See also:

• VOLGA (known to the Tatars as Etil, Jill or Atel; to the Finnish tribes as Rau, and to the ancients as Rha and Oarus)

VOLGA (known to the See also:

• TATARS (the common form Tartars is less correct)

Tatars as Etil, Jill or Atel; to the Finnish tribes as See also:

• RAU, KARL HEINRICH (1792-1870)

Rau, and to the ancients as Rha and Oarus)  , the longest and most important See also:

• RIVER

river of See also:

• EUROPEAN

European See also:

• RUSSIA
• RUSSIA (Rossiya)

Russia . It rises in the Valdai See also:

• PLATEAU (a French term, older platel, for a flat piece of wood, metal, &c., from plat, flat)
• PLATEAU, JOSEPH ANTOINE FERDINAND (1801-1883)

plateau of See also:

• TVER

Tver and, after a winding course of 232; M . (1070 in a straight See also:

• LINE

line), falls into the See also:

• CASPIAN

Caspian at See also:

• ASTRAKHAN

Astrakhan . It is by far the longest river of See also:

• EUROPE

Europe, the x Yvrn . 5Danube, which comes next to it, being only 1775 m., while the See also:

• RHINE (Lat. Rhenus, Ger. Rhein, Fr. Rhin, Dutch Rhyn, or Rijn)

Rhine (76o m.) is shorter even than two of the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief tributaries of the See also:

• VOLGA (known to the Tatars as Etil, Jill or Atel; to the Finnish tribes as Rau, and to the ancients as Rha and Oarus)

Volga—the Oka and the See also:

• KAMA, or KAMADEVA

Kama . Its drainage See also:

• AREA

area, which includes the whole of See also:

• MIDDLE

middle and eastern as well as See also:

• PART

part of See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south-eastern Russia, amounts to 563,300 sq. m., thus exceeding the aggregate superficies of See also:

• GERMANY
• GERMANY (Ger. Deutschland)

Germany, See also:

• FRANCE
• FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844– )

France and the See also:

• UNITED

United See also:

• KINGDOM

Kingdom, and containing a See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of fifty millions . Its tributaries are navigable for an aggregate length of nearly 20,000 m . The " See also:

• BASIN, or BASON (the older form bacin is found in many of the Romanic languages, from the Late Lat. baccinus or bacchinus, probably derived from bacca, a bowl)
• BASIN, THOMAS (1412—1491)

basin " of the Volga is not limited to its actual catchment area . By a See also:

• SYSTEM

system of canals which connect the upper Volga with the See also:

• NEVA

Neva, the commercial mouth of the Volga has been transferred, so to speak, from the Caspian to the Baltic, thus making St See also:

• PETERSBURG

Petersburg, the See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital and chief seaport of Russia, the chief See also:

• PORT

port of the Volga basin as well . Other less important canals connect it with the Western See also:

• DVINA

Dvina (See also:

• RIGA (Esth. Ria-Lin)

Riga) and the See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

White See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

Sea (See also:

• ARCHANGEL (ARCHANGELSK)
• ARCHANGEL (ARCHANGELSx)

Archangel); while a railway only 45 M. in length joins the Volga with the See also:

• DON
• DON (anc. Tanais)

Don and the Sea of See also:

• AZOV
• AZOV, SEA OF

Azov, and three See also:

• GREAT

great See also:

• TRUNK (Fr. tronc, Lat. truncus, cut off, maimed)

trunk lines bring its See also:

• LOWER

lower parts into connexion with the Baltic and western Europe . The Volga rises in extensive marshes on the Valdai plateau, where the W . Dvina also has its origin .

See also:

• LAKE
• LAKE, GERARD LAKE, 1ST VISCOUNT (1744-1808)

Lake Seliger was formerly considered to be the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal source;but that distinction is now given to The upper a small See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring issuing beneath a See also:

• CHAPEL

chapel (57 15' N.; 32° 3o river . E.) in the midst of a large See also:

• MARSH (O. F. mersc, for merisc, a place full of "meres" or pools; cf. Ger. Meer, sea, Lat. mare)
• MARSH, ADAM (ADAM DE MARISCO) (d. c. 1258)
• MARSH, GEORGE PERKINS (1801-1882)
• MARSH, HERBERT (1757–1839)
• MARSH, NARCISSUS (1638-1713)
• MARSH, OTHNIEL CHARLES (1831-1899)

marsh to the See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

west of Seliger . The See also:

• HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour has also been claimed, not without plausibility, for the Runa rivulet . See also:

• RECENT

Recent exact surveys have shown these originating marshes to be no more than 665 ft. above sea-level . The stream first traverses several small lakes, all having the same level, and, after its confluence with the Runa, enters Lake Volga . A See also:

• DAM

dam erected a few See also:

• MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

miles below that lake, with a storage of nearly 1o,000 million cub. ft. of See also:

• WATER

water, makes it possible to raise the level of the Volga as far down as the Sheksna, thus rendering it navigable, even at See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

low water, from its 65th mile onwards . From its confluence with the Sheksna the Volga flows with a very See also:

• GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

gentle descent towards the south-See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

east, past See also:

• YAROSLAVL
• YAROSLAVL, or YAROSLAV

Yaroslavl and See also:

• KOSTROMA

Kostroma, along a broad valley hollowed to a See also:

• DEPTH

depth of 150-200 ft. in the See also:

• PERMIAN

Permian and See also:

• JURASSIC

Jurassic deposits . In fact, its course lies through a See also:

• STRING

string of depressions formerly filled with wide lakes, all linked together . When the Volga at length assumes a due south-east direction it is a large river (825o cub. ft. per second, rising occasionally in high See also:

• FLOOD (in O. Eng. flod, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Flut, Dutch vloed, from the same root as is seen in " flow," " float ")
• FLOOD, HENRY (1732-1791)

flood to as much as 178,360 cub. ft.) ; of its numerous tributaries, the Unzha (365 m., 330 navigable), from the See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north, is the most important . The next great tributary is the Oka, which comes from the south-west after having traversed, on its course of 950 m., all the Great See also:

• RUSSIAN

Russian provinces of central Russia . It rises in the govern- confiament of See also:

• OREL
• OREL, OR ORLOV

Orel, among hills which also send tributaries to the ence with See also:

• DNIEPER

Dnieper and the Don, and receives on the See also:

• LEFT

left the Upa, the the Oka . Zhizdra, the Ugra (300 m.), the Moskva, on which steamers ply up to See also:

• MOSCOW (Russian Moskva)
• MOSCOW, (Russian Moskva)

Moscow, the Klyazma (395 m.), on whose See also:

• BANKS, GEORGE LINNAEUS (1821-1881)
• BANKS, NATHANIEL PRENTISS (1816–1894)
• BANKS, SIR JOSEPH
• BANKS, THOMAS (1735-1805)

banks arose the middle-Russian principality of Suzdal, and on the right the navigable Tsna (255 m.) and Moksha .

Every one of these tributaries is connected with some important event in the See also:

• HISTORY

history of Great Russia . The drainage area of the Oka is a territory of 97,000 sq. m . It has been maintained that, of the two See also:

• RIVERS
• RIVERS, ANTHONY WOODVILLE, or WYDEVILLE, 2ND EARL (c. 1442—1483)
• RIVERS, EARL
• RIVERS, RICHARD SAVAGE, 4TH EARL (c. 1660—1712)

rivers which unite at Nizhniy-See also:

• NOVGOROD
• NOVGOROD (formerly known as V elikiy-Novgorod, Great Novgorod)

Novgorod, the Oka, not the Volga, is the chief ; the fact is that both in length (818 m.) and in drainage area above the confluence (89,500 sq. m.), as well as in the aggregate length of its tributaries, the Volga is the inferior stream . At its confluence with the Oka the Volga enters the broad lacustrine depression which must have communicated with the Caspian during the See also:

• POST

post-See also:

• PLIOCENE (from the Gr. sr?eiov, mere, and xatvbs, recent)

Pliocene See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period by means of at least a broad strait . Lams . Its level at low water is only 190 ft. above that of the ocean. trine de . Immediately below the confluence the breadth of the river pressions. ranges from 350 to 1750 yds . There are many islands which See also:

• CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change their See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance and position after each inundation . On the right the Volga is joined by the Sura, which drains a large area and brings a See also:

• VOLUME

volume of 2700 to 22,000 cub. ft. of water per second, the Vetluga (465 M. See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long, of which 365 are navigable), from the See also:

• FOREST

forest-tracts of Yaroslavl, and many smaller tributaries . Then the stream turns south-east and descends into another lacustrine depression, where it receives the Kama, below Kazan . Remains of molluscs still extant in the Caspian occur extensively throughout this depression and up the lower Kama . The Kama,' which brings to the Volga a contribution ranging from 52,500 to 144,400 cub. ft. and occasionally reaching 515,000 cub. ft. per second, might again be considered as the more important of the two rivers .

