View source for Volga

{{Short description|River in Russia; longest river in Europe}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Wolga|the genus of rotifers|Wolga (rotifer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox river
| name = Volga
| native_name = {{native name list|tag1=ru|name1=Волга}}
| name_other = 
| name_etymology = [[Proto-Slavic]] *''vòlga'' 'wetness'
| image = Yaroslavl. Volga River. Cathedral of the Dormition P5212700 2200.jpg
| image_size = 300
| image_caption = The Volga at [[Yaroslavl]]
| map = volgarivermap.png
| map_size = 300
| map_caption = The Volga drainage basin
| pushpin_map = 
| pushpin_map_size = 300
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| subdivision_type1 = Location
| subdivision_name1 = [[Eastern Europe]]
| subdivision_type2 = Country
| subdivision_name2 = [[Russian Federation]]
| subdivision_type3 = Cities
| subdivision_name3 = [[Tver]], [[Yaroslavl]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Cheboksary]], [[Kazan]], [[Ulyanovsk]], [[Samara]], [[Saratov]], [[Volgograd]], [[Astrakhan]], [[Tolyatti|Togliatti]]
| length = {{cvt|3,531|km|mi}}<ref name=gvr/>
| width_min = 
| width_avg = 
| width_max = 
| depth_min = 
| depth_avg = 
| depth_max = 
| discharge1_location = [[Astrakhan]] (Basin size: {{cvt|1,391,271.8|km2}}
| discharge1_min = {{cvt|5,000|m3/s|cuft/s}}
| discharge1_avg = {{cvt|8,060|m3/s|cuft/s}}
{{cvt|8,103.078|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/947-akhtuba |title=Rivers Network |year=2020 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109135047/https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/947-akhtuba |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Volga Delta]]: {{cvt|8,110.544|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="auto"/>
| discharge1_max = {{cvt|48,500|m3/s|cuft/s}}
| source1 = 
| source1_location = [[Valdai Hills]], [[Tver Oblast]]
| source1_coordinates = {{coord|57|15|4.7|N|32|28|5.1|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation = {{cvt|228|m}}<ref name="readersnatural" />
| mouth = [[Caspian Sea]]
| mouth_location = [[Astrakhan Oblast]]
| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|45|41|42|N|47|53|51|E|display=inline,title}}<ref>{{GEOnet2|32FA87888EC23774E0440003BA962ED3|Volga}}</ref>
| mouth_elevation = {{cvt|-28|m}}<ref name="readersnatural" />
| progression = 
| river_system = 
| basin_size = {{cvt|1,360,000|km2|mi2}}<ref name=gvr/>
{{cvt|1,404,107.6|km2|mi2}}<ref name="auto"/>
| tributaries_left = [[Kama (river)|Kama]]
| tributaries_right = [[Oka (river)|Oka]]
| custom_label = 
| custom_data = 
| discharge2_location = [[Volgograd]] (Basin size: {{cvt|1,359,396.8|km2}}
| discharge2_min = {{cvt|5,090|m3/s|cuft/s}}
| discharge2_avg = {{cvt|8,150|m3/s|cuft/s}}
{{cvt|8,228.298|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/950-lower-volga |title=Rivers Network |year=2020 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109135042/https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/950-lower-volga |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| discharge2_max = {{cvt|48,450|m3/s|cuft/s}}
| discharge3_location = [[Samara]] (Basin size: {{cvt|1,218,995.3|km2}}
| discharge3_avg = {{cvt|7,680|m3/s|cuft/s}}
{{cvt|7,785.921|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/951-middlevolga |title=Rivers Network |year=2020 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109135035/https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/951-middlevolga |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| discharge4_location = [[Nizhny Novgorod]] (Basin size: {{cvt|479,637.3|km2}}
| discharge4_avg = {{cvt|2,940|m3/s|cuft/s}}
{{cvt|2,806.467|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/954-upper-volga |title=Rivers Network |year=2020 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109135025/https://www.riversnetwork.org/rbo/index.php/river-blogs/east-europe/itemlist/category/954-upper-volga |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Yaroslavl]] (Basin size: {{cvt|153,657.8|km2}}: {{cvt|1,008.277|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="auto2"/>

[[Rybinsk]] (Basin size: {{cvt|150,119.8|km2}}: {{cvt|993.253|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="auto2"/>
| discharge5_location = [[Tver]] (Basin size: {{cvt|24,658.6|km2}}
| discharge5_avg = {{cvt|176|m3/s|cuft/s}}
{{cvt|186.157|m3/s|cuft/s}}<ref name="auto2"/>
| mapframe = yes | mapframe-frame-width = 300
| mapframe-wikidata=yes | mapframe-zoom=4 | mapframe-height=250 | mapframe-stroke-width=3
}}

The '''Volga''' ({{langx|ru|Волга}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈvoɫɡə|pron|Ru-Волга.ogg}}) is the [[List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length|longest river]] in [[Europe]] and the longest [[endorheic basin]] river in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/rivers/10-longest-rivers-in-europe.html|title=10 Longest Rivers In Europe}}</ref> Situated in [[Russia]], it flows through [[Central Russia]] to [[Southern Russia]] and into the [[Caspian Sea]]. The Volga has a length of {{cvt|3531|km|mi}}, and a catchment area of {{cvt|1360000|km2}}.<ref name=gvr>[http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=179058 «Река Волга»] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160305021422/http://textual.ru/gvr/index.php?card=179058 |date= 5 March 2016 }}, Russian State Water Registry</ref> It is also Europe's largest river in terms of average [[discharge (hydrology)|discharge]] at delta – between {{cvt|8,000|m3/s}} and {{cvt|8,500|m3/s}} – and of [[drainage basin]]. It is widely regarded as the [[Rivers in Russia|national river]] of [[Russia]]. The hypothetical old Russian state, the [[Rus' Khaganate]], arose along the Volga {{circa|830 AD}}.<ref name="Gannholm">{{Cite web |last=Gannholm |first=Tore |title=Birka, Varangian Emporium |url=https://www.academia.edu/40313672 |language=en |access-date=15 August 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418181057/https://www.academia.edu/40313672 |url-status=live }}</ref> Historically, the river served as an important meeting place of various [[Eurasia]]n civilizations.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire |last=Luttwak, Edward N. |date=2011 |publisher=Belknap Harvard |isbn=978-0674062078 |pages=52 |oclc=733913679}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walker |first=Joel |date=2007 |title=Iran and Its Neighbors in Late Antiquity: Art of the Sasanian Empire (224–642 C.E.) |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=1 11 |issue=4 |pages=797 |doi=10.3764/aja.111.4.795 |s2cid=192943660 |issn=0002-9114}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Volga river |last=McNeese |first=Tim |date=2005 |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |isbn=0791082474 |location=Philadelphia |pages=14–16 |oclc=56535045}}</ref>

