The Svir (; ; Karelian and Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It flows westwards from

Lake Onega Lake Onega (; also known as Onego; , ; ; Livvi-Karelian language, Livvi: ''Oniegujärvi''; ) is a lake in northwestern Russia, on the territory of the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of the Baltic ...

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

, thus connecting the two largest lakes of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It is the largest river flowing into Lake Ladoga. The length of the Svir is , whereas the area of its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

is . The towns of Podporozhye and

Lodeynoye Pole Lodeynoye Pole (, lit. ''the field of boats'') is a town and the administrative center of Lodeynopolsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Svir River (Lake Ladoga's basin) northeast of St. Petersburg. ...

, as well as urban-type settlements

Voznesenye Voznesenye () is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Podporozhsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Svir River at the place if flow out of Lake Onega. Municipally, it is incorporated as Voznesenskoye U ...

, Nikolsky, Vazhiny, and

Svirstroy Svirstroy () is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Lodeynopolsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Svir River several kilometers northeast of the town of Lod ...

are located at the banks of the Svir. After

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

connected the Svir with the

Neva The Neva ( , ; , ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth- ...

by the

Ladoga Canal The Ladoga Canal () is a historical water transport route, now situated in Leningrad Oblast, linking the Neva River, Neva and the Svir River so as to bypass the stormy waters of Lake Ladoga which lies immediately to the northwest. It is about ...

in the 18th century, the river has been part of the Mariinsk Canal System, currently the

Volga–Baltic Waterway The Volga–Baltic Waterway (), formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System (), is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga with the Baltic Sea via the Neva. Like the Volga–Don Canal, it is part of the Unified Deep Water ...

. The

Onega Canal The Onega Canal () is a canal that runs along the southern banks of Lake Onega in Vytegorsky District of Vologda Oblast and Podporozhsky District of Leningrad Oblasts in Russia. It was built 1818–1820 and 1845–1852 as a part of Mariinsk Can ...

is a bypass of Lake Onega from the south, which connects the Svir with the Vytegra. The Svir is heavily used for navigation, with both cargo traffic and cruise ships. There are two

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s with

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s on the river. The

Lower Svir Hydroelectric Station Lower Svir Hydroelectric Station () is a hydroelectric station on the Svir River located in the urban-type settlement of Svirstroy, Leningrad Oblast, in northwestern Russia. It was open on December 19, 1933 and has the total power of 99 MW. I ...

, in Svirstroy, sits from the river's mouth while the

Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station () is a hydroelectric station on the Svir River located in the town of Podporozhye, Leningrad Oblast, in northwestern Russia. It was open on February 13, 1952 and has the total power of 160 MW. It is operated ...

, located in Podporozhye, is away. Above the Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station, the Svir is built as the Ivinsky Razliv Reservoir. Locks are built around both dams. Since the Svir flows out of Lake Onega, its drainage basin occupies a vast area, spanning the south of the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

, the north and the east of Leningrad Oblast, the northwest of

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...

, and also includes minor areas in

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...

(the basin of the Ileksa). The main tributaries of Svir proper are the Vazhinka (right), the Oyat (left), and the

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

(left). The main rivers in the basin of the Svir are the Suna (the longest in the Svir basin), the Shuya, the Vodla, and the Vytegra. The basin of the Svir also includes an enormous amount of freshwater lakes, the biggest of which, behind Lake Onega, are

Lake Vodlozero Lake Vodlozero (, ) is a large freshwater lake in the southeastern part of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It is located at and has an area of 322 km2. It is 36 km long and 16 km wide.Lake Syamozero,

Lake Gimolskoye A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

, Lake Lizhmozero, and Lake Shotozero. The city of

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

and the towns of

Suoyarvi Suoyarvi (; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Suoyarvsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located northwest of Petrozavodsk. Population: History It is known that during the 16th and 17th centuries a settlement exist ...

Kondopoga Kondopoga (; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Kondopozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located by the northern tip of the Kondopoga Bay of Lake Onega, near the mouth of the Suna River and Kivach Nature Reserve, ...

Medvezhyegorsk Medvezhyegorsk (; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Medvezhyegorsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. Population: 15,800 (1959). History Between 1703–1710 and 1766–1769, a factory was operating in the village. ...

Pudozh Pudozh (; ; ; or ') is a town and the administrative center of Pudozhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Vodla River east of Petrozavodsk, but traveling by the road around Lake Onega. Population: 8,000 (1970). ...

, Vytegra, Podporozhye, and Lodeynoye Pole, as well as a number of urban-type settlements, are located within the catchment area of the Svir. The river flows past the

Alexander-Svirsky Monastery Alexander-Svirsky Monastery (Александро-Свирский монастырь) is a Russian Orthodox monastery situated deep in the woods of the Leningrad Oblast, just south from its border with the Republic of Karelia. The golden age o ...

, which housed

Svirlag Svirlag, SvirLAG (Svirskiy Lager' – Svir Concentration-Camp, , also / – ) was a Soviet forced labour camp run by NKVD's GULAG Directorate. It was located on the river Svir River, Svir (hence the name Svirskiy in Russian language, Russian) in ...

(one of the most infamous

gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

s). The area around the river saw heavy fighting during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

1941–1944. The right bank of the lower Svir is occupied by the Nizhnesvirsky Nature Reserve, established in 1980.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Leningrad Oblast