The earliest of the three great river routes that connected Scandinavia with the Caliphate in the early Middle Ages. Judging by the finds of dirhams, it was formed earlier than the Dnieper (it was called "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and Dvina routes, but it also began to lose its international significance before the rest - even before the start of the Crusades. During its heyday in the second half of the 9th century, the Volga trade route provided economic the well-being of three state formations - Russia in the upper reaches, Volga Bulgaria in the middle part and the Khazar Khaganate in the lower reaches of the Volga.

A permanent trade along the Volga was formed in the 780s, with the arrival on the banks of the river of the Scandinavian element, known in the Russian chronicles as the Varangians. The path started from the shores of the Baltic, led down the Neva and Volkhov through Ladoga and Rurik's Settlement to Lake Ilmen. From here, the Varangian boats were rafted up the Lovat to the portage of the Valdai Upland, along which the ships were dragged to the Volga basin.

On the image: River routes of Ancient Russia: the Volga route is marked in red, the Dnieper route is purple.

Further down the river to the Volga Bulgaria such northern goods as furs, honey and slaves were rafted. Subsequently, this path was called in the annals "from the Varangians to the Bulgars." (A land road from Kyiv later led to Bulgar as a transshipment point). The sites of the largest Scandinavian settlements on the Upper Volga are now marked by the Sarskoe settlement and the Timerev kurgans. However, the population at both points was mixed, containing a significant Slavic and Meryan component.

If north of Bulgaria the main trading agents in the IX-X centuries. Varangians acted, then Khazaria was the main political and economic force on the Lower Volga. On the Volga stood the largest city of the state - Itil. The isthmus between the Volga and the Don was protected by the powerful Sarkel fortress. The lower sections of the Volga trade route are known from the descriptions of the Arab geographers Ibn Khordadbeh and Ibn Ruste, as well as from the information of Ibn Fadlan, who traveled up the Volga to Bulgaria in 921-922.

On the image: The painting by S. V. Ivanov depicts the sale of slaves (sakaliba) by the Varangians to the Khazars according to the description of ibn Fadlan.

Having reached the Caspian Sea, the merchants landed on its southern shores and went further on camels to Baghdad, Balkh and Maverannahr. The author of the "Book of Ways and Countries" Ibn Khordadbeh (who was in charge of the post office in the Persian region of Jabal) reported that in his time, rahdonite merchants reached "to the nomad camps of the Toghuz-Guzes, and then to China."

From the end of the 9th century, Russia established control over the Dnieper trade route to the Black Sea, in connection with which the main political centers shifted from the north to the south-west of the Russian Plain (Kyiv, Chernigov, Smolensk-Gnezdovo). Around this river artery, a new state formation is being formed - Kievan Rus. After the victories of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich over the Khazars in the 960s. Russia gains access to the Caspian bypassing the Bulgars, through the portage of ships near Sarkel.

Trade with the countries of the East was very beneficial for Russia. Spices, silk and some other goods could only be purchased here. In addition, in the 10th century, Russia became an intermediary between the East and the countries of Europe, since direct trade between them was practically impossible due to nomadic tribes blocking their path. The French poet of that time, singing the beauty, said that she was dressed in clothes made of "Russian silk". But in Russia at that time they did not know how to make silk, so this, of course, is a Russian transit. Only the crusades in the XI-XII centuries. Europe has carved a direct path to the East. At that time Russia was one of the main suppliers of oriental goods to Europe.

9. WATER CONSTRUCTION IN RUSSIA

ANCIENT TIMES

Dokiev and Kievan Rus

Archaeological studies have shown that the first tribes on the territory of Russia appeared in the middle Dnieper region as early as the 3rd millennium BC. e. According to one of the versions of historians, the self-name of the people and the country came from the name of the Ros River, on which these people settled.

The most important natural feature of Russia is the abundance of rivers. This determined both the nature of settlement and the possibility of colonization of territories: people settled along the rivers, mastering mainly the territories adjacent to them. Huge expanses of forests and swamps in the interfluves remained uninhabited, uncultivated, and often impassable.

The extremely dense network of lakes and flat rivers on the European territory of Russia turned out to be very convenient for navigation. Moreover, many rivers of one basin come close to the rivers of another, which creates favorable opportunities for moving overland (along the so-called portages) from one basin to another, continuing to swim in the right direction for long distances. These convenient waterways, provided by nature itself, have been used by people since time immemorial.

Pogosts (administrative centers), monasteries, rows (villages) and cities arose on waterways, mainly at river mouths, on the borders of portages and on river rapids.

During the formation and strengthening of statehood in Russia, large cities and shopping centers began to form: Kyiv, Pskov, Pereyaslavl, Polotsk, Chernigov, Novgorod. At the same time, stable trade relations both within the country and with other states and peoples were of great importance. Such communications were carried out, first of all, along waterways with the movement of ships with people and cargo, through watersheds they moved by dragging.