The river flows in Russia through [[forest]]s, [[forest steppe]]s and [[steppe]]s. Five of the [[List of cities and towns in Russia by population|ten largest cities of Russia]], including the nation's capital, [[Moscow]], are located in the Volga's drainage basin. Because the Volga drains into the [[Caspian Sea]], which is an [[Endorheic basin|endorheic]] body of water, the Volga does not naturally connect to any of the world's oceans.

Some of the largest [[reservoir]]s in the world are located along the Volga River. The river has a symbolic meaning in [[Russian culture]] – [[Russian literature]] and [[Russian folklore|folklore]] often refer to it as Волга-матушка ''Volga-Matushka'' (Mother Volga).

==Name==
The Russian [[hydronym]] {{Transliteration|ru|Volga}} ({{lang|ru|{{script|Cyrl|Волга}}}}) derives from [[Proto-Slavic]] *''vòlga'' 'wetness, moisture', which is preserved in many Slavic languages, {{Transliteration|ru|vlaga}} ({{lang|ru|влага}}) 'moisture', [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] {{Transliteration|bg|vlaga}} ({{lang|bg|{{script|Cyrl|влага}}}}) 'moisture', [[Czech language|Czech]] {{Transliteration|cs|vláha}} 'dampness', [[Serbo-Croatian]]: {{lang|sh|vlaga}} ({{lang|sh|{{script|Cyrl|влага}}}}) 'moisture', [[Slovene language|Slovene]] {{Transliteration|sl|vlaga}} 'moisture', [[Polish language|Polish]] {{lang|pl|wilgoć}} 'moisture' and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] {{Transliteration|mk|vlaga}} ({{lang|mk|{{script|Cyrl|влага}}}}) 'moisture', among others.<ref>See [[Max Vasmer]]'s dictionary under "{{lang|ru|Волга}}".</ref>

The [[Scythian languages|Scythian]] name for the Volga was {{Transliteration|xsc|Rahā}},<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arang-river |title=ARANG |last=Brunner |first=C. J. |date=1986 |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |publisher= |access-date=13 August 2022 |quote=Middle Persian {{Transliteration|pal|Arang |italics=no}}/{{Transliteration|pal|Arag |italics=no}} renders Avestan {{Transliteration|ae|Raŋhā |italics=no}}, which is cognate with the Scythian name {{Transliteration|grc|Rhâ |italics=no}} ({{Transliteration|xsc|*Rahā |italics=no}}) transmitted by Ptolemy |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812220052/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arang-river |url-status=live }}</ref> literally meaning 'wetness'. This is related to the [[Avestan language|Avestan]] name for a mythical stream, {{Transliteration|ae|Raŋhā}} ({{lang|ae|{{script|Avst|𐬭𐬀𐬢𐬵𐬁}}}}), which means "wet" or "moisture", and was derived from [[Proto-Indo-European]] {{lang|ine-x-proto|*h₁res-}} or {{lang|ine-x-proto|*h₁ers-}}).<ref>J. P. Mallory & D. Q. Adams, ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture'', s.v. "dew" (London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997), 158–9.</ref> This name can be compared to several Indo-Iranic terms, such as:

* [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] {{Transliteration|sog|rʾk}} ({{lang|sog|{{script|Sogd|𐽀𐼰𐼸}}}}) 'vein, blood vessel' (from Old Iranian {{Transliteration|ira|*rahaka}}),<ref>Michiel de Vaan, ''Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italian Languages'', s.v. "rōs, rōris" (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 526–7.</ref>
* [[Persian language|Persian]] {{wikt-lang|fa|رگ}} {{Transliteration|fa|rag}} 'vein,'<ref>Nourai, Ali. 2013. An Etymological Dictionary of Persian, English and Other Indo-European Languages. Index of Words in Different Languages, vol. 1, p. 130.</ref>
* [[Vedic Sanskrit]] {{Transliteration|sa|rasā́}} ({{lang|sa|{{script|Deva|रसा}}}}) 'dew, liquid, juice; mythical river'), which was also the name of [[Rasā|a tributary]] of the Indus river.<ref>Lebedynsky, Iaroslav. ''Les Sarmates: Amazones et lanciers cuirassés entre Oural et Danube''. Paris: Editions Errance, 2002.</ref>
The Scythian name survives in modern [[Moksha language|Moksha]] as {{Transliteration|mdf|Rav}} ({{lang|mdf|{{script|Cyrl|Рав}}}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hartley |first1=Janet M. |title=The Volga: A History |date=2021 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24564-6 |page=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DjoHEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Herrala |first1=Eva |last2=Feoktistov |first2=Aleksandr |year=1998 |title=Mokšalais-Suomalainen sanakirja |url= |location=Turku |publisher=University of Turku |page=54 |isbn=951-29-1244-9}}</ref>

The [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] author [[Herodotus]] recorded two more ancient Iranic names of the Volga:

