Volga River
river, Russia
Also known as: Etil, Itil, Ra, Reka Volga
- Russian:
- Volga
- Ancient (Greek):
- Ra or
- (Tatar):
- Itil or Etil
Volga River, river of Europe, the continent’s longest, and the principal waterway of western Russia and the historic cradle of the Russian state. Its basin, sprawling across about two-fifths of the European part of Russia, contains almost half of the entire population of the Russian Republic. The Volga’s immense economic, cultural, and historic importance—along with the sheer size of the river and its basin—ranks it among the world’s great rivers. Rising in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow, the Volga discharges into the Caspian Sea, some 2,193 miles (3,530 kilometres) to the south. It drops slowly and majestically from its ...(100 of 1827 words)