VOLGA RIVER

The Dnieper, Don, and Volga river basins and their drainage network. Russian Volga, ancient (Greek) Ra, or (Tatar) Itil, or Etil, river of Europe, the continent's longest, and the principal waterway of western Russia and the historic cradle of the Russian state. Its basin, sprawling across about two-fifths of the European part of Russia, contains almost half of the entire population of the Russian Republic. The Volga's immense economic, cultural, and historic importancealong with the sheer size of the river and its basinranks it among the world's great rivers. Rising in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow, the Volga discharges into the Caspian Sea, some 2,193 miles (3,530 kilometres) to the south. It drops slowly and majestically from its source 748 feet (228 metres) above sea level to its mouth 92 feet below sea level. In the process the Volga receives the water of some 200 tributaries, the majority of which join the river on its left bank. Its river system, comprising 151,000 rivers and permanent and intermittent streams, has a total length of about 357,000 miles. Russian Volga, ancient (Greek) Ra, or (Tatar) Itil, or Etil river of Europe, the continent's longest and the principal waterway of western Russia. The Volga rises in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow and flows 2,193 miles (3,530 km) generally southeastward to empty into the Caspian Sea. The river basin, occupying 533,000 square miles (1,380,000 square km), contains much of Russia's population, and its immense economic importance and strongly marked character give it a high rank among world rivers. It is a symbol of Russia, long a central element in song and story and national memory. The Volga is usually said to consist of three parts: the upper Volga, from its source to the confluence of the Oka River; the middle Volga, from the confluence of the Oka to that of the Kama River; and the lower Volga, from the confluence of the Kama to the mouth of the Volga itself. Rising at an elevation of 748 feet (228 m) in the Valdai Hills, the Volga turns northeastward past the cities of Rzhev and Tver and through the Rybinsk Reservoir. From the reservoir the river flows southwestward through a narrow valley, between the Uglich Highlands to the south and the Danilov Upland and the Galich-Chukhlom Lowland to the north, continuing its course along the Unzha and Balakhna plains to Nizhny Novgorod. On its east-southeastward course from the confluence of the Oka to the city of Kazan, the middle portion of the Volga doubles in volume before turning southward into the Samara Reservoir, where the Kama (its major tributary) joins it from the left. In its lower reaches, the Volga flows southwestward along the Volga Hills in the direction of Volgograd. From Volgograd the Volga River, flowing through the Caspian Depression, enters the Caspian Sea at Astrakhan. The Volga is fed mainly by snow (60 percent of the annual flow), followed by groundwaters (30 percent) and rain (10 percent). The Volga is navigable over most of its length and combines with its tributaries to carry both freight and passenger traffic. The river has played an important part in the life of the Russian people, and in Russian folklore it is characteristically named Mother Volga (Volga Mat, or Volga Matushka). Additional reading The Dnieper, Don, and Volga rivers are often treated together because of their physical and economic interaction. Survey information is found in such general sources as National Geographic Society, Great Rivers of the World (1984); Michael T. Florinsky (ed.), McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Russia and the Soviet Union (1961); S.V. Kalesnik and V.F. Pavlenko (eds.), Soviet Union: A Geographical Survey (1976; originally published in Russian, 1972); and, in Russian, M.I. L'Vovich, Reki SSSR (1971). The following study the influence of civilization and human interference on riverine biology, ecology, and river flow: I.A. Shiklomanov, Antropogennye izmeneniia vodnosti rek (1979); S.L. Vendrov, Problemy preobrazovaniia rechnykh sistem SSSR, 2nd rev. ed. (1979); A.B. Avakian and V.A. Sharapov, Vodokhranilishcha gidroelektrostantsii SSSR (1962), focusing on water reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants; and on the Volga specifically, F.D. Mordukhai-Boltovskoi (ed.), The River Volga and Its Life (1979; originally published in Russian, 1978), on the flora and fauna and their changes; Philip P. Micklin, Environmental Costs of the VolgaKama Cascade of Power Stations, Water Resources Bulletin, 10(3):565572 (1974), and International Environmental Implications of Soviet Development of the Volga River, Human Ecology, 5(2):113135 (June 1977); and S.L. Vendrov and A.B. Avakyan, The Volga River, in Gilbert F. White (ed.), Environmental Effects of Complex River Development (1977), pp. 2338.There are a number of writings describing travels along the Volga that provide political and social insights: Marvin Kalb, The Volga: A Political Journey Through Russia (1967), which originated as a television documentary; Howard Sochurek, The Volga, Russia's Mighty River Road, National Geographic, 143(5):579613 (May 1973), reporting a trip by an experienced journalist; and Daniel R. Snyder, Notes of a Visit to the Middle Volga, Soviet Geography, 21(3):180183 (1980), describing a cruise on the Volga and Don and visits to the major cities of the area.The many relevant historical works include Robert Paul Jordan, Viking Trail East, National Geographic, 167(3):278317 (March 1985), which explores the role of the Volga and Dnieper in the founding of the early Russian state; Elvajean Hall, The Volga: Lifeline of Russia (1965), a concise historical work; William T. Ellis, Voyaging on the Volga amid War and Revolution: War-Time Sketches on Russia's Great Waterway, National Geographic, 33(3):245265 (March 1918), which focuses on the events of the first two decades of the 20th century; Maynard Owen Williams, Mother Volga Defends Her Own, National Geographic, 82(6):793811 (December 1942), which explores life along the Volga in the period before World War II; and Boris Shirokov (compiler), The Undying Tradition: Folk Handicrafts in the Mid-Volga Region, trans. from Russian (1988), which explores the cultural tradition influenced by the great Russian rivers. Philip P. Micklin