Moscow - St Petersburg

Waterways Index | Volga River

We started our journey at Moscow's Northern River Boat Station, then through the Moscow-Volga Canal (sometimes just called the Moscow Canal) to the mighty River Volga.

The canal is around 129km (80 miles) long and links the capital to the Volga which allows access to the Caspian Sea, the White Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Moscow is known as the Port of Five Seas as a result.

The Moscow-Volga Canal was built by the forced labour of political prisoners in just five years during 1930s as the greatest project in Stalin's Second Five Year Plan.. It has been nicknamed "the Canal of Bones", in memory of those who lost their lives during its construction.

In addition to being used as a transport link, the Moscow-Volga Canal provides almost half of Moscow's water supply. It is also used to generate hydro-electric power.