It rises in See also:

• VYATKA
• VYATKA, or VIATICA

Vyatka, takes a wide sweep towards the north and east, and then flows south and south-west to join the Volga after a course of no less than I150 m . i To the Votyaks it is known as the Budzhim-Kam, to the Chuvashcs as the Shoiga-adil and to the See also:

• TATARS (the common form Tartars is less correct)

Tatars as the Cholman-idel or Ak-idel, all words signifying " White river." 11 M3 Along the next 738 m. of its course the Volga—now 580 to 2600 yds. wide—flows south-south-west, with but one great See also:

• BEND

bend at See also:

• SAMARA

Samara . At this point, where it pierces a range of See also:

• LIMESTONE

limestone hills, the course of the river is very picturesque, fringed as it is by cliffs which rise moo ft. above the level of the stream (which is only 54 ft. above the sea at Samara) . Along the whole of the Samara bend the Volga is accompanied on its right hank by high cliffs, which it is constantly undermining, while broad See also:

• LOWLAND

lowland areas stretch along the left or eastern See also:

• BANK

bank, and are intersected by several old beds of the Volga . At See also:

• TSARITSYN

Tsaritsyn the great river reaches its extreme south-western limit, and is there separated from the Don by an See also:

• ISTHMUS (Gr.io0pbs, neck)

isthmus only 45 m. in width . The isthmus is too high to be crossed by means of a See also:

• CANAL
• CANAL (from Lat. canalis, " channel " and " kennel " being doublets of the word)

canal, but a railway to See also:

• KALACH

Kalach brings the Volga into some sort of connexion with the Don and the Sea of Azov . At Tsaritsyn the river takes a See also:

• SHARP, GRANVILLE (1735-1813)
• SHARP, JAMES (1618-1679)
• SHARP, JOHN (1645-1714)
• SHARP, RICHARD (1759-1835)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1749-1824)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1856-1905)

sharp turn in a south-easterly direction towards the Caspian; it enters the Caspian See also:

• STEPPES

steppes, and a few miles above Tsaritsyn sends off a See also:

• BRANCH (from the Fr. branche, late Lat. branca, an animal's paw)

branch—the Akhtuba—which accompanies it for 330 m. before falling into the Caspian . Here the Volga The lower receives no tributaries; its right bank is skirted by low rlvErand hills, but on the left it anastomoses freely with the See also:

• DELTA (from the shape of the Gr. letter A, delta, originally used of the mouth of the Nile)

delta . Akhtuba when its See also:

• WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters are high, and floods the See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country for 15 to 35 M . The width of the See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main stream ranges from 520 to 3500 yds. and the depth exceeds 8o ft . The delta proper begins 40 m. above Astrakhan, and the branches subdivide so as to reach the sea by as many as 200 See also:

• SEPARATE

separate mouths . Below Astrakhan See also:

• NAVIGATION (from Lat. navis, ship, and agere, to move)

navigation is difficult, and on the See also:

• SAND
• SAND, GEORGE (1804-1876)

sand-bars at the mouth the maximum depth is only 12 ft. in cahn See also:

• WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather .

The figures given show how immensely the river varies in volume, and the greatness of the changes which are constantly going on in the channel and on its banks . Not only does its level occasionally rise in flood as much as 50 ft. and overflow its banks for a distance of 5 to 15 m.; even the level of the Caspian is considerably affected by the sudden influx of water brought by the Volga . The amount of suspended See also:

• MATTER

matter brought down is correspondingly great . All along its course the Volga is eroding and destroying its banks with great rapidity; towns and loading ports have constantly to be shifted farther back . The question of the See also:

• GRADUAL (Med. Lat. gradualis, of or belonging to steps or degrees; gradus, step)

gradual See also:

