The Sestra (; or ; ) is a river in Vsevolozhsky and Vyborgsky Districts of

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 ...

and Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The length of the Sestra is , and the area of its basin is . The Sestra flows over the Karelian Isthmus. The source of the river is in swamps west of the settlement of

Vaskelovo Vaskelovo (russian: Васкелово) is a rural locality on Karelian Isthmus, in Vsevolozhsky District of Leningrad Oblast, and an important station of the Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railroad, being the final destination of many suburban electri ...

, and the Sestra flows in the general direction south, having its mouth in the town of Sestroretsk. It used to fall 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 ...

until the early 18th century. After the construction of a dam for the needs of the munitions factory in Sestroretsk, a part of the river was turned into a reservoir called Sestroretsky Razliv (Sestroretsk Overflow), deep with an area of . Since then, the Sestra River has been flowing into this reservoir. The Sestroretsk Overflow is separated from the Gulf of Finland with a ridge of artificial

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s. Excess water is dumped into the Gulf of Finland through a canal, which is long. The Sestra served as a natural border between Russia and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(1323–1617) and between Russia and Finland (1812–1940). It currently serves as a border between Vsevolozhsky (east, formerly Soviet Union) and Vyborgsky (west, formerly Finland) districts of Leningrad Oblast.

References

{{coord, 60, 21, 33, N, 30, 04, 24, E, region:RU-LEN_type:waterbody_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Karelian Isthmus Geography of Karelia Rivers of Leningrad Oblast Rivers of Saint Petersburg Drainage basins of the Baltic Sea