Moscow Canal

Moscow Canal
Moscow Canal
Specifications
Length	79.6 miles (128.1 km)
Locks	8+2+1 (originally 8)
Maximum height above sea level	531 ft (162 m)
History
Former names	Moskva–Volga Canal
Date completed	1937 (1937)
Geography
Start point	Ivankovo Reservoir
End point	Moskva (river)

The Moskva–Volga Canal celebrated on a 1947 stamp

The Moscow Canal (Russian: Кана́л и́мени Москвы́), named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal in Russia that connects the Moskva (river) with the Volga River. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast. The canal connects to the Moskva River in Tushino (an area in the north-west of Moscow), from which it runs approximately north to meet the Volga River in the town of Dubna, just upstream of the dam of the Ivankovo Reservoir. The length of the canal is 128.1 kilometres (79.6 mi).

It was constructed between 1932 and 1937 by 200,000 gulag prisoners, under direction of the Soviet secret police and Matvei Berman.

With the canal, Moscow is connected to Russia's Unified Deep Water System, a large system of canals and rivers in European Russia, which created access to five seas: the White Sea, Baltic Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and the Black Sea. As such, it is sometimes called the "port of the five seas" (Russian: порт пяти морей). Apart from transportation, the canal also provides for about half of Moscow's water consumption, and the shores of its numerous reservoirs are used as recreation zones.

One of the world's tallest statues of Vladimir Lenin, 25-meter (82 ft) high, built in 1937, is located at Dubna at the confluence of the Volga River and the Moscow Canal. The accompanying statue of Joseph Stalin of similar size was demolished in 1961 during the period of de-stalinization.

World War II

During World War II and the Battle of Moscow, the canal played an instrumental role in the defense of Moscow. Wehrmacht plans were to encircle the city from the north and south. To prevent this, water was pumped from the canal and reservoirs into the surrounding plains.

Dimensions

Map of the canal on a 1947 postage stamp

The minimum depth of the canal is 5.5 metres (18 ft), and its lock dimensions are 290 by 30 metres (951 by 98 ft).

Gallery

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  Tushino tunnel lies under the Moscow Canal
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  Bachelis Bridge over Moscow Canal
• 
  Bachelis Bridge on Moscow Canal from Volga-Volga movie
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  Statue of Lenin at Dubna
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  Khimki railway bridge
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  Khimkinsky bridge, Moscow