* {{Transliteration|en|Oaros}} ({{langx|grc|Ὄαρος|translit=Óaros}}; {{langx|la|Oarus}}), which was derived from [[Scythian languages|Scythian]] {{Transliteration|xsc|*Varu}}, meaning "broad".{{sfn|Harmatta|1999|p=129}}
** The Huns' name of the [[Dnieper]] river, {{transliteration|xhc|Var}}, was also derived from Scythian {{Transliteration|xsc|*Varu}}.{{sfn|Harmatta|1999|p=129}}
* {{Transliteration|en|Araxes}} ([[Ancient Greek]]: {{langx|grc|Ἀράξης|translit=Aráxēs}}; {{langx|la|Araxes}})<ref name="OlbrychtCimmerians">{{cite book |editor-last1=Pstrusińska |editor-first1=Jadwiga |editor-link1=:pl:Jadwiga Pstrusińska |editor-last2=Fear |editor-first2=Andrew |last=Olbrycht |first=Marek Jan |date=2000 |title=Collectanea Celto-Asiatica Cracoviensia |chapter=The Cimmerian Problem Re-Examined: the Evidence of the Classical Sources |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/1509846 |location=[[Kraków]] |publisher={{ill|Księgarnia Akademicka|pl|vertical-align=sup}} |isbn=978-8-371-88337-8 |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=13 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813195535/https://www.academia.edu/1509846 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="OlbrychtNomads">{{cite book |editor-last1=Pstrusińska |editor-first1=Jadwiga |editor-link1=:pl:Jadwiga Pstrusińska |editor-last2=Fear |editor-first2=Andrew |last=Olbrycht |first=Marek Jan |date=2000 |title=Collectanea Celto-Asiatica Cracoviensia |chapter=Remarks on the Presence of Iranian Peoples in Europe and Their Asiatic Relations |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/11934986 |pages=101–104 |location=[[Kraków]] |publisher={{ill|Księgarnia Akademicka|pl|vertical-align=sup}} |isbn=978-8-371-88337-8 |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925135705/https://www.academia.edu/11934986 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Turkic people]]s living along the river formerly referred to it as {{Transliteration|trk|Itil}} or ''[[Atil]]''. In modern [[Turkic languages]], the Volga is known as {{Transliteration|tt|İdel}} ({{lang|tt|{{script|Cyrl|Идел}}}}) in [[Tatar language|Tatar]], {{Transliteration|cv|Atăl}} ({{lang|cv|{{script|Cyrl|Атӑл}}}}) in [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]], {{Transliteration|ba|Iźel}} in [[Bashkir language|Bashkir]], {{Transliteration|kk|Edıl}} in [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], and {{Transliteration|tr|İdil}} in [[Turkish language|Turkish]]. The Turkic names go back to the ancient Turkic form "{{Transliteration|trk|Etil}}/{{Transliteration|trk|Ertil}}", the origin and meaning of which are not clear. Perhaps this form has a connection with the hydronym [[Irtysh River|''Irtesh'']].<ref>Akhmetyanov R. G. Brief Historical and etymological dictionary of the Tatar language. - Kazan: Tat. publishing house, 2001. p. 76. {{ISBN|5-298-01004-0}} (In tatar: Әхмәтьянов Р. Г. Татар теленең кыскача тарихи-этимологик сүзлеге. — Казан: Тат. кит. нәшр., 2001. б. 76. )</ref>

The Turkic peoples associated the Itil's origin with the [[Kama (river)|Kama]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kama River {{!}} river, Russia {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kama-River-Russia |access-date=24 January 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124125816/https://www.britannica.com/place/Kama-River-Russia |url-status=live }}</ref> Thus, a left tributary to the Kama was named the [[Belaya River (Kama)|{{Transliteration|trk|Aq Itil}}]] 'White Itil' which unites with the [[Ufa River|{{Transliteration|trk|Kara Itil}}]] 'Black Itil' at the modern city of [[Ufa]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-12 |title=Volga River {{!}} Map, Definition, Economy, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Volga-River |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The name {{Transliteration|kbd|Indyl}} ({{Transliteration|kbd|Indɨl}}) is used in the [[Kabardian language|Cherkess]] language.

In Asia the river was known by its other Turkic name {{Transliteration|trk|Sarı-su}} 'yellow water', but the [[Oirats]] also used their own name, {{Transliteration|xal|Ijil mörön}} or 'adaptation river'. Presently the [[Mari people|Mari]], another [[Uralic languages|Uralic]] group, call the river {{Transliteration|chm|Jul}} ({{lang|chm|{{script|Cyrl|Юл}}}}), meaning 'way' in [[Tatar language|Tatar]]. Formerly, they called the river {{Transliteration|chm|Volgydo}}, a borrowing from [[Old East Slavic]].{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

==Description==
[[File:Саратовский мост.jpeg|alt=|thumb|The [[Saratov Bridge]] by night, [[Saratov Oblast]]]]
[[File:Staritsa.jpg|thumb|The upper Volga in the vicinity of [[Staritsa (town), Tver Oblast|Staritsa]], 1912]]
[[File:ISS-60 Volga River flowing into the Caspian Sea.jpg|alt=Large river ending in triangular delta into sea, seen from above the atmosphere|thumb|View of the [[Volga Delta]] from the [[International Space Station]]]]

The Volga is the longest [[river]] in [[Europe]], and its catchment area is almost entirely inside [[Russia]], though the longest river in Russia is the [[Ob river|Ob]]–[[Irtysh river]] system.<ref name="readersnatural">{{Cite book |title=Natural Wonders of the World |publisher=Reader's Digest Association, Inc |year=1980 |isbn=0-89577-087-3 |editor-last=Scheffel |editor-first=Richard L. |location=United States of America |pages=406 |editor-last2=Wernet |editor-first2=Susan J.}}</ref> It belongs to the [[Endorheic basin|closed basin]] of the [[Caspian Sea]], being the longest river to flow into a closed basin. The source of the Volga lies in the village of Volgoverkhov'e in [[Tver Oblast]]. Rising in the [[Valdai Hills]] {{convert|225|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]] northwest of [[Moscow]] and about {{convert|320|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Saint Petersburg]], the Volga heads east past [[Lake Sterzh]], [[Tver]], [[Dubna]], [[Rybinsk]], [[Yaroslavl]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]], and [[Kazan]]. From there it turns south, flows past [[Ulyanovsk]], [[Tolyatti]], [[Samara, Russia|Samara]], [[Saratov]] and [[Volgograd]], and discharges into the Caspian Sea below [[Astrakhan]] at {{convert|28|m|ft|abbr=on}} below sea level.<ref name="readersnatural" />

