The Ladoga Canal (russian: Лaдожский канал, Ladozhsky Canal) is a historical water transport route, now situated in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, a ...

, linking 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 ...

and the

Svir River The Svir (, Veps: , Karelian/ Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two larges ...

so as to bypass the stormy waters of

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 ...

which lies immediately to the northwest. It is about long and comprises two distinct but overgrown canals, Old Ladoga Canal (built in 1719–1810, previously known as Peter the First Canal) and New Ladoga Canal (built in 1866–1883), running in parallel from Sviritsa on the Svir through

Novaya Ladoga Novaya Ladoga (russian: Но́вая Ла́дога, lit=New Ladoga) is a town in Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the point where the Volkhov River flows into Lake Ladoga, east of St. Petersburg. Population: ...

on the

Volkhov Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is an industrial town and the administrative center of Volkhovsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the river Volkhov east of St. Petersburg. Population: It was previously known as ''Zvanka ...

Shlisselburg Shlisselburg ( rus, Шлиссельбу́рг, p=ʂlʲɪsʲɪlʲˈburk; german: Schlüsselburg; fi, Pähkinälinna; sv, Nöteborg), formerly Oreshek (Орешек) (1323–1611) and Petrokrepost (Петрокрепость) (1944–1992), is ...

on the Neva.

History

The Ladoga Canal was one of the first major

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s constructed in Russia. It was one of the projects of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

, who ordered its construction in 1718. Rapid economic development in

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 ...

required a significant expansion of routes, especially waterways. One part of the

Vyshny Volochyok Waterway Vyshny Volochyok Waterway (russian: Вышневолоцкая водная система) is a waterway connecting the basins of the Baltic and Caspian Seas, or, more specifically, the Msta River and the Tvertsa River, around the town of Vyshny V ...

(1709) linking the

Volga river The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, passed through Lake Ladoga. The Ladoga section of the route was one of the most difficult and dangerous because the lake is prone to winds and storms which destroyed hundreds of cargo ships.Нежиховский Р.А. Река Нева. 3-е изд. Leningrad: Гидрометеоиздат, 1973. p. 158. Peter the Great decided to avoid the navigation in the huge and stormy lake by building a bypass canal. The construction started in 1719.

Prince Menshikov Prince Aleksander Danilovich Menshikov (russian: Алекса́ндр Дани́лович Ме́ншиков, tr. ; – ) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izhora ...

put his friend General Skornyakov-Pisarev in charge of the project, but he eventually had to step down amid charges of incompetence, carelessness, and procrastination. In autumn 1723 the Tsar personally inspected the construction site and was not satisfied with the pace of construction; so much so that he ordered the arrest of Skornyakov-Pisarev and his German specialists. The task of completing the canal was taken from private hands and entrusted to

Burkhard Christoph von Münnich Burkhard Christoph Graf von Münnich (, tr. ; – ) was a German-born army officer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He carried out major reforms in the Russian Army and founded several elite militar ...

who liberally utilized soldier labour. A long section between the

Volkhov River The Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. It connects Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga and forms pa ...

and the village of Chornoe was completed and opened to traffic in 1726. This greatly accelerated work, as the completed section was used to deliver supplies to the construction site. The locks were constructed at

and

to maintain the depth needed for navigation. Construction of the canal was completed on October 22, 1730, and in spring 1731 the first boats were able to sail along the canal between the Volkhov River and the Neva River (Ladoga Canal proper).Jones, Robert E. (1984)
Getting the Goods to St. Petersburg: Water Transport from the Interior 1703–1811
''

Slavic Review The ''Slavic Review'' is a major peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly studies, book and film reviews, and review essays in all disciplines concerned with Russia, Central Eurasia, and Eastern and Central Europe. The journal's title ...

'' 43 (3), 413–433. It turned out that the canal had a depth of less than one metre, considerably less than envisioned by Peter I. This was a major disappointment to the government. Although the canal was one of the largest hydroengineering facilities in 18th-century Europe, it was still too shallow to maintain a considerable traffic.

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

decided to expand the canal by building another section between the Volkhov and

Syas River The Syas () is a river in Lyubytinsky District of Novgorod Oblast and Tikhvinsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The Syas flows from the Valdai Hills north into Lake Ladoga. The town of Syasstroy is located at its mouth. It ...

s. This project was implemented between 1765 and 1802 (so-called Syas Canal). The third part of the Ladoga Canal, connecting the Syas and the Svir, was built over the years 1802 to 1810 (so-called Svir Canal).Нежиховский, P. 160 In the course of the 19th century, the Ladoga Canal was used by about 15,000 vessels and 10,000 rafts heading towards St. Petersburg every year, but silted up so badly that Alexander II's government decided that it was more practicable to build a new canal instead of repairing the old facilities. The New Ladoga Canal was built closer to Lake Ladoga between 1866 and 1883.Нежиховский, P. 162 The Old Ladoga Canal was overgrown with grass and had become disused by 1940. The New Ladoga Canal is still used by small boats.

References

;Inline ;General *Гершельман Э.Ф. "Исторический очерк внутренних водных сообщений". St. Petersburg, 1892. *Горелов В. "Речные каналы России". Leningrad-Moscow: Rechizdat, 1953.

External links

History of Ladoga and Shlisselburg
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070829004713/http://library.riverships.ru/Books/River/13.htm ПЕРВЫЕ ИСКУССТВЕННЫЕ ВОДНЫЕ ПУТИ. ВЫШНЕВОЛОЦКАЯ СИСТЕМАbr>город ШЛИССЕЛЬБУРГ 3map
o

// Плечко Л.А. Водные маршруты Ленинградской области. Leningrad, 1987. {{coord missing, Leningrad Oblast Canals in Russia Buildings and structures in Leningrad Oblast Transport in Leningrad Oblast Canals opened in 1730 Canals opened in 1810 Canals opened in 1883 1730 establishments in the Russian Empire Cultural heritage monuments in Leningrad Oblast