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 rafts heading towards St. Petersburg every year, but silted up so badly that Alexander II's government decided that it was more practicable to build a new canal instead of repairing the old facilities. The New Ladoga Canal was built closer to Lake Ladoga between 1866 and 1883. The Old Ladoga Canal was overgrown with grass and had become disused by 1940. The New Ladoga Canal is still used by small boats. 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