The Volga has many [[tributaries]], most importantly the [[Kama (river)|Kama]], the [[Oka River|Oka]], the [[Vetluga (river)|Vetluga]], and the [[Sura (river)|Sura]]. The Volga and its tributaries form the Volga river system, which flows through an area of about {{convert|1350000|km2|0|abbr=on}} in the most heavily populated part of Russia.<ref name="readersnatural" /> The [[Volga Delta]] has a length of about {{convert|160|km|0|abbr=on}} and includes as many as 500 channels and smaller rivers. The largest [[estuary]] in Europe, it is the only place in Russia where [[pelican]]s, [[flamingo]]s, and [[Nelumbo nucifera|lotus]]es may be found.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} The Volga freezes for most of its length for three months each year.<ref name="readersnatural" />

The Volga drains most of [[Western Russia]]. Its many large reservoirs provide [[irrigation]] and [[hydroelectric]] power. The [[Moscow Canal]], the [[Volga–Don Canal]], and the [[Volga–Baltic Waterway]] form navigable [[waterway]]s connecting Moscow to the [[White Sea]], the [[Baltic Sea]], the Caspian Sea, the [[Sea of Azov]] and the [[Black Sea]]. High levels of chemical [[pollution]] have adversely affected the river and its habitats.

The fertile river valley provides large quantities of [[wheat]] and other agricultural produce, and also has many mineral riches. A substantial petroleum industry centers on the Volga valley. Other resources include [[natural gas]], [[salt]], and [[potash]]. The Volga Delta and the Caspian Sea are [[fishing grounds]].

===Confluences (downstream to upstream)===
[[File:Tver dusk 3.jpg|thumb|The Starovolzhsky Bridge in [[Tver]]|alt=]]
[[File:Volga Hydroelectric Station 002 (cropped).JPG|thumb|[[Volga Hydroelectric Station]]]]
[[File:Nizhny Novgorod P8132254 2200.jpg|thumb|The confluence of the Oka (''to the left'') and the Volga in Nizhny Novgorod]]

{{colbegin}}
* [[Akhtuba]] (near [[Volzhsky, Volgograd Oblast|Volzhsky]]), a [[distributary]]
* [[Bolshoy Irgiz]] (near [[Volsk]])
* [[Samara (Volga)|Samara]] (in [[Samara]])
* [[Kama (river)|Kama]] (south of [[Kazan]])<!-- in the Middle Age it was believed to be an origin of the Volga (Itil) – believed by who? surely not by Russians -->
* [[Kazanka (river)|Kazanka]] (in Kazan)
* [[Sviyaga]] (west of Kazan)
* [[Vetluga (river)|Vetluga]] (near [[Kozmodemyansk]])
* [[Sura (river)|Sura]] (in [[Vasilsursk]])
* [[Kerzhenets]] (near [[Lyskovo]])
* [[Oka (river)|Oka]] (in [[Nizhny Novgorod]])
* [[Uzola]] (near [[Balakhna]])
* [[Unzha]] (near [[Yuryevets, Ivanovo Oblast|Yuryevets]])
* [[Kostroma (river)|Kostroma]] (in [[Kostroma]])
* [[Kotorosl]] (in [[Yaroslavl]])
* [[Sheksna]] (in [[Cherepovets]])
* [[Mologa (river)|Mologa]] (near [[Vesyegonsk]])
* [[Kashinka]] (near [[Kalyazin]])
* [[Nerl (Volga)|Nerl]] (near Kalyazin)
* [[Medveditsa (Volga)|Medveditsa]] (near [[Kimry]])
* [[Dubna (Volga)|Dubna]] (in [[Dubna]])
* [[Shosha (river)|Shosha]] (near [[Konakovo]])
* [[Tvertsa]] (in [[Tver]])
* [[Vazuza]] (in [[Zubtsov]])
* [[Selizharovka]] (in [[Selizharovo]])
{{colend}}

===Reservoirs (downstream to upstream)===
A number of large hydroelectric reservoirs were constructed on the Volga during the [[Soviet Union|Soviet era]]. They are:
* [[Volgograd Reservoir]]
* [[Saratov Reservoir]]
* [[Kuybyshev Reservoir]]{{spaced ndash}} the largest in Europe by surface
* [[Cheboksary Reservoir]]
* [[Gorky Reservoir]]
* [[Rybinsk Reservoir]]
* [[Uglich Reservoir]]
* [[Ivankovo Reservoir]]

===Biggest cities on the shores of the Volga===
* [[Kazan]]
* [[Nizhny Novgorod]]
* [[Samara]]
* [[Volgograd]]
* [[Saratov]]
* [[Tolyatti]]
* [[Yaroslavl]]
* [[Astrakhan]]
* [[Ulyanovsk]]
* [[Cheboksary]]
* [[Tver]]

===Bridges across the Volga===
* [[Kostroma rail bridge]]

===Human history===
[[File:Volga River. Tolga Monastery P5212881 2200.jpg|thumb|Many [[Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] [[shrine]]s and [[monasteries]] are located along the banks of the Volga]]

The Volga–[[Oka (river)|Oka]] region has been occupied for at least 9,000 years and supported a bone and antler industry for producing bone arrowheads, spearheads, lanceheads, daggers, hunters knives, and awls. The makers also used local quartz and imported flints.<ref>Zhilin, M. (2015). Early Mesolithic bone arrowheads from the Volga-Oka interfluve, central Russia. 32. 35-54.</ref>