In those days, waterways in Russia were, in fact, the only means of communication, since horse-drawn transport, due to the lack of roads, was used for transportation over long distances, usually only in winter, after the establishment of a toboggan path, and often again along rivers. It is no coincidence that the distances, for example, between Novgorod and most other settlements, indicated in the List of Novgorod pyatins (regions), were determined not along the shortest dry path, but along rivers.

One of the most famous trade routes of Ancient Russia was the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”. The path arose at the beginning of the 9th century (no later than 825-30), as evidenced by the finds of treasures of Arab silver coins - dirhams of the 1st quarter of the 9th century. On this way, the fortress city of Staraya Ladoga, the ancient capital of Russia, grew up (in 2003, its 1250th anniversary was celebrated). According to Arab sources, already in the 10th century Ladoga was a port city that traded with Spain, Rome, Persia and other countries. Foreign documents of that time indicate that German guests (merchants) who came with goods to Ladoga hired local pilots here who escorted their ships through the Ladoga (Volkhov) rapids to Gostinopolye (a village that still exists). The Russian chronicles also mention the village of Issada, located below the city of Ladoga on the right bank of the Volkhov at the mouth of the Latin River and preserved to this day (its name in translation from the Old Russian language means "pier").

It was this path "from the Varangians to the Greeks" that in 882 Prince Oleg and his retinue traveled from Novgorod to Kyiv, where the unification of Russia into a single state took place. In 907, Oleg and his retinue went further along the same path - on military courts to Constantinople (Tsargrad), fought and concluded a peace treaty between Byzantium and Russia.

As indicated in the Tale of Time, “be the path from the Varangians to the Greeks, and from the Greeks along the Dnieper, and the top of the Dnieper dragged to Lovot, and along the Lovot, enter the great lake into Ilmer, flow the Volkhov from the worthless lake and flow into the great lake Nevo, and the mouth of that lake will enter the Varya Sea.

Miniature from the chronicle: "Oleg's campaign against Tsargrad"

Such a path is actually impossible, because the upper reaches of the Dnieper and Lovat do not come close to each other anywhere, moreover, between the Dnieper and Lovat is the Western Dvina. Apparently, a gap was made in the annals, a possible route (in modern names): the Baltic Sea, the Neva River, Lake Ladoga, the Volkhov River, Ilmen Lake, the Lovat River, the Kunya River, the Serezha River, then dragged about 30 km to the Toropy River , the Western Dvina River, the Kasplya River, the Kasplinsky Lake, dragged to the Katyn River, the Dnieper River and along it to the Black Sea.

The path was of the greatest importance in the 10th - the first third of the 11th centuries, that is, during the reign of Svyatoslav Igorevich and Vladimir the Red Sun.

The chronicler of The Tale of Bygone Years is also familiar with the sea route “from the Varangian Greeks”, namely, from the Baltic Sea around Western Europe to Rome, and from there to the East: to Greece and Constantinople.

In the second half of the 11th - early 12th centuries, trade relations between Russia and Western Europe intensified, and the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” gave way to the Pripyat-Bug, Zapadno-Dvinsky, etc. And the author of The Tale of Bygone Years knows about these routes: “... the Dnieper it flows out of the Okovsky forest and flows south, and the Dvina flows from the same forest, but heads north and flows into the Varangian Sea.

There were other "Varangian" ways. One of them walked along the Velikaya River, Lake Peipsi and Narova. This waterway owes its origin to the city of Pskov (ancient name - Pleskov) - the "younger brother" of Novgorod, first mentioned in chronicles under 903.

Here, in the XII century, the city of Narva arose - one of the main centers of trade between Russia and Western Europe. On the opposite, right, bank of the Narva, there was an issad (pier) of Pskov.

Narva and Novgorod were connected by a direct water-carriage route, the basis of which was the Luga River. Between Pskov and Novgorod there was a water-land communication along the rivers Velikaya, Cherekha, Uza, Shelon and Lake Ilmen.

Another important route connecting the countries of Scandinavia with the Persian Caliphate was the Volga or Volga-Baltic trade route (“from the Varangians to the Persians” or “from the Varangians to the Bulgars”).

Chronicle way "from the Varangians to the Greeks"

Judging by the finds of dirhams, it was formed earlier than the Dnieper and Dvina routes, but it also began to lose its international significance earlier than others - even before the start of the Crusades. During its heyday in the second half of the 9th century, the Volga trade route ensured the economic well-being of three state formations - Russia in the upper reaches, Volga Bulgaria in the middle part and the Khazar Khaganate in the lower reaches of the Volga.

A permanent trade along the Volga was formed in the 780s, with the arrival on the banks of the river of the Scandinavian element, known in the Russian chronicles as the Varangians. The path began from the shores of the Baltic, led along the Neve and Volkhov through Ladogui and Rurik's Gorodischev lake Ilmen. From here, the Varangian boats were rafted down the Lovatidovolokov of the Valdai Upland, along which the ships were dragged to the Volga basin. Further down the river to the Volga Bulgaria such northern goods as furs, honey and slaves were fused. Subsequently, this path was called in the annals "from the Varangians to the Bulgars." (The overland road from Kiev later led to Bulgar as a transshipment point). The sites of the largest Scandinavian settlements on the Upper Volga are now marked by the Sarskoye settlement and the Timerev kurgans. However, the population at both points was mixed, containing a significant Slavic Imerian component.

