| Svir | |
|---|---|
 Banks of the Svir | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Russia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Lake Onega |
| • elevation | 32 m (105 ft) |
| Mouth | Lake Ladoga |
• coordinates | 60°30′33″N32°47′55″E / 60.50917°N 32.79861°E /60.50917; 32.79861 |
| Length | 224 km (139 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 84,400 km2 (32,600 sq mi)[1] |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 790 m3/s (28,000 cu ft/s)[1] |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Lake Ladoga→Neva→Gulf of Finland |
TheSvir (Russian:Свирь;Veps:Süvär';Karelian andFinnish:Syväri) is a river inPodporozhsky,Lodeynopolsky, andVolkhovsky districts in the north-east ofLeningrad Oblast,Russia. It flows westwards fromLake Onega toLake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest lakes ofEurope. It is the largest river flowing into Lake Ladoga. The length of the Svir is 224 kilometres (139 mi), whereas the area of itsdrainage basin is 84,400 square kilometres (32,600 mi2). The towns ofPodporozhye andLodeynoye Pole, as well as urban-type settlementsVoznesenye,Nikolsky,Vazhiny, andSvirstroy are located at the banks of the Svir.
AfterPeter the Great connected the Svir with theNeva by theLadoga Canal in the 18th century, the river has been part of the Mariinsk Canal System, currently theVolga–Baltic Waterway. TheOnega Canal is a bypass of Lake Onega from the south, which connects the Svir with theVytegra. The Svir is heavily used for navigation, with both cargo traffic and cruise ships. There are twodams withhydroelectricpower plants on the river. TheLower Svir Hydroelectric Station, in Svirstroy, sits 81 kilometres (50 mi) from the river's mouth while theUpper Svir Hydroelectric Station, located in Podporozhye, is 128 kilometres (80 mi) away.[2] Above the Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station, the Svir is built as theIvinsky 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 theRepublic of Karelia, the north and the east of Leningrad Oblast, the northwest ofVologda Oblast, and also includes minor areas inArkhangelsk Oblast (the basin of theIleksa). The main tributaries of Svir proper are theVazhinka (right), theOyat (left), and thePasha (left).[3] The main rivers in the basin of the Svir are theSuna (the longest in the Svir basin), theShuya, theVodla, and the Vytegra. The basin of the Svir also includes an enormous amount of freshwater lakes, the biggest of which, behind Lake Onega, areLake Vodlozero,Lake Syamozero,Lake Gimolskoye,Lake Lizhmozero, andLake Shotozero. The city ofPetrozavodsk and the towns ofSuoyarvi,Kondopoga,Medvezhyegorsk,Pudozh,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 theAlexander-Svirsky Monastery, which housedSvirlag (one of the most infamousgulags). The area around the river saw heavy fighting during theContinuation War 1941–1944.[citation needed]
The right bank of the lower Svir is occupied by theNizhnesvirsky Nature Reserve, established in 1980.[citation needed]