During [[classical antiquity]], the Volga formed the boundary between the territories of the [[Cimmerians]] in the Caucasian Steppe and the [[Scythians]] in the Caspian Steppe.<ref name="OlbrychtCimmerians"/> After the Scythians migrated to the west and displaced the Cimmerians, the Volga became the boundary between the territories of the Scythians in the Pontic and Caspian Steppes and the [[Massagetae]] in the Caspian and Transcaspian steppes.<ref name="OlbrychtNomads"/>

Between the 6th and the 8th centuries, the [[Alans]] settled in the [[Middle Volga Area|Middle Volga]] region and in the steppes of Russia's southern region in the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/ifuu/download/helimski/ural-vorgeschichte.pdf |title=VORGESCHICHE DER URALISCHEN SPRACHFAMILIE, GESCHICHTE DER KLEINEREN URALISCHEN SPRACHEN: CHRONOLOGIE |access-date=30 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530052002/https://www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/ifuu/download/helimski/ural-vorgeschichte.pdf |archive-date=30 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The area around the Volga was inhabited by the [[Slavic tribes]] of [[Vyatichs]] and [[Buzhans]], by [[Finno-Ugric peoples|Finno-Ugric]], [[North Germanic peoples|Scandinavian]], [[Balts|Baltic]], [[Huns|Hunnic]] and [[Turkic peoples]] ([[Tatar language|Tatars]], [[Kipchak languages|Kipchaks]], [[Khazar language|Khazars]]) in the [[first millennium]] AD, replacing the [[Scythians]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |url=http://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/katona_csete.pdf |title=Co-operation between the Viking Rus' and the Turkic nomads of the steppe in the ninth-eleventh centuries |last=Katona |first=Cseste |type=MA thesis |publisher=Central European University |date=2018 |access-date=4 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418221818/http://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/katona_csete.pdf |archive-date=18 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2024|reason=Source is a Master's thesis}} Furthermore, the river played a vital role in the commerce of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine people]]. The ancient scholar [[Ptolemy]] of [[Alexandria]] mentions the lower Volga in his ''Geography'' (Book 5, Chapter 8, 2nd Map of Asia). He calls it the ''Rha'', which was the Scythian name for the river. Ptolemy believed the Don and the Volga shared the same upper branch, which flowed from the [[Hyperborean]] Mountains. Between 2nd and 5th centuries [[Balts|Baltic people]] were very widespread in today's European Russia. Baltic people were widespread from [[Sozh River]] till today's Moscow and covered much of today's [[Central Russia]] and intermingled with the East Slavs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lituanus.org/1964/64_2_08_BR1.html |title=Marija Gimbutas. "A Survey Study of the Ancient Balts - Reviewed by Jonas Puzinas |website=www.lituanus.org |access-date=30 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804192233/http://www.lituanus.org/1964/64_2_08_BR1.html |archive-date=4 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Russian ethnicity in Western Russia and around the Volga river evolved to a very large extent, next to other tribes, out of the East Slavic tribe of the [[Buzhans]] and [[Vyatichi]]s. The Vyatichis were originally concentrated on the Oka River.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Khazars: a Judeo-Turkish Empire on the Steppes, 7th-11th Centuries AD. |last=Zhirohov, Mikhail. |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |others=Nicolle, David., Hook, Christa. |isbn=9781472830104 |location=London |pages=47 |oclc=1076253515}}</ref> Furthermore, several localities in Russia are connected to the Slavic Buzhan tribe, like for example [[Sredniy Buzhan]] in the [[Orenburg Oblast]], Buzan and the [[Buzan River]] in the [[Astrakhan Oblast]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://study.com/academy/lesson/early-east-slavic-tribes-in-russia.html |title=Early East Slavic Tribes in Russia |website=Study.com |language=en |access-date=16 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328092408/https://study.com/academy/lesson/early-east-slavic-tribes-in-russia.html |archive-date=28 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Buzhan ({{langx|fa|بوژان{{lrm}}|Būzhān}}; also known as ''Būzān'') is also a village in [[Buzhan, Nishapur|Nishapur]], [[Iran]]. In late 8th century the Russian state Russkiy Kaganate is recorded in different Northern and Oriental sources. The Volga was one of the main rivers of the Rus' Khaganates culture.<ref name="Gannholm"/>

Subsequently, the river basin played an important role in the movements of peoples from [[Asia]] to [[Europe]]. A powerful polity of [[Volga Bulgaria]] once flourished where the [[Kama (river)|Kama]] joins the Volga, while [[Khazaria]] controlled the lower stretches of the river. Such Volga cities as [[Atil]], [[Saqsin]], or [[Sarai (city)|Sarai]] were among the largest in the medieval world. The river [[Volga trade route|served as an important trade route]] connecting [[Viking Age|Scandinavia]], [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finnic]] areas with the various Slavic tribes and Turkic, [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], Finnic and other people in Old [[Rus' (people)|Rus']], and [[Volga Bulgaria]] with [[Khazars|Khazaria]], [[Persia]] and the [[Arab world]].

[[File:Ilia Efimovich Repin (1844-1930) - Volga Boatmen (1870-1873).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|[[Ilya Yefimovich Repin]]'s 1870–1873 painting ''[[Barge Haulers on the Volga]]'']]

Khazars were replaced by [[Kipchaks]], [[Kimeks]] and [[Mongols]], who founded the [[Golden Horde]] in the lower reaches of the Volga. Later their empire divided into the [[Khanate of Kazan]] and [[Khanate of Astrakhan]], both of which were conquered by the Russians in the course of the 16th century [[Russo-Kazan Wars]]. The Russian people's deep feeling for the Volga echoes in national culture and literature, starting from the 12th century [[Lay of Igor's Campaign]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.volgawriter.com/VW%20Volga%20River.htm |title=The Volga |publisher=www.volgawriter.com |access-date=11 June 2010 |format=[[Microsoft FrontPage]] 12.0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620141913/http://www.volgawriter.com/VW%20Volga%20River.htm |archive-date=20 June 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[The Volga Boatman's Song]] is one of many songs devoted to the national river of Russia.

