Staraya Ladoga Staraya Ladoga Staraya Ladoga (); ; ) is a rural locality (a "selo") in Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga, north of the town of Volkhov, the administrative center of the district. It used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries. A multi-ethnic settlement, it was dominated by Scandinavians who were called by the name of Rus'. For that reason, it is sometimes called the first capital of Russia. Dendrochronology suggests that Ladoga was founded in 753. Until 950, it was one of the most important trading
Ladoga Canal Ladoga Canal The Ladoga Canal (, "Ladozhsky Canal") is a historical water transport route, now situated in Leningrad Oblast, linking the Neva and the Svir River so as to bypass the stormy waters of Lake Ladoga which lies immediately to the northwest. It is about long and comprises two distinct but overgrown canals, Old Ladoga Canal (built in 1719–1810, previously known as Peter the First Canal) and New Ladoga Canal (built in 1866–1883), running in parallel from Sviritsa on the Svir through Novaya Ladoga on the Volkhov to Shlisselburg on the Neva. The Ladoga Canal was one of the first