• DESICCATION (from the Lat. desiccare, to dry up)

desiccation of the Volga, and its causes, has often been discussed, and in 1838 a See also:

• COMMITTEE (from commute, an Anglo-Fr. past participle of commettre, Lat. committere, to entrust; the modern Fr. equivalent comite is derived from the Eng.)

committee which included Karl See also:

• BAER, KARL ERNST VON (1792-1876)
• BAER, WILLIAM JACOB (186o– )

Baer among its members was appointed by the Russian See also:

• ACADEMY, GREEK
• ACADEMY, ROYAL

academy of sciences to investigate the subject . No See also:

• POSITIVE (or PORTABLE) ORGAN

positive result was, however, arrived at, principally on See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of the want of See also:

• REGULAR

regular measurements of the volume of the Volga and its tributaries—measurements which began to be made on scientific principles only in 1880 . Still, if we go back two or three centuries, it is indisputable that rivers of the Volga basin which were easily navigable then are now hardly accessible to the smallest See also:

• CRAFT (a word common to Teutonic languages for strength, or power; cf. Ger. Kraft)

craft . The desiccation of the rivers of Russia has been often attributed to the steady destruction of its forests . But it is obvious that there are other See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general causes at See also:

• WORK

work, which are of a much more important See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character—causes of which the larger phenomena of the general desiccation of Eastern and Western See also:

• TURKESTAN
• TURKESTAN, or HAZRET

Turkestan are contemporaneous manifestations . The gradual See also:

• ELEVATION

elevation of the whole of See also:

• NORTHERN

northern Russia and See also:

• SIBERIA

Siberia, and the consequent draining of the marshes, is one of these deeper-seated, ampler causes; another is the desiccation of the lakes all over the northern hemisphere . See also:

• FISHERIES

Fisheries.—The network of shallow and still limans or " cut-offs " in the delta cf the Volga and the shallow waters of the northern Caspian, freshened as these are by the water of the Volga, the Ural, the Kura and the See also:

• TEREK

Terek, is exceedingly favourable to the breeding of See also:

• FISH (O. Eng. fist, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch visch, Ger. Fisch, Goth. fisks, cognate with the Lat. piscis)
• FISH, HAMILTON (1808-1893)

fish, and as a whole constitutes one of the most productive fishing grounds in the See also:

• WORLD

world . As soon as the See also:

• ICE (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Eis)

ice breaks up in the delta innumerable shoals of See also:

• ROACH (Leuciscus rulilus)

roach (Leuciscus rulilus) and See also:

• TROUT (Salmo trutta)

trout (Luciotrutta leucichthys) See also:

• RUSH
• RUSH, BENJAMIN (1745–1813)
• RUSH, RICHARD (1780–1859)

rush up the river, They are followed by the great See also:

• STURGEON (Acipenser)

sturgeon (Acipenser huso), the See also:

• PIKE
• PIKE, ZEBULON MONTGOMERY (1779-1813)

pike, the See also:

• BREAM (Abramis)

bream and the pike See also:

• PERCH (through Fr. from Lat. perca, Gr. 7rEpKo; the last word is connected with 2repev6r, dark-coloured, spotted)
• PERCH (through Fr. perche from Lat. pertica, a pole or rod used for measurement)

perch (Leucioperca sandra) .

Later on appears the Caspian See also:

• HERRING (Clupea harengus, Haring in German, le hareng in French, sill in Swedish)

herring (Clupea See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case a), which formerly was neglected, but has now become more important than sturgeon; the sturgeon A. stellatus and " See also:

• WELS

wels " (See also:

• SILURES

Silures glanis) follow, and finally the sturgeon Acipenser guldenstadtii, so much valued for its See also:

• CAVIARE, or CAVIAR

caviare . In See also:

• SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

search of a gravelly spawning-ground the sturgeon go up the river as far as Sarepta (250 m.) . The See also:

• LAMPREY

lamprey, now extensively pickled, the sterlet (A. rut/terms), the See also:

• TENCH (Tina vulgaris)

tench, the See also:

• GUDGEON (Gobio fluviatilis)

gudgeon and other fluvial See also:

• SPECIES

species also appear in immense See also:

• NUMBERS, BOOK OF
• NUMBERS, PARTITION OF

numbers . It is estimated that 18o,000 tons of fish of all kinds, of the value of considerably over L1,5o0,000, are taken annually in the four fishing districts of the Volga, Ural, Terek and Kura . See also:

• SEAL
• SEAL, FUR
• SEAL, HAIR

Seal-See also:

• HUNTING (the verbal substantive from " hunt "; O. Eng. huntian, hunta; apparently connected with O. Eng. hentan, Gothic hinpan, to capture, O.H.G. hunda,booty)

hunting is carried on off the Volga mouth, and every See also:

• YEAR

year about 40,000 of Phoca vitulina are killed to the north of the 1Vlanghishlak See also:

• PENINSULA
• PENINSULA (Lat. paeninsula, from paene, almost, and insula, an island)

peninsula on the east See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side of the Caspian . Ice Covering.—In See also:

• WINTER, JOHN STRANGE
• WINTER, PETER (c. 1755-1825)

winter the numberless tributaries and sub-tributaries of the Volga become highways for sledges . The ice lasts 90 to 16o days, and breaks up earlier in its upper course than in some parts lower down . The See also:

• AVERAGE

average date of the break-up is See also:

• APRIL

April iith at Tver, and 14 days later about Kostroma, from which point a regular See also:

• ACCELERATION (from Lat. accelerare, to hasten, celer, quick)

acceleration is observed (April 16th at Kazan, April 7th at Tsaritsyn, and See also:

• MARCH
• MARCH (1) (from Fr. marcher, to walk; the earliest sense in French appears to be " to trample," and the origin has usually been found in the Lat. marcus, hammer; Low Lat. marcare, to hammer; hence to beat the road with the regular tread of a soldier: cf.
• MARCH, AUZIAS (c. "1395-1458)
• MARCH, EARLS OF
• MARCH, FRANCIS ANDREW (1825– )

March 17th at Astrakhan) . See also:

• TRAFFIC

Traffic.—The greater part of the traffic is up river, the amount of merchandise which reaches Astrakhan being nearly fifteen times less than that reaching St Petersburg by the Volga canals . The goods transmitted in largest quantity are fish, metals, manufactured wares, hides, See also:

• FLAX

flax. See also:

• TIMBER

timber, cereals, See also:

• PETROLEUM (Lat. Petra, rock, and oleuin, oil)

petroleum, See also:

• OILS (adopted from the Fr. oile, mod. huile, Lat. oleum, olive oil)

oils and See also:

• SALT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch zout, Ger. Salz, Scand. salt; cognate with Gr. &Xs, Lat. sal)
• SALT, SIR TITUS, BART

salt . The down-river traffic consists chiefly of manufactured goods and timber, the latter mostly for the treeless governments of Samara, See also:

• SARATOV

Saratov and Astrakhan, as well as for the region adjacent to the lower course of the Don . Dredging See also:

• MACHINES

machines are kept constantly at work, while' steamers are stationed near the most dangerous sandbanks to assist vessels that run aground .

The following table shows the principal river ports, with the See also:

• MOVEMENT

movement of See also:

• SHIPPING

shipping in an average year: Chief River Vessels . Tons . Approxi- Ports on the - See also:

• MATE (a corruption of make, from O. Eng. gemaca, a " comrade ")
• MATE, or PARAGUAY TEA

mate Cleared . Imported . Exported . See also:

• TOTAL

Total . Volga . Entered . Value . Astrakhan 2,724 3,228 938,000 3,734,000 4,672,000 7,812,000 Tsaritsyn . 6,412 1,482 1,152,000 462,000 1,614,000 5,000,000 See also:

• RYBINSK, or RUIBINSK

Rybinsk . 3,760 6,295 590,000 172,000 762,000 3,573, Nizhniy- 12,960 7,585 4,092,000 84,000 4,176,000 2,727,000 Novgorod Saratov .