Construction of [[Soviet Union]]-era dams often involved enforced resettlement of huge numbers of people, as well as destruction of their historical heritage. For instance, the town of [[Mologa]] was flooded for the purpose of constructing the [[Rybinsk Reservoir]] (then the largest artificial lake in the world). The construction of the [[Uglich Reservoir]] caused the flooding of several monasteries with buildings dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. In such cases the ecological and cultural damage often outbalanced any economic advantage.<ref>"In all, Soviet dams flooded 2,600 villages and 165 cities, almost 78,000&nbsp;sq. km. – the area of Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, and New Jersey combined – including nearly 31,000&nbsp;sq. km. of agricultural land and 31,000&nbsp;sq. km. of forestland". Quoted from: Paul R. Josephson. ''Industrialized Nature: Brute Force Technology and the Transformation of the Natural World''. Island Press, 2002. {{ISBN|1-55963-777-3}}. Page 31.</ref>

====20th-century conflicts====
{{Main|Battle of Stalingrad|Kazan Operation}}
[[File:Soviet marines-in the battle of stalingrad volga banks.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Russian Naval Infantry#World War II|Marines]] charge the Volga [[Bank (geography)|river bank]].]]

During the [[Russian Civil War]], both sides fielded warships on the Volga. In 1918, the Red [[Volga Flotilla]] participated in driving the Whites eastward, from the Middle Volga [[Kazan Operation|at Kazan]] to the Kama and eventually to [[Ufa]] on the [[Belaya River (Kama)|Belaya]].<ref>[[Brian Pearce]], [http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/government/red-army/1918/raskolnikov/ilyin/index.htm Introduction] ({{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203140800/http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/government/red-army/1918/raskolnikov/ilyin/index.htm |date=3 February 2008 }}) to [[Fyodor Raskolnikov]]'s ''Tales of Sub-lieutenant Ilyin''.</ref>

During the Civil War, [[Joseph Stalin]] ordered the imprisonment of several military specialists on a barge in the Volga and the sinking of a floating prison in which the officers perished.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brackman |first1=Roman |title=The Secret File of Joseph Stalin: A Hidden Life |date=23 November 2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-75840-0 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PY2RAgAAQBAJ&dq=stalin+trotsky+military+specialist&pg=PA129 |language=en |access-date=30 October 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003000731/https://books.google.com/books?id=PY2RAgAAQBAJ&dq=stalin+trotsky+military+specialist&pg=PA129 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sebag Montefiore |first1=Simon |title=Stalin : the court of the red tsar |date=2004 |publisher=Grown House |location=London |isbn=978-0-7538-1766-7 |page=34 |url=https://archive.org/details/stalincourtofred0000seba/page/34/mode/1up?q=Enmity}}</ref>

During World War II, the city on the big bend of the Volga, currently known as [[Volgograd]], witnessed the [[Battle of Stalingrad]], possibly the [[List of battles by casualties|bloodiest battle]] in human history, in which the Soviet Union and the German forces were deadlocked in a [[stalemate]] battle for access to the river. The Volga was (and still is) a vital transport route between central Russia and the Caspian Sea, which provides access to the oil fields of the [[Apsheron Peninsula|Absheron Peninsula]]. [[Hitler]] planned to use access to the oil fields of [[Azerbaijan]] to fuel future German conquests. Apart from that, whoever held both sides of the river could move forces across the river, to defeat the enemy's [[fortification]]s beyond the river.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_stalingrad.htm |title=::The Battle of Stalingrad |publisher=Historylearningsite.co.uk |access-date=11 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530123434/http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_stalingrad.htm |archive-date=30 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> By taking the river, Hitler's [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] would have been able to move [[cargo|supplies]], [[gun]]s, and men into the northern part of Russia. At the same time, Germany could permanently deny this transport route by the Soviet Union, hampering its access to oil and to supplies via the [[Persian Corridor]].

For this reason, many [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious]] military assaults were brought about in an attempt to remove the other side from the banks of the river. In these battles, the Soviet Union was the main [[Offensive (military)|offensive]] side, while the [[Wehrmacht|German troops]] used a more [[defense (military)|defensive]] stance, though much of the fighting was [[close combat|close quarters combat]], with no clear offensive or defensive side.

==Ethnic groups==
[[File:Молодецкий курган осенью.jpg|thumb|The Volga in the [[Zhiguli Mountains]].]]

