Rybinsk Reservoir , informally called the
Rybinsk Sea, is a vast water reservoir on the
Volga RiverThe Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through western Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including its capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage basin...
and its
tributariesA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
SheksnaSheksna is a river in Vologda Oblast, Russia, a left tributary of Volga. It has its source in the Lake Beloye at , and joins the northern part of the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Volga near in the city of Cherepovets...
and
MologaMologa River is a river in Tver, Novgorod and Vologda Oblasts of Russia. It is a left tributary of the Volga River, flowing into the Rybinsk Reservoir. The river freezes up in the late October - early December and stays under the ice until April - early May.The towns of Bezhetsk, Pestovo, and...
, formed by
Rybinsk Hydroelectric StationRybinsk Hydroelectric Station or Rybinsk GES is a hydroelectric station on the Volga and the Sheksna rivers in Yaroslavl Oblast near the Rybinsk town...
dam, located on the territories of
TverTver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990 it was named Kalinin Oblast in honor of Michail Kalinin....
,
VologdaVologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Area: 145,700 km²; population: 1,269,568...
, and
Yaroslavl OblastYaroslavl Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma, and Vologda Oblasts. This geographic location affords the oblast the advantages of proximity to Moscow and St. Petersburg...
s. At the time of its construction, it was the largest man-made body of water on Earth. It is the northernmost point of the Volga. The
Volga-Baltic WaterwayThe Volga–Baltic Waterway, formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System , is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga River with the Baltic Sea...
starts from there. The principal ports are
CherepovetsCherepovets is the largest city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Sheksna River, a tributary of the Volga River. Population: 311,869 ; 310,463 . It is served by Cherepovets Airport....
in Vologda Oblast and
VesyegonskVesyegonsk is the northernmost town in Tver Oblast, Russia. The historic part of Vesyegonsk lies under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir. Population: 8,662 ....
in Tver Oblast.
The construction of the dam in
RybinskRybinsk is the second largest city of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. It lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna rivers. Population: 213,000 ; It is served by Rybinsk Staroselye airport.-Early history:...
started in 1935.
Rybinsk Reservoir , informally called the
Rybinsk Sea, is a vast water reservoir on the
Volga RiverThe Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through western Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including its capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage basin...
and its
tributariesA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
SheksnaSheksna is a river in Vologda Oblast, Russia, a left tributary of Volga. It has its source in the Lake Beloye at , and joins the northern part of the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Volga near in the city of Cherepovets...
and
MologaMologa River is a river in Tver, Novgorod and Vologda Oblasts of Russia. It is a left tributary of the Volga River, flowing into the Rybinsk Reservoir. The river freezes up in the late October - early December and stays under the ice until April - early May.The towns of Bezhetsk, Pestovo, and...
, formed by
Rybinsk Hydroelectric StationRybinsk Hydroelectric Station or Rybinsk GES is a hydroelectric station on the Volga and the Sheksna rivers in Yaroslavl Oblast near the Rybinsk town...
dam, located on the territories of
TverTver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990 it was named Kalinin Oblast in honor of Michail Kalinin....
,
VologdaVologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Area: 145,700 km²; population: 1,269,568...
, and
Yaroslavl OblastYaroslavl Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma, and Vologda Oblasts. This geographic location affords the oblast the advantages of proximity to Moscow and St. Petersburg...
s. At the time of its construction, it was the largest man-made body of water on Earth. It is the northernmost point of the Volga. The
Volga-Baltic WaterwayThe Volga–Baltic Waterway, formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System , is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga River with the Baltic Sea...
starts from there. The principal ports are
CherepovetsCherepovets is the largest city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Sheksna River, a tributary of the Volga River. Population: 311,869 ; 310,463 . It is served by Cherepovets Airport....
in Vologda Oblast and
VesyegonskVesyegonsk is the northernmost town in Tver Oblast, Russia. The historic part of Vesyegonsk lies under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir. Population: 8,662 ....
in Tver Oblast.
The construction of the dam in
RybinskRybinsk is the second largest city of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. It lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna rivers. Population: 213,000 ; It is served by Rybinsk Staroselye airport.-Early history:...
started in 1935. The filling of the reservoir started on April 14, 1941, and continued until 1947. Some 150,000 people had to be resettled elsewhere, and the historic town of
MologaMologa was a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, formerly situated at the confluence of Mologa and Volga Rivers, but now submerged under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir....
in Yaroslavl Oblast along with 663 villages have completely disappeared under water. As the time goes by, however, it has been increasingly viewed as a typical sample of
StalinJoseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953...
ist voluntarism. Today the dam is less important for electric power supply (output is 346 MW) than it used to be, and the ecological damage caused by the reservoir is being reassessed.
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