If north of Bulgaria the Varangians were the main trading agents in the 9th-10th centuries, then Khazaria was the main political and economic force on the Lower Volga. On the Volga stood the largest city of this state - Itil. The isthmus between the Volga and the Don was protected by the powerful Sarkel fortress. The lower sections of the Volga trade route are known from the descriptions of the Arab geographers Ibn Khordadbehai and Ibn Ruste, as well as from the information of Ibn Fadlan, who traveled up the Volga to Bulgaria in 921-922.

Having reached the Caspian Sea, Russian and Varangian merchants landed on its southern shores and went further on camels to Baghdad, Balkhi-Maverannahr. The author of the "Book of Ways and Countries" Ibn Khordadbeh (who was in charge of the post office in the Persian region of Jabal) reported that in his time, rahdonite merchants reached "to the nomad camps of the Toghuz-Guzes, and then to China."

From the end of the 9th century, Russia established control over the Dnieper trade route to the Black Sea, in connection with which the main political centers shifted from the north to the southwest of the Russian Plain (Kyiv, Chernigov, Smolensk-Gnezdovo). Around this river artery, a new state formation is being formed - Kievan Rus. After the victories of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich over the Khazars in the 960s, Russia gains access to the Caspian bypassing the Bulgars, through the portage of ships at Sarkel.

Numerous sea and trading campaigns of the Russians along the Black Sea led the Greeks and Arabs in the 9th - 10th centuries to call this sea "Russian". Vessels from Kyiv, Novgorod, Chernigov, Smolensk, and others annually arrived in Byzantine ports. These cities (especially Kyiv and Novgorod) can, without exaggeration, be considered the "inland seaports" of ancient Russia.

The Zapadnaya Dvina River has been important for travel and trade since ancient times. As already noted, another trade “route from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed along it, Norman merchants knew it, Gotland sailors went to Byzantium along it. The Russians also went along it to the Varangian Sea and to the island of Gotland. Trade has especially developed since the Germans settled in the lower reaches of the Western Dvina. In 1210, the first trade agreement between Riga and Polotsk took place.

Numerous watersheds were overcome by portage during travel. There are a sufficient number of traditional portages on the territory of Russia.

Already in ancient times, along with overcoming watersheds with the use of portages, attempts were made to construct artificial waterways - navigable canals. In 1133, Ivanko Pavlovits, the son of the Ladoga posadnik, attempted to connect the upper reaches of the Volga River with the Pola River, a tributary of the Lovat, by a canal.

In memory of this, at the guard town at the confluence of the Volga into Lake Sterzh, he erected a red sandstone cross (the Sterzhenetsky cross is now in the Tver Museum of Local Lore) with the inscription: “6 641 (that is, 1133 according to the new calculation) of the month of July 11 is the day to dig the river this language is Ivanko Pavlovits and put a cross with it.

Map-scheme of the main portages on the waterways of pre-Mongolian Rus

Sterzhenetsky cross in the Museum of Tver

During the heyday of the Tver principality in the 14th century, work was carried out on the construction of a canal on the route: Lake Ilmen - the Lovat River - the Pola River - the Shcherbikha River - watershed canal - Lake Seliger - Selizharovka River - Volga River.

There were several waterways, on which there were portages used by the ancient Russians for their movements.

The most important route from North-Western Russia (from the Novgorod region) to the Volga passed along the rivers Msta, Tsna and Tvertsa. Already in the first half of the 12th century, a trading settlement appeared on Tvertsa, later the city of Torzhok. There was also a path to the Volga along the Pole River, which flows into Lake Ilmen, the Selizharovka River and Lake Seliger.

From Lake Ladoga to the Volga, a water-carriage route led along the rivers Syas, Tikhvinka, Chagodoshcha and Mologa. Evidence of the antiquity of this path is the mention in the annals of the Kholopye town that existed at the mouth of the Mologa River as early as 1148, where merchants from various western and eastern countries gathered. In 1340, the city of Ustyuzhna arose along this path, and in 1383, the city of Tikhvin. One of the oldest Novgorod settlements along this route is the village of Syasskiye Ryadki.

Here is a description of several more waterways with portages in Ancient Russia.

The future Vyshnevolotsk system: to Lake Ilmen on the way “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, then along the Msta River, the Tsna River, then dragging to the Tvertsa River, and further to the Volga, along which it was possible to get to the Caspian Sea.

From the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea: the Neva River - Lake Ladoga - the Svir River - Lake Onega - the Vytegra River - portage - the Kovzha River - White Lake - the Sheksna River - the Volga River - the Caspian Sea. Subsequently, the route of the Mariinsky water system ran along this path.

