The Volga Region (russian: Поволжье, ''Povolzhye'', literally: "along the Volga") is a historical region in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

that encompasses the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...

, the longest river in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, in central and southern European Russia. The Volga Region is culturally separated into three sections: * Upper Volga Region - from the Volga River's

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inh ...

to the mouth of the Oka River in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

* Middle Volga Region - from the mouth of the Oka River to the mouth of the

Kama River The Kama (russian: Ка́ма, ; tt-Cyrl, Чулман, ''Çulman''; udm, Кам) is a long«Река � ...

south of

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

* Lower Volga Region - from the mouth of the Kama River to the

Volga Delta The Volga Delta is the largest river delta in Europe, and occurs where Europe's largest river system, the Volga River, drains into the Caspian Sea in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, north-east of the republic of Kalmykia. The delta is located in the ...

in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, in Astrakhan Oblast The geographic boundaries of the region are vague, and the term "Volga Region" is used to refer primarily to the Middle and Lower sections, which are included in the

Volga Federal District Volga (Privolzhsky) Federal District (russian: Приво́лжский федера́льный о́круг, ''Privolzhsky federalny okrug'') is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. It forms the southeastern part of European Russia. ...

and

Volga economic region Volga (Povolzhsky) economic region (russian: Пово́лжский экономи́ческий райо́н; tr.: ''Povolzhsky ekonomichesky rayon'') is one of 12 economic regions of Russia. Composition * Astrakhan Oblast (part of ...

Geography

The Volga Region is almost entirely within the

East European Plain The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountaina, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, an ...

, with a notable distinction contrasting the elevated western side featuring the

Volga Upland The Volga Upland, also known as the Volga Uplands, Volga Hills, or Volga Plateau, (Russian: Приволжская возвышенность - Privolzhskaya vozvyshennost) is a vast region of the East European Plain in the European part of Rus ...

, and the eastern side known as

Transvolga Transvolga Region or Transvolga (russian: Заволжье, Zavolzhye) is a territory to the East of Volga River bounded by Volga, Ural Mountains, Northern Ridge, and Caspian Depression. The region is traditionally subdivided into the elevated H ...

(russian: Заволжье, Zavolzhye). The latter consists of the elevated High Transvolga and the

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of p ...

Low Transvolga. The

Idel-Ural Idel-Ural ( tt-Cyrl, Идел-Урал, translit=Idel-Üral, russian: Идель-Урал), literally Volga-Ural, is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means ''Volga-Urals'' in the Tatar language. ...

region, a collection of six

federal subjects The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (russian: субъекты Российской Федерации, subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (russian ...

between the Volga River and the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

, is generally considered as a part of the Volga Region, although the river does not run through each of them. Idel-Ural is within an extensive north-western protrusion of the Volga River's

, including numerous

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

such as the

Malaya Kokshaga River The Malaya Kokshaga ( chm, Изи Какшан, ''Izi Kakšan''; russian: Малая Кокша́га, literally Little Kokshaga) is a river in Mari El, a left tributary of the Volga. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Belaya River which joins the Kama River, a tributary of the Volga.

History

According to different sources, the region was mainly inhabited by Slavic, Turkic and Viking people. Povolzhye played an important part of the emergence of the

Rus' Khaganate The Rusʹ Khaganate ( be, Рускі каганат, ''Ruski kahanat'', russian: Русский каганат, ''Russkiy kaganat'', uk, Руський каганат, ''Ruśkyj kahanat''), is the name applied by some modern historians to a ...

. The Volga River was used mainly by traders from the Oriental and Viking world.

Population

The region is home to a large portion of Russia's population, with the major cities of

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...

Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russia, Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is lo ...

Cheboksary Cheboksary (; russian: Чебокса́ры, r=Cheboksáry, p=tɕɪbɐˈksarɨ; cv, Шупашкар, ''Şupaşkar'') is the capital city of Chuvashia, Russia and a port on the Volga River. Geography The city is located in the Volga Upland reg ...

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

Tolyatti Tolyatti ( rus, Толья́тти, p=tɐlʲˈjætʲ(ː)ɪ), also known as Togliatti, formerly known as Stavropol (1737–1964), is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which does not serve as the administrative center ...

, Samara, Saratov,

Volgograd Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

and

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

all located directly on the Volga River. Other major cities on tributaries of the Volga include

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

, Dzerzhinsk, Kaluga and Oryol on the Oka River,

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-la ...

on the Sura River,

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

and

Naberezhnye Chelny Naberezhnye Chelny ( rus, На́бережные Челны́, p=ˈnabʲɪrʲɪʐnɨjə tɕɪlˈnɨ; tt-Cyrl, Яр Чаллы, ''Yar Çallı'', IPA: �jar ɕɑlːɤ̆ is the second largest city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. A major indus ...

on the Kama River,

Yoshkar-Ola Yoshkar-Ola ( Mari and russian: Йошкар-Ола) is the capital city of the Mari El Republic, Russia. Yoshkar-Ola means “red city” in Mari and was formerly known as Tsaryovokokshaysk () before 1919, as Krasnokokshaysk () between 1919 an ...

on the Malaya Kokshaga River, and Dimitrovgrad on the

Bolshoy Cheremshan River Bolshoy Cheremshan (russian: Большой Черемшан, literally ''Greater Cheremshan'', tt-Cyrl, Олы Чирмешән, ''Olı Çirmeşän'') is a river in Russia, a left tributary of the Volga between the Kama and Samara Samara ( ru ...

. Major cities located on tributaries of the Volga's tributaries include

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, the largest city and capital of Russia, on the Moskva River, a tributary of the Oka River. Kirov is located on the

Vyatka River The Vyatka (; rus, Вя́тка, p=ˈvʲatkə; tt-Cyrl, Нократ, translit=Noqrat; chm, Виче, Viče; udm, Ватка, Vatka) is a river in Kirov Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia, a right tributary of the Kama.

, and

Ufa Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital city, capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya River (Kama), Belaya and Ufa River, Ufa rivers, in the centre-n ...

, Sterlitamak and Salavat are located on the Belaya River, both tributaries of the Kama River.

References

Regions of Russia * Historical regions {{volga-geo-stub

Geography

History

Population

See also

References