Under Ivan IV the emergent Russian state conquered the Volga towns of Kazan and Astrakhan, replacing mosques with Orthodox churches. As Hartley writes: ‘Without the Volga, there would be no Russia.’īeginning with the river’s earliest history, Hartley introduces readers to the populations that lived with the Volga before the emergence of Russian influence, including various Turkic groups in the south and the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. As the country grew to incorporate the entirety of the river, it became increasingly tied to national identity. Facilitated by the river, Muscovy’s conquest of the Khanate of Kazan in the 16th century was one of the most crucial early moments in determining the massive continental empire that Russia would become. Engagements among the diverse peoples of the Volga led to the formation of states and empires around it. The river’s utility for trade made it a confluence for divergent cultures, ethnicities and religions, which interacted with each other along its banks. Throughout, Hartley convincingly shows that any understanding of Russian history requires an understanding of the Volga.įor centuries, the Volga was used as a major conduit for trade and commerce, tying locations together economically that were already linked by water. From the earliest proto-states of the Jewish-led Khazars and the Islamic Bolgars to contemporary negotiations about the waterway’s status as a Russian river, Hartley treats the reader to captivating stories of conflict, conversion, trade, famine, migration and myth. Previously the author of a sweeping history of Siberia, Hartley proves an able guide on a kaleidoscopic tour of the Volga and the history of the people who have resided by it. Janet Hartley aims to correct the Volga’s marginalisation in her new book by putting it at the heart of a national history. It is certainly less thought about, spoken of or eulogised than the Nile, the Amazon, the Mississippi, the Yangtze or, perhaps, even the Danube. Yet, though its length exceeds all other rivers in Europe, the Volga is still significantly shorter than several of Russia’s Siberian arteries and, though renowned regionally, the river nevertheless remains somewhat inconspicuous among the world’s ‘greatest’ rivers. The Volga also links numerous peoples, including Bashkirs, Mari, Tatars, Udmurts and Russians, all of whom live near its shores. Europe’s longest river weaves through what has come to be seen as Russia’s heartland, from the Valdai Hills north-west of Moscow to its delta near Astrakhan where it empties into the Caspian Sea.
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