From the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea: the Baltic Sea - the Vistula River - the Western Bug River - the Mukhavets River - the portage - the Pina River - the Pripyat River - the Dnieper River - the Black Sea. Subsequently, the Dnieper-Bug Canal was (partially) drawn along this route.

People who lived on the territory of Russia in ancient times built the simplest boats with frames made of strong bent branches, covered on the outside with bark, which was stitched with plant roots. Later, the outer skin of the boats began to be made of birch bark. Boats covered with bark or birch bark were necessarily pitched, the rough outer surface was burned. The burnt bark was less rough, which reduced the resistance when such a boat was moving. Such boats were up to 10 m long and were called "Koryanka".

Then they began to build the so-called "one-trees" - boats, hollowed out or scorched from a single tree trunk. On the territory of Russia, archaeologists have found several such boats 3-4 thousand years old. Their length is 5 - 8 m, the height of the sides is 0.5 - 0.7 m. The outlines, the contours of the boats became more and more smooth, which reduced the resistance during movement.

From the 1st century AD, on the territory where Russia then arose, they began to make the so-called "tamped" boats or "boats". The underwater part of such boats was made of tree trunks, due to which good water resistance was achieved, and the surface part was made of planks hewn with an ax (hewn). The boards were connected (sewn together) with a bast of tree bark, juniper roots or tarred ropes (hence the term "plating" came from). Vessels of this type, which had relatively high sides, could sail on lakes.

The development of navigation among the Eastern Slavs dates back to the 5th-6th centuries. Along the Black Sea, first the Scythians, then the Slavs, sailed to the Caucasian shores, to the coast of Asia Minor and further to Constantinople and the shores of Greece. It is known that the southern Slavs-Antes from the interfluve of the Dniester and the Dnieper in the VI-VII centuries made trips along the Black and Mediterranean Seas to the island of Crete and the southern coast of Italy. It is clear that ships that had good seaworthiness were used for such trips. The maritime art of the Slavs was so high and so valued that in the Byzantine fleet the Slavs were captains of ships and even commanded squadrons.

Arab chroniclers of the 9th - 10th centuries wrote: "The Rus are courageous and brave ... they are tall, handsome and bold in attacks ... they carry out their raids and campaigns on ships." In one of the documents of the X century it is written: "Ruses are water people."

There is very scarce information about the ships that sailed along the waterways of Russia in the 9th-15th centuries. The names of these ships are known from the annals. The earliest of them is the boat. Both river and sea boats were built. Marine were more massive and durable. The lower base of the rooks was massive hollowed-out decks of trees of large diameter. On the lower base boards were sewn from boards - naboi. The boats had oars and a mast with a direct sail, there was a rudder at the stern. River boats tried not to sacrifice strength to make it easier, as they often had to be dragged through portages.

It was on the boats that the inhabitants of Kievan Rus made sea trips to Constantinople (Tsargrad). Only in the 9th century there were seven such campaigns. When, in 860, Russian merchants were offended and captured in Constantinople, a detachment of 250 ships went from Kyiv to the rescue. After the siege of the city, the merchants were released.

Prince Oleg in 907 went to Constantinople with a detachment, in which, according to the chronicle, "without the number of ships 2000." Princess Olga of Kyiv in 955, on many ships with her retinue, made a sea voyage to Tsargrad, where she was baptized. Olga's son, Prince Svyatoslav, sailed up the Oka on ships, crossed the small rivers and portages to the Don. Then again through the Oka he went to the Volga, went down the Volga, defeated the Volga Bulgars, captured the Khazar capital on the Volga and many Khazar cities on the Don.

Miniature from the annals depicting a naval battle

Old Russian boat

Old Russian boats

Russian boats - according to a drawing from the Greek chronicles

Russian naval rammed boats.

According to the drawing of ancient Greek chronicles

In the 10th-11th centuries, plantings appeared. The nasad differed from the rammed boat in higher sides (their height reached 1.8 m). The bottom of the bait was flat, made of boards, the dugout bottom part was not used. High sides, improved hull contours created a greater margin of buoyancy and better stability of such vessels. Nasads had a raised bow and stern and were used for military and military transport purposes not only on rivers, but also on lakes and seas.

They sailed along the rivers on small vessels, which were called "dubas" ("oak"), "boat", "odnoderevka". According to the type of the Genoese galleys, whose colony ports were at that time in the Dnieper region, they began to build "galleys". In the XII century, in Kievan Rus, they began to build another type of swimming facilities - "uchans" (from the word chan - a large tub), flat-bottomed "doschanniks".