Many different ethnicities lived on the Volga river. Numerous were the Eastern Slavic [[Vyatichi|Vyatchi]] tribes which took a decisive role in the development of modern Russians.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/early-east-slavic-tribes-in-russia.html |title=Early East Slavic Tribes in Russia {{!}} Study.com |work=Study.com |access-date=13 October 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826183019/https://study.com/academy/lesson/early-east-slavic-tribes-in-russia.html |archive-date=26 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Khazars: a Judeo-Turkish Empire on the Steppes, 7th-11th Centuries AD. |last=Mikhail. |first=Zhirohov |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |others=Nicolle, David., Hook, Christa. |isbn=9781472830104 |location=London |pages=47 |oclc=1076253515}}</ref> Among the first recorded people along the upper Volga were also the Finnic [[Mari people|Mari]] (Мари) and [[Merya people|Merya]] (Мäрӹ) people. Where the Volga flows through the steppes the area was also inhabited by the Iranian people of the [[Sarmatians]] from 200 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.slavorum.org/noble-sarmatian-grave-discovered-in-russia/ |title=Noble Sarmatian Grave Discovered In Russia |last=Bašić |first=Marko |date=14 May 2015 |website=Slavorum |language=en-US |access-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328082047/https://www.slavorum.org/noble-sarmatian-grave-discovered-in-russia/ |archive-date=28 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Volga river |last=Tim. |first=McNeese |date=2005 |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |isbn=0791082474 |location=Philadelphia |pages=14 |oclc=56535045}}</ref> Since ancient times, even before Rus' states developed, the Volga river was an important trade route where not only Slavic, Turkic and Finnic peoples lived, but also where the [[Arabs|Arab]] world of the Middle East met the [[Varangians|Varangian]] people of the Nordic countries through trade.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/when-the-arabs-met-the-vikings-new-discovery-suggests-ancient-links-1.125718 |title=When the Arabs met the Vikings: New discovery suggests ancient links |website=The National |date=6 May 2015 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525021237/https://www.thenational.ae/world/when-the-arabs-met-the-vikings-new-discovery-suggests-ancient-links-1.125718 |archive-date=25 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/the-volga-trade-route/ |title=The Volga Trade Route |website=www.pbs.org |date=7 February 2013 |language=en-US |access-date=25 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523220533/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/the-volga-trade-route/ |archive-date=23 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 8th and 9th centuries colonization began from [[Kievan Rus']]. Slavs from Kievan Rus' brought Christianity to the upper Volga, and a portion of non-Slavic local people adopted Christianity and gradually became [[East Slavs]]. The remainder of the Mari people migrated to the east far inland. In the course of several centuries the Slavs assimilated the indigenous Finnic populations, such as the [[Merya people|Merya]], [[Meshchera]] and [[Muromians|Muroma]] peoples. The surviving peoples of [[Volga Finns|Volga Finnic]] ethnicity include the [[Mari people|Maris]], [[Erzya people|Erzyas]] and [[Mokshas]] of the middle Volga. Also Khazar and Bulgar peoples inhabited the upper, middle and lower of the Volga River basin.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://learnrussianlanguage.net/unique-history-of-volga-river-that-you-need-to-know |title=Unique History of Volga River That You Need to Know - Learn Russian Language |date=30 June 2018 |work=Learn Russian Language |access-date=13 October 2018 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013211616/http://learnrussianlanguage.net/unique-history-of-volga-river-that-you-need-to-know |archive-date=13 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Apart from the [[Huns]], the earliest Turkic tribes arrived in the 7th century and assimilated some Finno-Ugric and Indo-European population on the middle and lower Volga. The Turkic [[Christians|Christian]] [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]] and [[Muslims|Muslim]] [[Volga Tatars]] are descendants of the population of medieval [[Volga Bulgaria]]. Another Turkic group, the [[Nogais]], formerly inhabited the lower Volga steppes.

The Volga region is home to a German minority group, the [[Volga Germans]]. [[Catherine the Great]] had issued a manifesto in 1763 inviting all foreigners to come and populate the region, offering them numerous incentives to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catherine's Manifesto 1763 |url=https://www.norkarussia.info/catherines-manifesto-1763.html |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=NORKA |language=en |archive-date=4 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304221905/https://www.norkarussia.info/catherines-manifesto-1763.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This was partly to develop the region but also to provide a buffer zone between the Russians and the [[Mongols]] to the east.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Egan |first=Timothy |title=The Worst Hard Time |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=2006 |isbn=9780618346974 |pages=63}}</ref> Because of conditions in German territories, Germans responded in the largest numbers. Under the Soviet Union a slice of the region was turned into the [[Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]].

On 22 June 1941, Hitler started the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|German-Soviet War]]. On 28 August 1941, Stalin had the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR]] pass a decree ‘On the resettlement of Germans residing in the Volga region’.
The approximately 400,000 remaining Volga Germans were accused of collective collaboration, deported to [[Siberia]] and Central Asia, and forced into labour camps of the ‘Labour Army’ (Трудармия); thousands of them died. 
Most Russian Germans (men and women) were ‘conscripted’ between October 1942 and December 1943.

In 1964, they were officially cleared of the accusation of collaboration, albeit with restrictions. (1964 marked the end of the [[Khrushchev era]], which had begun in 1953 after Stalin's death. The [[Khrushchev thaw|Thaw period]] lasted from about 1956 to [[Leonid Brezhnev|October 1964]]. 
The freedom of travel granted in 1972 allowed a return to the Volga, but explicitly not to the settlement inhabited before the deportation. This only became possible after the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]].<ref>[https://de.rbth.com/lifestyle/85876-wie-leben-russlanddeutsche-heute-wolga ''Wie leben die Russlanddeutschen heute an den Ufern der Wolga?''] (7 February 2022)</ref>

==Navigation==
The Volga, widened for navigation purposes with construction of huge dams during the years of [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[industrialization]], is of great importance to inland shipping and transport in Russia: all the dams in the river have been equipped with large (double) [[Canal lock|ship locks]], so that vessels of considerable dimensions can travel from the [[Caspian Sea]] almost to the upstream end of the river.

Connections with the river [[Don River, Russia|Don]] and the [[Black Sea]] are possible through the [[Volga–Don Canal]]. Connections with the lakes of the North ([[Lake Ladoga]], [[Lake Onega]]), [[Saint Petersburg]] and the [[Baltic Sea]] are possible through the [[Volga–Baltic Waterway]]; and commerce with Moscow has been realised by the [[Moscow Canal]] connecting the Volga and the [[Moskva River]].

This infrastructure has been designed for vessels of a relatively large scale (lock dimensions of {{convert|290|×|30|m|ft}} on the Volga, slightly smaller on some of the other rivers and canals) and it spans many thousands of kilometers. A number of formerly state-run, now mostly privatized, companies operate passenger and cargo vessels on the river; [[Volgotanker]], with over 200 [[petroleum tanker]]s, is one of them.

