Volkhov River

The Volkhov in Veliky Novgorod

River plant Wolchowskaja

Catchment area of ​​the Volkhov ( Волхов )

The Volkhov (Russian Волхов ) is a river in northwest Russia between Saint Petersburg and Moscow, near Veliky Novgorod.

He springs from the Ilmensee in the north and ends at Novaya Ladoga in Lake Ladoga. Its main source rivers are the MSTA, and the Lovat and the Schelon that flow into the Ilmensee.

Geography

The river has a length of 224 kilometers. He is a member of Wishne Wolotschokschen - channel system connecting the Neva River with the Volga. Riverside is the same city.

The banks of the Volkhov are usually low and are heavily flooded in the spring. As a result of ice jams in the Lake Ladoga at the mouth of the Volkhov River in the spring can often for days not drain and is dammed accordingly, since its gradient is very low.

Hydroelectric power station

The hydropower plant Wolchowskaja was put into operation in 1927 and served the energy supply of the former Leningrad. With 86 MW of installed capacity, a pipeline of 130 km and several substations was this system once the largest power plant and largest power distribution system of the Soviet Union.

History

During the Second World War was fought over the Volkhov. In 1941 parts of the Red Army encircled by the Wehrmacht on the Volkhov. Thousands of Russian soldiers starved to death in the swamps. In December of the same year presented the Red Army on the Volkhov front. Their main job was to defend the positions of the river, east of Leningrad, and the lifting of the Leningrad blockade. January to April 1942, a battle took place on the Volkhov, a failed Russian attempt to break the siege of Leningrad. The fighting lasted until February 1944, when the Wehrmacht had to withdraw.