The next stage in the development of shipbuilding - its beginning can be roughly attributed to the XIV century - was the manufacture of ships entirely from boards. Apparently, the appearance of a plow is associated with it. Strugas were designed for navigation only on rivers. The bottom of the plow was flat. Sheathing belts were sewn to the flat keel with the help of willow twigs. The bow and stern were pointed, the plow had a sail and oars, the stern oar served as a rudder. Low-sided and flat-bottomed plows were predominantly cargo ships. Their prototype was a cargo raft with a low side sewn around the perimeter. The carrying capacity of the largest plows on the rivers in the 15th century, apparently, reached 15 - 25 tons. There were semi-bleached plows, that is, covered with a bast roof, and not half-bleached (hence the term “deck” came from).

Around the same time, "ears" appeared. They were also river and sea. The ears had a load-bearing body and sheathing made of boards fastened either with iron staples or wicker rods. There were no decks on the ears. The ears were tarred in two layers - first with liquid resin, and then with a thick one, in order to make the outer contours smooth in addition to water resistance. In combination with a small draft and a large length-to-width ratio, this ensured the speed of the ushkuy. One mast with a slanting sail was installed on the abalones. River ears were up to 14 m long, about 2.5 m wide, and 1 m high. Their draft did not exceed 0.6 m. It is known that during military campaigns up to 30 people were placed in the ears.

Along with ships for the transport of goods downstream, especially on rapids, rafts equipped with steering oars were used.

Ways to overcome the portage (drawings from the annals)

In those days (IX-XV centuries), ships often went in large groups - caravans. This provided mutual assistance to the crews of ships on a difficult and dangerous path. Sailors-rowers (they were called rookers) were at the same time warriors guarding the caravan, and had the necessary weapons for this.

The ships sailed mostly by oars. With a fair wind, a sail was used. On sections of rivers with a fast current, towing was used by people. The most difficult was to overcome the portages between the rivers and bypass the impassable rapids. In the absence of settlements on portages in the 9th-11th centuries, unloaded ships (at that time they were small) and cargo were carried or dragged by the rookers themselves. For ease of transportation along a dry path, skids were attached to the bottom of the ships. Going on a long journey, shipowners (rookers) took rollers and even wheel sets with them. With the advent of settlements on portages, horses began to be used to transport small ships and cargo. The next stage in the development of shipping was the transition to the use of ships within the same river and even one of its sections. Only goods were transported through portages. The absence of the need to transport ships by land made it possible, where it was possible under the conditions of navigation, to increase their size.

Berths and piers for ships were ordinary vertical walls made of thick logs - embankments. Piled berths were also built, protruding into the water by 15-20 meters. They were arranged from two rows of piles driven at a distance of 1 - 2 m from each other. Boardwalk was laid on the piles.

In addition to shipping in Ancient Russia, other aspects of hydraulic engineering and water management construction also developed. To improve navigation, channels were built to straighten river bends, and during the siege of cities, water was diverted from the river to another channel with the old channel being refilled with a dam (for example, during the siege of the city of Pronsk on the Pron River in 1186).

In the cities of Kievan Rus, as well as in large monasteries, water pipes were “arranged”. Thus, in the 11th-12th centuries, Yaroslav's Courtyard (Novgorod) had a water supply system made of wooden pipes, as well as a drainage canal lined with birch bark plates, and in case of a siege, original water caches were built, allowing the besieged to receive water.

Shipping in Novgorod Russia

On the abundant water and military resources of northern Russia, the ancient principalities-states flourished: Rostov-Suzdal, Pereyaslav and Novgorod, whose capital cities grew on the shores of lakes Nero, Pleshcheyevo and Ilmen. To surf the expanses of water on small oar boats was a habitual occupation for the population. Not without reason, on Lake Pleshcheyevo, in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky, from 1688 to 1693, young Pyotr Alekseich created a “amusing” flotilla, with which the birth of the navy of the future mighty power began.

In the 11th century, when the ancient Russian shipbuilding reached its peak, the Novgorodians paved the way to the Frozen Sea along the rivers of the North. At the beginning of the 12th century, the monastery of Michael the Archangel was opened at the mouth of the Northern Dvina, by the end of this century Pomorie became part of the Muscovite state, and a sea route around Scandinavia to the western countries was opened.

In the XII century, on the site of a single ancient Russian state, principalities were formed: Kiev, Novgorod, Chernigov, Smolensk and others. But navigation during this period in Russia did not stop. Novgorodians, together with the Kyiv Slavs, actively sailed to the southern countries. They also sailed extensively in the Baltic, White and Barents Seas. Northern Slavs often visited German, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish lands.

There is evidence that in the 13th century Novgorodians sailed to Lake Ladoga on their boats and Finnish boats and in 1300 founded their fortification at the mouth of the Vuoksa - the future fortress of Korela (the city of Priozersk). They also used the Vuoksa system of rivers and lakes.

Novgorodians knew the way from Lake Ladoga along the Svir to Lake Onega. From here, along the system of rivers and lakes (in the direction of the current White Sea-Baltic Canal), they penetrated into Karelia, the White Sea and further to the Kola Peninsula.

