Dansk-Russisk Forening, Aalborg
Aalborg afdeling

The Volga, Russia's river of lost opportunity

By Sebastian Alison

Volga-områdetThe Volga, rising northwest of Moscow and flowing 3,530 km (2,193 miles) to the Caspian Sea, is the longest river in Europe, and Russia's greatest trade route. Canals link it to other rivers, so shipping can move freely through the heart of Russia from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and beyond, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.


Some of Russia's biggest and finest cities line its banks, and it spans the whole of the country's varied climates and landscapes, from the endless forests of central Russia to the desert of the central Asian steppe. Lying on such an important trade route, Volga cities ought to be prosperous. In any other country, they surely would be. Many of them clearly have been. Visits to Tver, Yaroslavl, Samara, Volgograd or Astrakhan, ancient cities all, show that up to the time of the Russian revolution of 1917, they were well on their way to becoming important European trading centres. But they now present an overwhelming impression of opportunities lost, with fine but shabby centres surrounded by the ubiquitous monotony of dreary and often hideous Soviet-style suburbia that surrounds almost all Russian cities.

SAMARA A POTENTIAL CHICAGO?

Samara, 1,000 km (620 miles) southeast of Moscow, is a good example of a city which has been thwarted by Russia's history. Its centre, with many fine 19th century merchant's mansions and 20th century art deco palaces, and a mass of impressive public buildings such as theatres and art galleries, speaks of a city which was economically and culturally thriving.

Its magnificent setting by the vast river makes it feel almost like a seaside town, with families enjoying splendid sandy beaches in warm summer weather while others stroll through beautiful riverside gardens. A trip to the city's art gallery reveals a flourishing late 19th century local school of art. Popular subjects include landscapes of farmland, and a gallery attendant explains that Samara was then known as ``little Chicago.'' And why not? Nineteenth century Chicago became rich on the back of its location at the centre of the grain growing, livestock rearing heartland of the United States. Its status as a railhead meant it became the key transit point for the region's produce, and it duly became the commodities trading capital of the United States and the world.

Samara, like Chicago, has mile upon mile of marvellous farmland, a climate with bitter, freezing winters and baking summers, and instead of a railway it has the Volga, giving it access to the world. By the time of the revolution, prosperity was coming, and it shows. One senses now that the city was on the verge of becoming a European version of Chicago, and could now perhaps be the farming capital of Europe and a wealthy town.

But with the revolution came civil war, forced collectivisation of farming, and years of social and economic experiments which wrecked Russian agricultural output. Last year Russia's grain harvest failed and, unable to feed itself, the country is now receiving a billion dollar's worth of grain and meat in aid from the United States. Oceans of surplus produce from Chicago's hinterland is providing what ``little Chicago'' cannot.

WHERE ARE THE TOURISTS IN ASTRAKHAN?

The same sense of lost opportunity is felt in the handsome city of Astrakhan, where the Volga branches out into a huge delta, Europe gives way to Asia and Russia comes to an end. It is extremely evocative and exotic, dominated by a huge Kremlin, or fortress, atop an imposing hill with views across the river to the delta beyond, a whitewashed architectural gem which stands comparison with its counterpart in Moscow. The weather in summer is hot enough to meet the taste of the most demanding sun-worshipper. The city is full of colourful streets, with pretty, pastel-coloured 19th century classical Russian mansions and public buildings everywhere. Top attractions include the river delta itself, a unique ecosystem which supports large mammals including wolves, wild boar and wild goats, every kind of bird of prey, and huge fish including the caviar-producing beluga, the size of a shark, as well as beautiful and unique flowering lilies. Astrakhan is a pleasure to stroll in, dotted with bars and cafes, with the huge and mightily impressive Volga ever present in the background. Anywhere else in southern Europe, the visitor feels, such a place would be teeming with tourists in the summer, ever eager for a new and exotic destination. Yet on a recent visit, this reporter did not spot a single person who looked like a foreign tourist. Once again, a chance for prosperity is going to waste.

YAROSLAVL SHOOTS ITSELF IN THE FOOT

Mediaeval Yaroslavl, some 250 km (155 miles) northeast of Moscow, is another great Volga city which is turning down with alacrity the opportunity to put itself on the map. Yaroslavl is barely known outside Russia, but it has a spectacularly beautiful 19th century centre which can fool the visitor into thinking it is St Petersburg, and a host of fine mediaeval churches and fortresses.

JaroslavlThree years ago the International Ice Hockey Federation awarded it the right to co-host the 2000 world championship, which would involve building a new stadium. As of now, says Sports Minister Boris Ivanyuzhenkov, ``they just dug a huge hole in the ground and called it a foundation. Nothing is ready in Yaroslavl.'' He has ruled it out as host, consigning to the dustbin a golden opportunity for this magnificent city to show itself off to the world.

THE VOLGA REFLECTS THE PROBLEMS OF ALL RUSSIA

Tver, northwest of Moscow and a third of the way up the main road and railway to St Petersburg is another Volga city which, because of its location, should be a major trading hub. The kindest thing one can say about it is that it is dull. Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is a special case. It has an air of prosperity and order quite unlike other Volga cities, but it was completely destroyed in the war and rebuilt entirely in Stalin-baroque style in the 1950s, and cannot easily be compared with its neighbours.


A flight from Moscow to Astrakhan on a clear day is a good way to see the wealth of variety that makes up Russia. The flight takes off from Domodedovo airport, which from the air is revealed as simply a clearing in the woods, and heads south over the endless forests of central Russia. As it heads south, the trees give way to the green farmland of the centre. This in turn gives way to hotter, drier farmland of yellows and browns, before the land becomes harsh-looking desert. Just before landing, the huge filigree of waterways which make up the delta comes into view and the terrain softens again. Russia's greatest river is huge, impressive, laden with potential, and endlessly varied. It should have brought prosperity to those who live along it, and it has not. In this the Volga, Russia's lifeblood, accurately reflects the paradoxes of the whole country.

ASTRAKHAN, Russia, Sept 2 (Reuters) - fra: Johnson's Russia List, No.3479, 3 September 1999

Opdateret d. 4.10.2010