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
Lake Otradnoye Lake Otradnoye Lake Otradnoye (; ) is a lake on Karelian Isthmus, in Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast, south of the town of Priozersk. The area of the lake is , and the area of its drainage basin is . The lake is the source of the Pionerka River (Pyhäjöki River) which flows to the west and drains into Lake Komsomolskoye. In its turn, Lake Komsomolskoye drains into Vesyolaya River, a tributary of the Vuoksi River. Whereas the lake belongs to the basin of Lake Ladoga which is located about to the east, its outflow runs to the west. The