From the Novgorod lands to Sheksna and further to the Volga it was possible to get along the rivers Vytegra and Kovzha. However, for Novgorod itself it was a "circular" path. Initially, it was used to connect Novgorod with the Belozersky lands and Zavolochye - lands located beyond the portages in the basins of the Northern Dvina, Onega and Pechora rivers. On this path, in the 9th century, at the source of the Sheksna, the settlement of Beloozero arose, which became the center of the principality (in the 14th century, this center was moved to the site of the modern city of Belozersk).

In the system of transport communications of the 9th-15th centuries, White Lake and Sheksna were of particular importance, which provided direct communication with Zavolochie not only of Novgorod, but also of Vladimir-Suzdal, and then Moscow principalities.

There were several portages leading to Zavolochye. Novgorodians crossed into the Onega River basin with the help of the eastern tributary of the White Lake - Ukhtoma. The left tributaries of the Sheksna led to the rivers of the North Dvina basin: Pidma, Slavyanka, Sizma, Ugla. With the help of the first two of them, through portages, it was possible to get into the Porozovitsa River, which flows into Lake Kubenskoye. With the help of the latter, they went to the Vologda River, where already in the 12th century a trading settlement arose, which laid the foundation for the city of Vologda. From Lake Kubenskoye and the Vologda River, the path led to the Sukhona and the Northern Dvina.

It should not be surprising that the system of ancient water communications of the Novgorod, Pskov and Belozersky lands, along with large and medium-sized rivers, included rivers and sections of rivers that are currently completely unsuitable for navigation. In ancient times, on these lands, completely covered with forests, all the rivers were more full-flowing than they are now.

An important role in trade with other countries was also played by the route from the central regions of Russia to the mouth of the Northern Dvina to the port of Arkhangelsk.

Ancient ways of the eastern suburbs

For the first time, a drag on the Nerskaya (Merskaya) River is reported in the Resurrection Chronicle in connection with the events of 1209. Then the two Ryazan princes Izyaslav Vladimirovich and Kyur Mikhail Vsevolodovich, having heard that the Vladimir regiments had gone to Tver, decided to attack Moscow. But near Tver, the Vladimirians and the Novgorodians settled the matter amicably and returned to Vladimir. Grand Duke Vsevolod sent his son George to Izyaslav and Kyur Mikhail. “George went through the night opposite to Merska, that was ahead of him, and being on Volochka and from there, sent the Guard Regiment across the Klyazma River, and he went after them, and in the early dawn met their watchmen, and drove Yuriev’s guards Izyaslavlikh and gnash I cut them with a forest” (4).

Thanks to Volochk Zuev, they went south from the Klyazma River along the Drozna River, then carried the boats on dry land and fell into the tributaries of the Nerskaya, and along them to the Moscow River and the Oka. Thus, through Volochek Zuev, the shortest route from Vladimir to Ryazan, the center of the Murom-Ryazan principality, was carried out. Thanks to this portage, the road between Vladimir and Ryazan was almost halved compared to the road through the Yauzskiy portage.

Since the 13th century, the trade route connecting the Klyazma and the upper Volga passed along the Vora River. The ships went up the left tributary of the Klyazma - the Vora River, then along the tributary of the Vori - the Torgosha River. In the upper reaches of the Torgosha, near the village of Naugolny, a drag was carried to the Kunya River, a tributary of the Dubna, and further to the Volga.

The commercial significance of the Klyazma River in the 12th-13th centuries and in the 15th-16th centuries is proved by treasures found along the river. So, in 1924, on the left bank of the Klyazma River near the town of Shchelkovo, a treasure trove of silver ingots of the 12th century was discovered (6). In 1901, near the village of Mizinovo, located on the river Vora, a pot with small silver coins of Ivan III was found. In 1948, in the village of Uspensky, Noginsk region, located on the Klyazma River, a capsule with coins of Ivan IV (7) was found.

Sources:

1. M.N. Tikhomirov. Medieval Moscow. M., 1997. S. 172.
2. M.P. Pogdin. Russian historical collection. T.1. M., 1837. S. 33.
3. M.V. Gorbanevsky. Names of the land of Moscow. M., 1985. S. 44.
4. PSRL, T. VII. S. 116.
5. A.G. Veksler, A.S. Melnikov. Russian history in Moscow treasures. M. 1999. S. 193.
6. A.G. Veksler, A.S. Melnikov. S. 204.

The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin called his journey to India sinful, as he was attracted across three seas by trade and simple curiosity. The merchant did not amass wealth - “pepper and paint are cheap, but the duties are high, and there are a lot of robbers on the sea!” As for sins, that's what trade is for - who is sinless in it?

If there were no this Volga trade, there would be no Russia. In the 15th century, Tver and other Russian cities were just trading stations on the ancient route leading from India to the Baltic countries. But already Svyatoslav Igorevich realized his sovereign significance.