1,639 1,738 923,000 128,000 1,051,000 1,882,000 Formerly tens of thousands of burlaki, or porters, were employed in dragging boats up the Volga and its tributaries, but this method of See also:

• TRACTION (Lat. trahere, to draw)

traction has disappeared unless from a few of the tributaries . See also:

• HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

Horse-See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power is still extensively resorted to along the three canal systems . The first large steamers of the See also:

• AMERICAN

American type were built in 1872 . Thousands of steamers are now employed in the traffic, to say nothing of smaller boats and rafts . Many of the steamers use as See also:

• FUEL (O. Fr. feuaile, popular Lat. focalia, from focus, hearth, fire)

fuel mazut or petroleum refuse . Large numbers of the boats and rafts are broken up after a single voyage . History.—The Volga was not improbably known to the See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early Greeks, though it is not mentioned by any writer previous to See also:

• PTOLEMY (CLAUDIUS PTOLEMAEUS)

Ptolemy . According to him, the Rha is a tributary of an interior sea, formed from the confluence of two great rivers, the See also:

• SOURCES

sources of which are separated by twenty degrees of See also:

• LONGITUDE (from Lat. longitudo, " length ")

longitude, but it is scarcely possible to See also:

• JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge from his statements how far the Slays had by that, See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time succeeded in penetrating into the basin of the Volga . The Arab geographers throw little See also:

• LIGHT

light on the See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition of the Volga during the great migrations of the 3rd See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, or subsequently under the invasion of the See also:

• HUNS

Huns, the growth of the Khazar See also:

• EMPIRE

empire in the See also:

• SOUTHERN

southern steppes and of that of See also:

• BULGARIA
• BULGARIA, EASTERN

Bulgaria on the middle Volga . But we know that in the 9th century the Volga basin was occupied by Finnish tribes in the north and by See also:

• KHAZARS (known also as Chozars, as 'Aal r?'rpor or X6 apor in Byzantine writers, as Khazirs in Armenian and Khwalisses in Russian chronicles, and Ugri Bielii in Nestor)

Khazars and various See also:

• TURKISH

Turkish races in the south . The Slays, driven perhaps to the west, had only the Volkhov and the Dnieper, while the (See also:

• MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan) Bulgarian empire, at the confluence of the Volga with the Kama, was so powerful that for some time it was an open question whether See also:

• ISLAM

Islam or See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

Christianity would gain the upper See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand among the Slav idolaters . But, while the Russians were driven from the See also:

• BLACK
• BLACK, ADAM (1784-1874)
• BLACK, JEREMIAH SULLIVAN (1810–1883)
• BLACK, WILLIAM (1841-1898)

Black Sea by the Khazars, and later on by a See also:

• TIDE (O. Eng. lid, cf. Ger. Zeit, time or season, connected with root of Sanskrit a-diti, endless)

tide of Ugrian See also:

• MIGRATION

migration from the north-east, a stream of Slays moved slowly towards the north-east, down the upper Oka, into the borderland between the Finnish and Turkish regions .

After two centuries of struggle the Russians succeeded in colonizing the fertile valleys of the Oka basin; in the 12th century they built a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of fortified towns on the Oka and Klyazma; and finally they reached the mouth of the Oka, there See also:

• FOUNDING (from Lat. fundere, to pour)

founding (in 1222) a new Novgorod—the Novgorod of the Lowlands, now Nizhniy-Novgorod . The great lacustrine depression of the middle Volga was thus reached; and when the Mongol invasion of 1239-42 came, it encountered in the Oka basin a dense agricultural population with many fortified and wealthy towns—a population which the See also:

• MONGOLS

Mongols found they could conquer, indeed, but were unable to drive before them as they had done so many of the Turkish tribes . The Samara bend . This invasion checked but did not stop the advance of the Russians down the Volga . Two centuries elapsed before the Russians covered the 300 M. which separate the mouths of the Oka and the Kama and took See also:

• POSSESSION
• POSSESSION (Lat. possessio, possidere, to possess)

possession of Kazan . But in the meantime a flow of Novgorodian colonization had moved eastward, along the upper portions of the left-bank tributaries of the Volga, and had reached the Urals . With the See also:

• CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture of Kazan (1552) the Russians found the lower Volga open to their boats, and eight years afterwards they were masters of the mouth of the river at Astrakhan . Two centuries more elapsed before the Russians secured a See also:

• FREE

free passage to the Black Sea and became masters of the Sea of Azov and the See also:

• CRIMEA (ancient Tauris or Tauric Chersonese, called by the Russians by the Tatar name Krym or Crim)

Crimea; the Volga, however, was their route . During these two centuries they fortified the lower river, settled it, and penetrated farther eastward into the steppes towards the upper Ural and thence to the upper parts of the Tobol and other great Siberian rivers .