Volga

the longest river of Europe. It rises in the marshes of the Valdai plateau and flows in a general southerly direction through Russia, emptying by a delta into the Caspian Sea. It is the largest inland river in the world. The best known cities on its banks are Nijni-Novgorod and Astrakhan. It is about 2,400 miles in length and is navigable throughout the greater part of its course. With its tributaries it affords 7,000 miles of waterway. It is connected by canals with the Baltic and with them forms a waterway of great importance leading from the Baltic to the Caspian. The fisheries of the Volga are also of importance. See Nijni-Novgorod; Astrakhan; Sturgeon; Caspian