Russia was originally formed as a city military-trade corporation. Unlike the Franks, who sought to control the countryside at the expense of urban life, the Russo-Baltic princes emerged from the urbanized southern Baltic. The Hamburg chronicler of the 11th century believed that the Slavic Wolin in Pomerania was the largest city in the world. According to him, 900 families lived there. It was one of the pirate capitals in a long line of Slavic settlements in this region: Stargrad among the Vagrians, Rerik among the Obodrites, Dymin, Uznoim, Velegoshch, Gostkov among the Lyutichs, Volin, Stetin, Kamina, Klodno, Kolobreg and Belgrade among the Pomeranians are described by German authors as settlements with richly decorated temples and well organized economically, with numerous crafts, from where many people go to foreign lands for trade or war, putting horses on ships, which allows them to quickly pass foreign lands.

Having fortified on Staraya Ladoga, the militant Baltic Slavs developed further expansion in two directions - towards the Dnieper and towards the Volga. The Volga way was defended by stronger rivals. But the price of the prize was higher.
According to the calculations given in D. Graeber's book "Debt: The First 5,000 Years of History", the Greeks were simply in the wrong weight category.

Actually, that is why the Volga state formations of the Bulgars and Khazars, who controlled the trade routes to the Middle East and China, were so strong that they could resist the conquest longer than the population of the Dnieper region. Actually, therefore, the Russian rulers sought to select these paths.

But the Volga region, once conquered, later held on to Russia. In the Time of Troubles, all its western cities fell away from Russia, and the central government swore allegiance to the Polish king Vladislav. Only the Volga region remained a hotbed of resistance to both external invaders and collaborators. But the Volga region of the beginning of the 17th century was not even predominantly Russian! It itself only recently fell into captivity in Moscow. But the money of the Volga merchants and the Tatar detachments did not serve the Poles, but Russia.

To no lesser extent, the Volga region played the role of the backbone of Russia during the years of the civil war, retaining loyalty to the central government of the Bolsheviks. European invaders rushed to the Volga in the critical year 1942. Volga again.

Only once - during the years of the Pugachev rebellion - did the Volga region revolt against Russia, and any objective analysis will show that this was the most terrible uprising in Russian history. It is dangerous for the Russian state to forget where it actually is, in what cultural and geographical reality. It is dangerous to forget about the development of the Volga trade route.

But this is the route from India through Iran to the Baltic. Trade with these countries is a direct continuation and meaning of the Volga way. Money tends to where goods are born. This means that the river of money from Europe flows along the Volga to the south, to India.

More precisely, it could, if the new “seven boyars” had not practiced for so long in swearing allegiance to Western “partners”.

In 2015, our main trading partners were China and the Netherlands, among the Baltic states, Germany ranked 4th, Finland - 10th. India is not seen as a "separate line". The Volga as an international trade route is not used or almost not used. Should we be surprised at the drop in our foreign trade turnover if we do not deal with this issue systematically and taking into account the experience of our history?

The danger of our position also lies in the fact that the “partners”, who are significantly superior to us in economic power, both in the West and in the East, on the contrary, think systematically and are well aware of the competitive possibilities of the path “from the Varangians to the Persians”. They will make every effort that this path was not. And we - in the absence of such an alternative, will be entangled between AmeroEurope and British China, turning us into a beggar transit country, ready to work for loan handouts, like Ukraine.

On the contrary, on the southern route, apart from India, we are the only major economic entity, and in technological terms we are superior to all our potential partners - but Russia is not active in establishing this route, except for high-level meetings, where relevant conversations are being held. But they are conducted from case to case, as a rule, not at our suggestion. And the cart has been in the same place for 20 years. This situation should be changed and, of course, the initiative cannot come only "from above". In Moscow, unfortunately, there are too many supporters of ways of "development" that are alternative to Russia's interests.

The North-South transport corridor should serve a whole range of interests: trade, financial, military and humanitarian. For such large countries as India and Russia, this is not only a "federal" but also a regional project. It is logical if it will be more actively driven from below by regional forces - business or political. This is a great opportunity for a political party to express itself and get support in the Volga region and the Caspian. This is also a reason to establish international humanitarian cooperation along the lines of those initiatives that are already being taken by the Russian side in the Middle East. The Volga trade route is a Russian task, both patriotic and profitable.

From Varangians to Persians

To connect the Caspian Sea with the Persian Gulf by a waterway - this bold idea, which arose at the end of the 17th century, today again becomes the topic of lively debates between political scientists, environmentalists and economists.

Illustration KPG-Ivary/shutterstock.com

Why does Russia need this channel

“At the moment, the sea route through the Sea of ​​Marmara is the main transport artery for all countries of the Black Sea coast, including Russia,” expert Sergei Sapronov writes on the Operative Line website. - The Montreux Convention on the use of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles was signed exactly 80 years ago and to this day determines the movement of ships through these straits. This region is the water area of ​​Turkey, and therefore, despite the generally accepted conditions, the straits are today largely used in the interests of NATO countries, and the requirements of the convention are often violated.

