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