TITLE:
The Volga River Is Russia’s Lifeline and in Need of Maintenance, Mitigation and Restoration
AUTHORS:
Kenneth Ray Olson, Sergey Stanislavovich Chernyanskii
KEYWORDS:
Volga River, Caspian Sea, Soviet Union, Russia, Germany, WWII, Stalin-grad, Volgograd
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Soil Science,
Vol.14 No.3,
March
8,
2024
ABSTRACT: The Volga River flows entirely through Russia and the
watershed includes three of the country’s ten largest cities. The river is the
longest in Europe and western Russia’s principal waterway. The Volga River
basin is home to approximately half of Russia’s population and occupies almost
two-fifth of European Russia. It covers much of the Volga region and stretches
3530 kilometers from its source in the Valdai Hills to the Caspian Sea, the
world’s largest inland water body. Its economic, cultural, and historic importance
makes it one of the world’s greatest rivers. The Volga basin makes up 8 percent
of the Russian territory. Stalingrad, located on the banks of the Volga River,
has been described as the site of the greatest de-feat in the history of the
German Army. It is often identified as the turning point on the Eastern Front
of WWII, in the war against Germany, and in the entire WWII. The meeting point
of the Eurasian Civilization was historically the Volga River. The river has
some of the world’s largest reservoirs and is a major source of livelihood for
millions of people. Many factories and cities empty their waste including
sewage, industrial waste, fertilizers, and pesticides into the Volga River.
Pollutants tend to settle in the reservoirs and contain several meters of heavily
contaminated muck. The primary objectives are to assess lessons learned,
manage, and restore the Volga River system lifeline in Russia.