That is why, in order to strengthen its defense capability in the interests of Russia, it would be advisable to provide itself with an alternative sea route to the Atlantic and to the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Controversial background

For the first time, the practical implementation of the project was taken care of at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. “After doing large-scale survey work, the Russian Empire and then still Persia came to the conclusion that laying a 700-kilometer “sea route” is quite realistic, but they could not agree on the legal status of the channel,” analyst Alexander Firsov recalls on the Russian Spring website. “Negotiations successfully reached an impasse, and a long political crisis began in Persia, which ended only by 1925 with the overthrow of the Qajar dynasty and the accession of the Pahlavi dynasty.”

“Under Pahlavi, the Persians, who became known as Iranians, tried to give the idea a new breath,” Firsov continues. - However, at that time the USSR did not show any interest in the project: the secular pragmatist Ataturk was closer and more understandable to him than the Iranian shahs, and relations between the USSR and Turkey began to develop in a friendly manner, and there were no reasons to look for an expensive alternative to the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Again, the idea of ​​the Trans-Iranian Canal was returned during the Second World War in connection with the pro-Nazi policy of Turkey and the threat of the capture of the Suez Canal by German-Italian troops. During Tehran-43, the issue was discussed at the talks between Stalin and Shah M. R. Pahlavi. The post-war withdrawal of Turkey to the NATO camp again updated the project, but political instability in Iran interfered, which ended only with the final overthrow of the Shah's regime and the transformation of Iran into an Islamic republic.

Positions of our neighbors

It is clear that the reanimated large-scale project affects the interests of all the Caspian states. And their attitude towards him is ambiguous.

Kazakh political scientist Sultanbek Sultangaliyev notes on the ZAKON.kz website that “the possible inclusion of Kazakhstan in the project to build the Caspian Sea-Persian Gulf canal can first of all be assessed as a breakthrough for Iranian diplomacy in foreign policy, since the Iranian government needs the project itself to demonstrate to the world community of its openness to international cooperation. As for the economic potential of the transcontinental canal, it is huge, given that its commissioning will open up brilliant opportunities for a quick entry into the giant market of the Arabian Peninsula and the Hindustan Peninsula for all the Caspian countries, which now and in the medium term will have friendly relations with Iran.”

“The very existence of the channel will sharply increase the geopolitical importance of Iran as a regional Asian power. Of course, the financing of construction will be a serious problem, since the project is clearly very costly and long-term, even taking into account the use of existing rivers. But the sheepskin, in my opinion, is worth the candle. As for our country, the implementation of this project will significantly increase the export opportunities of Kazakhstan. It would be a good economic step to invest Kazakh funds in the construction of the canal, which will pay off over time,” concludes Sultangaliyev.

More skeptical is the head of the club of political scientists "South Caucasus" Azerbaijani Ilgar Velizade. He notes that it is necessary to remember about the possible environmental damage that the implementation of the project can cause to the region. In particular, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are at risk. After all, the shallowest part of the Caspian is located within these countries, and the relief of the lake is so complicated that its general slope goes from north to south. Therefore, a significant water intake will immediately affect the northern shallow part.

Velizade argues that if the level of the Caspian Sea falls by a few more meters, the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay will self-separate, and it may simply dry up. At the same time, the poisonous salts of Kara-Bogaz can be carried by winds over vast areas, and the ecological situation not only in the Caspian region, but also far beyond its borders, can deteriorate significantly. This process will affect the state of the Caspian fauna. Traditional spawning grounds for valuable fish species may be under threat.

The preliminary cost of the project was estimated by experts at $7 billion. According to Chingiz Ismayilov, head of the Department of Planning and Management of Sustainable Development at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Azerbaijan, the navigation channel should be more than 100 meters wide and have a depth of at least five meters. Such a channel requires a huge amount of water, at least 10% of the flow of the Volga River, which provides 85% of the filling of the Caspian Sea.

Extend dagger move

“Russia needs breakthrough directions for growth. The path from the Varangians to the Persians is one of them, writes Leonid Levitsky in the Russian Federation Today magazine. - For three centuries, the Caspian Sea, the largest salt lake on the planet, managed to reach the Volga-Don and White Sea-Baltic canals to the northern seas, to the Arctic. A dagger ship passage was formed, vertically cutting through Russian spaces from north to south. There is absolutely nothing left to extend the sea route to the Persian Gulf, to the Indian Ocean. It will be twice as short, and therefore much cheaper than the traditional Turkish route with its straits.

Although not everything is clear with the economy - the main provisions of the feasibility study approved by Tehran have not yet been disclosed. According to Iranian experts, the length of the canal is 700 km, of which 450 km will run along navigable rivers. You will have to dig "only" 250 km. And it will be difficult mountain kilometers. The Caspian is 27 - 29 m below the level of the World Ocean - a system of locks will be required. There will be many technical difficulties. Environmental - even more so. There is time to carefully figure it out in advance in order to avoid negative consequences - not to repeat the fate and misfortune of the Aral Sea.”

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