The Vashka (russian: Вашка) is a river in Udorsky District of the

Komi Republic The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of th ...

and Leshukonsky and

Mezensky District Mezensky District (russian: Мезе́нский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Mezensky Municipal District.Law ...

s of Arkhangelsk Oblast 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 ...

. It is a left and the biggest

tributary 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 drai ...

of the Mezen. It is long, and the area of its basin . The principal tributaries of the Vashka are the Mytka (left), the Loptyuga (right), the Yortom (left), the Yevva (right), the Sodzim (right), the Puchkoma (left), the Zyryanskaya Yezhuga (left), and the Chulas (right). The source of the Vashka is in the south-west of Udorsky District, close to the border with Arkhangelsk Oblast. The river flows in the general direction of north-west. In the upper course, the Vashka flows in the hilly landscape, and in the lower course it meanders leaving a big number of lakes. The urban type settlement of

Blagoyevo Blagoyevo (russian: Благоево; kv, Благоев, ''Blagojev'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Udorsky District of the Komi Republic, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 2,221. Administrative and ...

is located on the Venyu River, several kilometers east of the Vashka, and the selo of

Leshukonskoye Leshukonskoye (russian: Лешуконское) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Leshukonsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vashka River. It also serves as the administrati ...

, the administrative center of Leshukonsky District, is located on the left bank of the river just upstream from its confluence with the Mezen. The Vashka freezes up in late October and remains icebound until early May. The river was used for

timber rafting Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest mean ...

till the 1990s. The Vashka is navigable downstream from the village of Keba, which is almost the whole course of the river within Leshukonsky District.

History

The area was populated by

Finnic peoples The Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly '' Finno-Permic'') language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of ...

and then colonized by the

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...

. By the 13th century, the Novgorod merchants had already reached the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

. The Vashka was used by Novgorod merchants as the trading route to the basin of the

Pechora Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population: History Pechora was ...

which was attractive because of the fur. From the

Northern Dvina The Northern Dvina (russian: Се́верная Двина́, ; kv, Вы́нва / Výnva) is a river in northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River ...

, they went upstream the Pukshenga, then moved to the Pokshenga and downstream to the

Pinega Pinega (russian: Пинега) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a settlement), formerly a town, in Pinezhsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pinega River (hence the name). It se ...

. From the Pinega, they used the Yozhuga, the Zyryanskaya Vashka and the Vashka to get to the Mezen, and subsequently the Pyoza and the Tsilma to get to the Pechora. After the fall of Novgorod, the area became a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The middle course of the Mezen, including the lower course of the Vashka, was where Russian and Komi cultures mixed the most. In the lower course of the Mezen, currently

, Russians dominated, whereas in the upper course, currently Udorsky District, Komi dominated.

References

External links

*{{cite web, url=http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=162435, script-title=ru:Река ВАШКА, publisher=State Water Register of Russia, language=ru, access-date=10 August 2011 Rivers of the Komi Republic Rivers of Arkhangelsk Oblast