In antiquity, the river was part of theAmber Road trade routes. Duringthe Ruin in the later 17th century, the area was contested between thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth andRussia, dividing what is now Ukraine into areas described by itsright andleft banks. During theSoviet period, the river became noted for its majorhydroelectric dams and large reservoirs. The 1986Chernobyl disaster occurred on thePripyat River, a tributary of the Dnieper, just upstream from its confluence with the Dnieper. The Dnieper is an important navigablewaterway for theeconomy of Ukraine and is connected by theDnieper–Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe. During the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine, certain segments of the river were made part of the defensive lines between territory controlled by the Russians and the Ukrainians.[4][5][6]
Names
Dnieper
Human representation of the Dnieper river (known asBorysthenes) on an Ancient Greek coin ofPontic Olbia, 4th–3rd century BCPre-1918 photo with the old spelling of Dnieper (Днѣпръ)
The river is also sometimes called by the Russian nameDnepr.[7][8] The initial D in Dnieper is generally silent when pronounced in English, although it may be sounded:/ˈniːpər/[9] or/dəˈniːpər/.[10] It derives fromRussian:Днепр,romanized: Dnepr,[11][12] pre-revolutionary spellingДнѣпръ,Dněpr.
Dnipro derives fromUkrainian:Дніпро,romanized: Dnipro.[12] The English pronunciation is/dəˈniːproʊ/.[13] The Ukrainian name has a rare formДніпр,Dnipr and rare dialectalДніпер,Dniper.[14] The Middle Ukrainian form attested in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries wasДнѣпръ,Dnǐpr.[14] The city ofDnipro is named for the river.
The name varies slightly in the localSlavic languages of the three countries through which it flows:
These names are all cognate, deriving fromOld East SlavicДънѣпръ (Dŭněprŭ). The origin of this name is disputed but generally derived from eitherSarmatian *Dānu Apara ("Farther River") in parallel with theDniester ("Nearer River") or fromScythian *Dānu Apr ("Deep River") in reference to its lack offords,[18][19] from which was also derived theLate Antique name of the river,ΔάναπριςDanapris, as found in theRavenna Cosmography.[20][21]
Borysthenes
The earlier Graeco-Roman name of the river, as attested byHerodotus, was "Borysthenes" (Ancient Greek:Βορυσθενης,romanized: Borusthenēs;[21]Latin:Borysthenes,Ukrainian:Бористен, Борисфен,romanized: Borysten, Borysfen[14]) and laterΔάναπριςDanapris.[21] The nameBorysthenes was derived from a Scythian name whose form was:
this name was linked to the mantle of beaver skins worn by the Iranic water goddessArəduuī Sūrā Anāhitā, whose epithet ofāp (Avestan:𐬁𐬞,lit. 'water') was connected to the name of the daughter of the river-god Borysthenēs in Scythian mythology, the Earth-and-Water goddessApi, whose own name meant "water."[23]
Ovid usedBorysthenius, an adjective derived fromBorysthenes, as the river's poetic Latin name.[24]
Var
TheHuns' name for the river,Var, was derived from Scythian*Varu, meaning "Broad." This name was connected to the Graeco-Roman name of theVolga river,Oarus (Ancient Greek:Οαρος,romanized: Oaros;Latin:Oarus), which was also derived from Scythian*Varu.[25]
The total length of the river is variously given as 2,145 kilometres (1,333 mi)[2] or 2,201 km (1,368 mi),[28][29][30][31] of which 485 km (301 mi) are within Russia, 700 km (430 mi) are withinBelarus,[2] and 1,095 km (680 mi) are withinUkraine. Its basin covers 504,000 square kilometres (195,000 sq mi), of which 289,000 km2 (112,000 sq mi) are within Ukraine,[32] 118,360 km2 (45,700 sq mi) are within Belarus.[2]
The source of the Dnieper is the sedge bogs (Akseninsky Mokh) of theValdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of 220 m (720 ft).[32] For 115 km (71 mi) of its length, it serves as the border between Belarus and Ukraine. Its estuary, orliman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv.[citation needed][33]
The southernmost point in Belarus is on the Dnieper to the south ofKamaryn inBrahin Raion.[34]
Waterbodies in Belarus, including a section of the Dnieper river
The Dnieper has manytributaries (up to 32,000) with 89 being rivers of 100+ km.[35] The main ones are,from its source to its mouth, with left (L) or right (R) bank indicated:
Context of the Dnieper basin showing peoples in the ninth century
Many small direct tributaries also exist, such as, in the Kyiv area, the Syrets (right bank) in the north of the city, the historically significantLybid (right bank) passing west of the centre, and the Borshahivka (right bank) to the south.
The water resources of the Dnieper basin compose around 80% of the total for all Ukraine.[35]
Rapids
Rapids at Dnieper in 1915Tractus Borysthenis or Dnieper (from Bovzin city to Chortyca island) in 1662
Along this middle flow of the Dnieper, there were 9 major rapids (although some sources cite a smaller number), obstructing almost the whole width of the river, about 30 to 40 smaller rapids, obstructing only part of the river, and about 60 islands and islets.
After the Dnieper hydroelectric station was built in 1932, they were inundated byDnieper Reservoir.
