Volga River

The Volga River is the largest waterway in Russia and connects its five seas by a network of canals. We sailed through the Rybinsk Reservoir, White Lake, Onega Lake, Ladoga Lake and near the Baltic Sea.

Most of the river reminded me of our local rivers near Charleston where I worked riverboats after getting out of the Navy. Sometimes it was wide as the Ohio River and sometimes as narrow as the Coal River in West Virginia.

Half of Russia’s river cargo is transported on this system. Our ship had a draft of ten feet and some of the narrow channels were no more than fourteen feet deep. Many times we would pass other ships close enough to throw a rock across the deck.

The larger lakes were like sailing on the ocean. You could not see the banks on either side.

Here are just a few of the sights from the deck of the ship.