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The Moscow Canal (), named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal in Russia that connects the Moskva (river) with the Volga. 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 .
It was constructed between 1932 and 1937 by 200,000 gulag prisoners, under direction of the NKVD and Matvei Berman.Maunch, C Zeller, T (2008) Rivers in History: Perspectives on Waterways in Europe and North America, University of Pittsburgh Press P73
On June 1, 1932, by Resolution No. 859 of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the route of the canal through Dmitrov was approved with the order to "immediately begin construction of the Volga–Moscow water canal"; the labor for only two years were allocated until November 1934. The former head of the OGPU Belomorstroy, L. I. Kogan, was appointed head of construction on June 9, 1932.Kokurin, Aleksandr Ivanovich. Dmitlag OGPU-NKVD USSR. Moscow–Volga. Local history project to study the history of the construction of the Moscow–Volga Canal, State Archives of the Russian Federation (December 13, 2019). Accessed December 26, 2020. Archived November 26, 2020
On September 14, 1932, by OGPU order No. 889, the Dmitrovsky corrective labor camp was organized, headed by the former chief supplier of the GULAG. Resources from the White Sea–Baltic Canal were transferred to the new administration " Dmitlag "Udovenko Ilya Vitalievich. Everyday life of canal army men (Dmitrovsky ITL on the construction of the Moscow–Volga canal 1932–1937) // Bulletin of the Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences: journal. – 2018. – Vol. 20 , No. 3 (2) . – P. 338–342 ..
The number of prisoners at the canal construction site at one time reached 196,000 people.Ekaterina Fomina . “And now people lie there in neat rows” // Novaya Gazeta . – M. , 2017. – November 15 ( No. 127 ). – P. 21. Archived June 29, 2020. Igor Kuvyrkov of the Dolgoprudny Historical and Art Museum estimated that more than 600,000 prisoners passed through the canal construction site.Kuvyrkov Igor Vladimirovich: Profile on the official website of the Dolgoprudny Historical and Art Museum . dolgoprudnymuseum.ru . Date of access: February 1, 2020. Archived February 15, 2020 Of those, 22,842 deaths associated with work at the Canal were recorded in hospitals, not including people killed at work or who were shot.
On April 17, 1937, the gates were opened and the waters of the Volga began filling the Canal. Construction was completed on July 1, and the Canal was opened at ceremonies on July 14, 1937. On April 14, 1938, at the request of the NKVD, former prisoners who had completed their sentences and voluntarily remained for the construction of the Moscow-Volga Canal and other sites had their convictions expunged.Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the removal of criminal records from former prisoners who voluntarily remained after serving their sentences on the construction of the Moscow-Volga Canal”
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" (). 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, 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.
==Gallery== (2025). 9785443810065, Algoritm. ISBN 9785443810065
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
The minimum depth of the canal is , and its lock dimensions are .
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