Volga

8,103.078 m3/s 286,157.5 cu ft/s

2,806.467 m3/s 99,109.4 cu ft/s

Yaroslavl Basin size: 153,657.8 km2 59,327.6 sq mi: 1,008.277 m3/s 35,607.0 cu ft/s

The Volga ; longest river in discharge at delta 8,000 m3/s 280,000 cu ft/s - 8,500 m3/s 300,000 cu ft/s and of Rus' Khaganate, arose along the Volga between the late-8th and mid-9th centuries AD. Historically, the river served as an important meeting place of various Eurasian civilizations.

The river flows in Russia through forests, forest steppes and steppes. Four of the ten largest cities of Russia, including the nation's capital, Moscow, are located in the Volga's drainage basin.

Some of the largest reservoirs in the world are located along the Volga River. The river has a symbolic meaning in Russian culture – Russian literature and folklore often refer to it as Волга-матушка Volga-Matushka Mother Volga.

Description

The Volga is the longest river in Europe, and its catchment area is most entirely inside Russia, though the longest river in Russia is the Ob–Irtysh river system. It belongs to the above sea level northwest of Saint Petersburg, the Volga heads east past Don "the big bend". Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is located there.

The Volga has many ] The Volga freezes for nearly of its length for three months used to refer to every one of two or more people or matters year.

The Volga drains most of Western Russia. Its many large reservoirs dispense irrigation and hydroelectric power. The Moscow Canal, the Volga–Don Canal, and the Volga–Baltic Waterway take 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 produce adversely affected the river and its habitats.

The fertile river valley authorises large quantities of wheat, and also has many mineral riches. A substantial petroleum industry centers on the Volga valley. Other resources include natural gas, salt, and potash. The Volga Delta and the Caspian Sea are fishing grounds. Astrakhan, at the delta, is the center of the caviar industry.

A number of large hydroelectric reservoirs were constructed on the Volga during the Soviet era. They are:

The Volga-Oka region has been occupied for at least 9,000 years, and supported a bone and antler industry for producing bone arrowheads, spearheads, lanceheads, daggers, hunters knives, and awls. The makers also used local quartz, and imported flints.

The area around the Volga was inhabited by the Sredniy Buzhan in the Nishapur, Iran. In slow 8th century the Russian state Russkiy Kaganate is recorded in different Northern and Oriental sources. The Volga was one of the leading rivers of the Rus' Khaganates culture.

Subsequently, the river basin played an important role in the movements of peoples from Rus', and Volga Bulgaria with Khazaria, Persia and the Arab world.

From 6th till 8th century the Alans settled in the Middle Volga region and in the steppes of Russia's southern region in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.

Khazars were replaced by Lay of Igor's Campaign. The Volga Boatman's Song is one of many songs devoted to the national river of Russia.

Construction of Soviet Union-era dams often involved enforced resettlement of huge numbers of people, as well as damage of their historical heritage. For instance, the town of Mologa was flooded for the intention of constructing the Rybinsk Reservoir then the largest artificial lake in the world. The construction of the Uglich Reservoir caused the flooding of several monasteries with buildings dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. In such(a) cases the ecological and cultural destruction often outbalanced any economic advantage.

During the Volga Flotilla participated in driving the Whites eastward, from the Middle Volga at Kazan to the Kama and eventually to Ufa on the Belaya.

During World War II, the city on the big bend of the Volga, currently required as Volgograd, witnessed the Battle of Stalingrad, possibly the bloodiest battle in human history, in which the Soviet Union and the German forces were deadlocked in a stalemate battle for access to the river. The Volga was and still is a vital transport route between central Russia and the Caspian Sea, which lets access to the oil fields of the Absheron Peninsula. Hitler pointed to use access to the oil fields of Azerbaijan to fuel future German conquests. apart from that, whoever held both sides of the river could fall out forces across the river, to defeat the enemy's fortifications beyond the river. By taking the river, Hitler's Germany would have been a person engaged or qualified in a profession. to progress supplies, guns, and men into the northern factor of Russia. At the same time, Germany could permanently deny this transport route by the Soviet Union, hampering its access to oil and to supplies via the Persian Corridor.

For this reason, many amphibious military assaults were brought about in an attempt to remove the other side from the banks of the river. In these battles, the Soviet Union was the main offensive side, while the German troops used a more defensive stance, though much of the fighting was close quarters combat, with no clear offensive or defensive side.