Moscow Canal

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

By the early 1930s, Moscow faced a shortage of drinking and industrial water due to population growth, and the Rublevskoye water pipeline could not meet the capital's needs. On June 15, 1931, the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party approved the report of Lazar Kaganovich and adopted the recommendation to use the Volga River, 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Moscow, for water supply and transportation. On June 1, 1932, Resolution No. 859 of the Council of People's Commissars approved the route through Dmitrov and ordered construction to begin immediately, with labor allocated only until November 1934. The former head of OGPU Belomorstroy, Lazar Kogan, was appointed head of construction on June 9, 1932. 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'. The number of prisoners at the canal construction site at one time reached 196,000 people. Igor Kuvyrkov of the Dolgoprudny Historical and Art Museum estimated that more than 600,000 prisoners passed through the canal construction site. 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.

Reader's Guide

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. 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. 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.

Did You Know?

• The canal was named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947.
• On April 17, 1937, the gates were opened and the waters of the Volga began filling the Canal.
• The canal provides about half of Moscow's water consumption.
• During the Battle of Moscow, water was pumped from the canal and reservoirs into surrounding plains to prevent Wehrmacht encirclement.
• A 25-meter (82 ft) statue of Vladimir Lenin, built in 1937, stands at Dubna at the confluence of the Volga and the Moscow Canal.