Mrd. M ³; electric production: 130 MkWh; built in 1937)
Dam Ouglitch, (249 km ²; 1,25 Mrd. m ³; electric production: 212 MkWh; built in 1940)
Dam Rybinsk (: 4550 km ²; 25,42 Mrd. m ³; electric production: : 1100 MkWh; built in 1979)
Dam Nijni-Novgorod (: 1591 km ²; 8,7 Mrd. m ³; electric production: : 1513 MkWh; built in 1955)
Dam Tcheboksary (: 2100 km ²; 14,2 Mrd. m ³; electric production: : 3280 MkWh; built in 1980)
dam Samara (before dam Kouïbychev to the junction with the Kama) (: 6450 km ²; 58 Mrd. m ³; electric production: : 11000 MkWh; built in 1955)
Dam Saratov (: 1850 km ²; 12,9 Mrd. m ³; electric production: : 5400 MkWh; built in 1967)
Dam Volgograd (: 3317 km ²; 32,1 Mrd. m ³; electric production: : 11100 MkWh; built in 1958)

Etymology of the name of the river

Russian name Во́лга can be close to the Slavic words indicating the “wet” character, “wet” ( влага , волога ). This name is translated into French and English by the Volga and German by Wolga . The name could also have Finnish origins.

The Turkish populations living at the edge of the river call it Itil or Atil . Attila Hun could hold its name of the river. Today in the languages connected with Turkish, the Volga is known under the name of İdel (Идел) in Tatar, Атăл (Atăl) in Chuvash and İdil in Turkish. In language Mari the river is called Юл (Jul) using the same root

If one goes up even further in time, the Scythes gave to the river the name Rha which can be associated with the old word Sanscrit Rasah indicating a crowned river. This origin is preserved in the name given by the Mordves to the river: Рав (Raw).

The Volga or Kama?

Kama is most important of the affluents of the Volga. Several indices prove that the Volga in its lower course should be famous Kama. With the junction, the medium flows of the Volga and Kama are respectively of: 3750 and: 3800 m ³ /s. the surface of the basins of their higher courses are respectively of: 260900 and: 251700 km ². The Volga receives a number of lower river: 66500 against: 73700. The river valley of Kama is older than that of the Volga. In first half of the Quaternary era , at the time of the glacial maximum, the Volga did not exist in its current form and Kama fed the Caspian Sea. At the time, the higher course of the Volga was thrown in the Don which was then the most important river of Europe. The lower course of the Volga borrows in fact that of old Kama. If one sticks to the hydrological parameters, it is clear that the lower Volga would have in fact of being called Kama. But the historical part played by the higher course of the Volga as its contemporary economic importance explain the denomination selected. There exist other similar examples for example: the the Mississippi and the Missouri; the the Seine and the Yonne; the Ob and the Irtych, the Ienisseï and the Angara, and others.

Principal affluents

(of the source to the mouth)

Mologa
Cheksna
Kotorosl
Kostroma
Vetlouga
Oka
Kama
Samara

Crossed main cities

Nijni-Novgorod (ex- Gorki )
Kazan
Togliatti
Samara (ex- Kouïbychev )
Saratov
Volgograd (ex- Stalingrad )

See too

List of rivers in the world
German of the Volga
Tchouvachie

Sources

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