Canals
There are a number of canals connected to the Dnieper:
The Krasnoznamianka Irrigation System (SWKherson Oblast);
TheNorth Crimean Canal—will largely solve the water problem of the peninsula, especially in the arid northern and easternCrimea;
The Inhulets Irrigation System.
Fauna
The river is part of thequagga mussel's native range.[36] The mussel has been accidentally introduced around the world, where it has become aninvasive species.[36]
Delta
Thematic map (upper) and false-colour IR from satellite images of the Dnieper delta, captured 8 August 2015
Almost 2,000 km (1,200 mi) of the river is navigable (to the city ofDorogobuzh).[35] The Dnieper is important fortransportation in theeconomy of Ukraine.[citation needed] Its reservoirs have large ship locks, allowing vessels of up to 270 by 18 metres (886 ft × 59 ft) access as far as the port ofKyiv, and thus are an important transportation corridor.[citation needed] The river is used by passenger vessels as well. Inland cruises on the riversDanube and Dnieper have had a growing market in recent decades.[citation needed]
Upstream from Kyiv, the Dnieper receives the water of thePripyat River. This navigable river connects to theDnieper-Bug canal, the link with theBug River. Historically, a connection with the Western European waterways was possible, but aweir without any ship lock near the town ofBrest, Belarus, has interrupted this international waterway. Poor political relations between Western Europe and Belarus mean there is little likelihood of reopening this waterway in the near future.[38] River navigation is interrupted each year by freezing and severe winter storms.
The Dnieper river in Ukraine from ahelicopter, 2004
Cities
Major cities, over 100,000 in population, are in bold script.Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed in order from the river's source (in Russia) to its mouth (in Ukraine):
The River Dnieper has been a subject of chapter X of a story byNikolai GogolA Terrible Vengeance (1831, published in 1832 as a part of theEvenings on a Farm Near Dikanka short stories collection). It is considered as a classical example of description of the nature in Russian literature. The river was also described in the works ofTaras Shevchenko.
In the adventure novelThe Long Ships (also translatedRed Orm), set during theViking Age, aScanian chieftain travels to the Dnieper Rapids to retrieve a treasure hidden there by his brother, encountering many difficulties. The novel was very popular in Sweden and is one of few to depict a Viking voyage to eastern Europe.
Visual arts
The River Dnieper has been a subject for artists, great and minor, over the centuries. Major artists with works based on the Dnieper areArkhip Kuindzhi andIvan Aivazovsky.
Films
The River Dnieper makes an appearance in the 1964 Hungarian drama filmThe Sons of the Stone-Hearted Man (based on the novel of the same name byMór Jókai), where it appears when two characters are leavingSaint Petersburg but get attacked by wolves.
In 1983, the concert program "Song of the Dnieper" from the "Victory Salute" series was released, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the city ofKiev from the German fascist invaders. The program includes songs by Soviet composers,Ukrainian folk songs, and dances performed by the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Kiev Military District led by A. Pustovalov,P. Virsky Ukrainian National Folk Dance Ensemble,Kyiv Bandurist Capella, the Military Band of the Headquarters of the Kiev Military District led by A. Kuzmenko, singersAnatoliy Mokrenko,Lyudmila Zykina,Anatoliy Solovianenko,Dmytro Hnatyuk,Mykola Hnatyuk. Filming on the battlefield, streets and squares of Kiev. Scriptwriter – Victor Meerovsky. Directed by Victor Cherkasov. Operator – Alexander Platonov.[43]
^abCybriwsky, Roman A. (2018).Along Ukraine's river : a social andenvironmental history of the Dnipro. Budapest: Central European University Press. p. 7.ISBN978-963-386-205-6.OCLC1038735219.Much of the world knows the Dnipro only as the Dnieper, a name based on the Russian-languageDnepr and widely used before Ukraine achieved its independence in 1991, in concert with the fall of the Soviet Union. "Dnipro" is the Ukrainian-language word for the river, and is now its official name for international usage.
^abcdRunyc'kyj, Jaroslav B. (1982).An Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language. Vol. II. Ottawa: Ukrainian Mohylo-Mazepian Academy of Sciences and Ukrainian Language Association. pp. 154–56.
^Блакітная кніга Беларусі: Энцыклапедыя. — Мінск: Беларуская Энцыклапедыя, 1994. — С. 144. — 415 с. — 10 000 экз.
^Mallory, J. P.; Mair, Victor H. (2000).The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 106.ISBN0-500-05101-1.
^Lewis, Charlton; Short, Charles (1879)."Bŏrysthĕnes, is".A Latin Dictionary. Founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary. revised, enlarged, and in great part rewritten by. Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, LL.D. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
^Яцик, А. В.; Яковлєв, Є. О.; Осадчук, В. О. (2002). А. В. Яцика (ed.).До питання щодо спуску Київського водосховища (Do pytanni︠a︡ shchodo spusku kyïvsʹkoho vodoskhovyshcha) (in Ukrainian). Kiev: Оріяни (Oriany). pp. 6–12.ISBN966-7373-78-9.
^Hewett, Edward A.; Winston, Victor H. (1991).Milestones in Glasnost and Perestroyka: Politics and people. Brookings Institution. p. 19.ISBN9780815736240.The importance of Chernobyl' for Soviet industry is best illustrated by comparing it to the key energy project of Stalin's industrialization, the famous Dnieper hydroelectric station, completed in 1932. The largest European hydroelectric station of its time, it had a capacity of 560 MW.
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