Lake Peipus Lake Peipus Lake Peipus (; ; ) is the largest transboundary lake in Europe, lies on the border between Estonia and Russia. The lake is the fifth-largest in Europe after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega (in Russia north of St. Petersburg), Lake Vänern (in Sweden), and Lake Saimaa (in Finland). Lake Peipus represents a remnant of a body of water which existed in this area during an Ice Age. It covers , and has an average depth of , the deepest point being . The lake has several islands and consists of 3 parts: The lake is used for fishing
Staraya Ladoga river"), was rendered as "Aldeigja" in Old Norse and later as "Ladoga" in Old East Slavic. "Staraya" is Russian for "Old". According to the Hypatian Codex that was created at the end of the 13th century, the legendary Varangian leader Rurik arrived at Ladoga in 862 and made it his capital. Rurik later moved to Novgorod and his successors then to Kiev where foundations for the powerful state of Kievan Rus' were laid. There are several huge kurgans, or royal funerary barrows, at the outskirts of Ladoga. One of them is said to be Rurik's grave, and another one—that of