In the later [[Soviet Union|Soviet era]], up to the modern times, [[grain]] and oil have been among the largest cargo exports transported on the Volga.
<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1016/S1353-2561(01)00050-0 |title=Prediction of the Dispersal of Oil Transport in the Caspian Sea Resulting from a Continuous Release |year=2000 |last1=Korotenko |first1=K. A. |last2=Mamedov |first2=R. M. |last3=Mooers |first3=C. N. K. |journal=Spill Science & Technology Bulletin |volume=6 |issue=5–6 |pages=323}}</ref> Until recently access to the Russian waterways was granted to foreign vessels on a very limited scale. The increasing contacts between the European Union and Russia have led to new policies with regard to the access to the Russian inland waterways.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.noordersoft.com/indexen.html |title=NoorderSoft Waterways Database |publisher=Noordersoft.com |access-date=11 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109123915/http://www.noordersoft.com/indexen.html |archive-date=9 November 2005}}</ref>

<gallery widths=200 heights=160>
File:Volgograd. River Station P8080529 2200.jpg|The Volga at Volgograd
File:Utes step raz2.jpg|In some locations, the Volga has a rocky west bank.
File:Rybinsk Reservoir. Cruise ship Maksim Litvinov P5213234 2200.jpg|alt=|Cruise ship on the Volga.
</gallery>

==Satellite imagery==
<gallery widths=200 heights=200>
File:Volgograd 44.67670E 48.66724N.jpg|View of the river and [[Volgograd]] from space.
File:Volga-river-delta-terra-modis-2010-07-17-750-UTC.jpg|Volga river delta, [[Terra (satellite)|Terra]]/[[Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer|MODIS]] 2010-07-17.
File:Volga.A2002137.0745.250m.jpg|Terra/MODIS, 2002-05-17.
File:Volga.250m.jpg|Terra/MODIS, 2001-10-10.
</gallery>

== Cultural significance ==
===Literature===
* ''[[Without a Dowry]]'', ''[[The Storm (Ostrovsky)|The Storm]]'' – dramas by the Russian playwright [[Alexander Ostrovsky|Aleksandr Ostrovsky]]
* ''[[In the Forests]]'', ''On the Hills'' – novels by [[Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov|Pavel Melnikov]]
* ''[[Yegor Bulychov and Others]]'', ''Dostigayev and Others'' – plays by [[Maxim Gorky]]
* "Distance After Distance" – poem by [[Aleksandr Tvardovsky]]
* "On the Volga" – a poem by [[Nikolay Nekrasov]]
* "Volga and [[Vazuza River|Vazuza]]" – a poem by [[Samuil Marshak]]
* ''[[The Precipice (Goncharov novel)|The Precipice]]'' – a novel by [[Ivan Goncharov]]
* ''[[Volga Se Ganga]]'' - a novel by [[Hindi|Hindi language]] writer [[Rahul Sankrityayan]]

===Cinema===
* ''[[Volga-Volga]]'' (1938) – a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] film comedy directed by [[Grigori Aleksandrov]]
* ''[[Ekaterina Voronina (film)|Ekaterina Voronina]]'' (1957) – Soviet drama film directed by [[Isidor Annensky]]
* ''The Bridge Is Built'' (1965) – a Soviet film about the construction of a road bridge across the Volga in [[Saratov]] by [[Oleg Yefremov|Oleg Efremov]] and Gavriil Egiazarov
* ''[[A Cruel Romance]]'' (1984) – romantic drama directed by [[Eldar Ryazanov]]
* ''[[Election Day (2007 film)|Election Day]]'' (2007) – Russian comedy film directed by Oleg Fomin

===Music===
* "[[The Song of the Volga Boatmen]]"

===Video games===
* ''[[Metro Exodus]]'' – Volga is one of main levels of the game

==See also==
* [[Caspian Depression]]
* [[List of rivers of Russia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |editor-first1=Olivier |editor-last1=Reverdin |editor-link1=:fr:Olivier Reverdin |editor-first2=Giuseppe |editor-last2=Nenci |editor-link2=:it:Giuseppe Nenci |last=Harmatta |first=János |author-link=János Harmatta |date=1999 |title=Hérodote et les Peuples Non Grecs |trans-title=Herodotus and the Non-Greek Peoples |chapter=Herodotus, Historian of the Cimmerians and the Scythians |url=https://archive.org/details/herodoteetlespeu0035unse |chapter-url=https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=oac-001%3A1990%3A35%3A%3A381 |language=fr |location=[[Vandœuvres]], [[Switzerland]] |publisher={{ill|Fondation Hardt pour l'étude de l'Antiquité classique|fr|Fondation Hardt|vertical-align=sup}} |pages=115–130 |isbn=978-3-774-92415-4}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* Hartley, J. M. (2021). ''[https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300266412/the-volga/ The Volga: A History]''. New Haven: Yale University Press.
** {{cite journal |jstor=10.5699/slaveasteurorev2.99.4.0761 |last1=Sunderland |first1=Willard |title=Reviewed work: The Volga: A History of Russia's Greatest River, Hartley, Janet M |journal=The Slavonic and East European Review |year=2021 |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=761–763 |doi=10.1353/see.2021.0094 |s2cid=259804772}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Volga}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Volga |volume= 28 |last1= Kropotkin |first1= Peter Alexeivitch |author1-link=Peter Kropotkin|last2= Bealby |first2=John Thomas| pages = 193&ndash;195 |short= 1}}
* [http://earthfromspace.photoglobe.info/spc_volga_delta.html Volga Delta from Space]
* [http://as-volga.com Photos of the Volga coasts]
* {{Osmrelation-inline|1730417}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la1gakAbIgw Video about the source of the Volga]

{{Rivers of Russia}}
{{Volga River}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Volga River| ]]
[[Category:Braided rivers in Russia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Kostroma Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Moscow Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Astrakhan Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Chuvashia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Kalmykia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Samara Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Saratov Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Tatarstan]]
[[Category:Rivers of Tver Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Volgograd Oblast]]
[[Category:Rivers of Yaroslavl Oblast]]
[[Category:Tributaries of the Caspian Sea]]