Lake Ilmen ( rus, И́льмень, p=ˈilʲmʲɪnʲ) is a large lake in the Novgorod Oblast of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. A historically important lake, it formed a vital part of the medieval trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

- which is a major trade-center of the route - lies six kilometers below the lake's outflow. According to the Max Vasmer's ''Etymological Dictionary'', the name of the lake originates from the Finnic ''Ilmajärvi'', which means "air lake". Thanks to Novgorodian colonisation, many lakes in Russia have names deriving from Lake Ilmen.

Yuri Otkupshchikov Yuri Otkupshchikov (russian: Юрий Владимирович Откупщиков; 29 August 1924, Kazan – 25 September 2010, St. Petersburg; also spelled ''Otkupscikov'', ''Otkupsikov'', ''Otkupschikov'', ''Otkupschtschikov'') was a Soviet and ...

has argued that the presence of the name "Ilmen" in Southern Russia can't be explained by the Novgorodian colonisation alone, and proposed a Slavic etymology instead. Откупщиков Ю. В. Индоевропейский суффикс *-men-/*-mōn- в славянской топонимике // Откупщиков Ю. В. Из истории индоевропейского словообразования. СПб.: СПбГУ, 2005. С. 243—261. (in Russian) The average surface area is (it may vary between and depending on water level). The lake is fed by 52 inflowing rivers, the four main ones being the Msta, the

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...

, the Lovat, and the

Shelon The Shelon (russian: Шелонь) is a river in the northwest part of European Russia, in Dedovichsky, Porkhovsky, and Dnovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast and Soletsky and Shimsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast. The Shelon is one of the principal ...

. It is drained through a single outlet, the Volkhov, into

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...

, and subsequently via the

Neva The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it ...

into the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. The source of the Volkhov is marked by the Peryn Chapel built in the 1220s. The basin of Lake Ilmen contains vast areas in Novgorod,

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

, and

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mikhai ...

s of Russia, as well as minor areas in the north of Vitebsk Region in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. The water level is regulated by the Volkhov hydroelectric plant situated downstream the Volkhov River. Water temperature in July is 19-20 °C. The bathing season is about 90 days. Lake Ilmen is navigable. Shipping lines are

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

– Staraya Russa and

– Shimsk. There is a fishery in the lake. The lake area was the location of an important battle during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Demyansk Pocket.

References

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