The Volga is the longest river in Europe; it is also Europe’s largest river in terms of discharge and watershed. It flows through central Russia and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Eleven of the twenty largest cities of Russia,
The Volga is the longest river in Europe; it is also Europe’s largest river in terms of discharge and watershed. It flows through central Russia and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Eleven of the twenty largest cities of Russia, including the capital, Moscow, are situated in the Volga’s drainage basin. Some of the largest reservoirs in the world can be found along the Volga. The river has a symbolic meaning in Russian culture and is often referred to as Volga-Matushka (Mother Volga) in Russian literature and folklore.
The Russian hydronym Volga (Волга) derives from Proto-Slavic *vòlga “wetness, moisture”, which is preserved in many Slavic languages, including Ukrainian volóha (воло́га) “moisture”, Russian vlaga (влага) “moisture”, Bulgarian vlaga (влага) “moisture”, Czech vláha “dampness”, Serbo-Croatian vlȁga “moisture”, and Slovene vlaga “moisture” among others.
The Slavic name is a loan translation of earlier Scythian Rā (Ῥᾶ) “Volga”, literally “wetness”, seen also in Avestan Raŋhā “mythical stream” and Sogdian r’k “vein, blood vessel” (*raha-ka), an