Rivers of the World: The Volga

This programme is part of the series Rivers of the World
Beautiful Sviyazhsk island in the middle of the Volga, now a UNESCO site. From here Ivan the Terrible made preparations for the Russian conquest of the Volga and Kazan. (© Wikimedia Commons/Azmanova Natalia)

Rivers are the cradle of the world’s earliest civilisations. Mythology and religion were born on their banks. They provide us with life-giving water. We eat of their bounty and create power from their energy. Radio Netherlands tells the stories of some of these “arteries of the world”.

Say “Volga” and everyone thinks immediately of Russia. But over the centuries, the Volga has been a crossroads of communication, culture and conquest for people from the four corners of the Eurasian continent. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, many of the people living along the Volga are rediscovering their ancient roots and seeking a new identity. We focus on the middle Volga from Mari El to Kazan and Ulyanovsk.

Producer: Marijke van der Meer

Broadcast: May 16, 2003

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