The Volga is a great Russian river, it has become a symbol of our country. They composed songs about her, she became a character in legends, epics, fairy tales and literary works. At the sight of the beauty of the landscapes framing the main artery of European Russia, the soul of every patriot is filled with joy and peace. The Volga population is made up of people of different nations, living together and working for the glory of their land and all of Russia.
Gray-haired old
The Volga did not immediately become Russian: from time immemorial, ethnic groups based on its banks founded its state formations, which became indigenous to the Volga region. The population was comprised of Bulgars, Polovtsy, Mongols, Khazars and other representatives of Asian peoples. Archaeological finds eloquently testify to the high level of the Volga civilization of those centuries. Here, they found a place for strongholds on their way to the West, countless hordes of the Astrakhan Khanate and the Golden Horde. An important historical milestone was the time of the Astrakhan and Kazan Khanates. The Russian population of the Volga began to increase rapidly as the borders of Russia expanded. The first cities on the banks of the great river were Samara, founded in 1586, then Tsaritsyn (1589) and Saratov (1590). And starting in the second half of the 16th century, the process of colonization of the Volga lands began. They attracted the Russian autocrats with countless fish and soil wealth, as well as an extremely strategically-geopolitical location that allowed them to control Asian-European trade routes.
Agricultural region
Until the middle of the XIX century, the Volga lands served as the basis for the development of the agricultural industry. Local soils made it possible to grow good crops, fish wealth was innumerable, and forests of the middle strip became a real treasure for procurers who sent their goods to all corners of the empire. Gardens became suppliers of the largest trading enterprises and even the royal table. In the second half of the XVII century, the Volga population was replenished and enriched by immigrants from Germany invited by Catherine the Great to improve the demographic picture of the region and borrow European agricultural technologies. Before the revolution, agriculture continued to be an important source of income for each provincial treasury. There was strong farming and animal husbandry, and, to all this, in addition, also the extraction of salt. The Ukrainian population of the Volga region accounted for up to 7% of the total population in some counties and was represented by the Chumaks who settled here, that is, professional suppliers of table salt, a product that was so important and scarce in those days. And today Little Russian surnames are not uncommon here.
Industrial boom
At the end of the nineteenth century, the population and economy of the Volga region underwent serious changes in connection with the inevitably gaining momentum of the industrial revolution. The empire was being built, it needed cement, and the production of the most important building materials appeared in the Saratov province . Factories developed, they needed cars - and the machine-tool enterprises of Tsaritsyn smoked with pipes. The Volga became increasingly important for the All-Russian transport channel - and shipyards were built in Nizhny Novgorod Sormovo. Over the course of one and a half to two decades, the industrial potential of the region increased manifold. The rural population of the Volga region reached out to cities, the process of urbanization, which was natural for industrialized countries , began. The revolution and the ensuing Civil War, accompanied by massive famine, slowed down the development of the region, but not for long. The potential of the Volga region was very high.
Hunger
The civil war brought innumerable disasters to the region. The population and economy of the Volga region fell into decay as a result of hostilities and the merciless food expansion policy pursued by the Bolsheviks throughout the country. In 1921, famine began in the region, exacerbated by drought, leading to crop failure. Its victims were five million people belonging to all social groups and nationalities that inhabited the region. The population of the Volga region at that time was 25 million people. Thus, every fifth inhabitant of the most recently prosperous region of the empire died from unimaginable hunger. An indirect victim of this disaster was the Ukrainian peasantry, which was subjected to an equally ruthless sweep under the pretext of helping the starving. Railroad trains filled with mobilized Red Army soldiers from the affected areas marched towards the food trains. Lenin demanded that a million Volzhans be called up to the Red Army.
The Bolsheviks fought the famine organized by them, confiscating church property and ruining churches. Great help was provided by foreign organizations. By 1921, hunger had become less acute, but its effects had a long lasting effect.
Between wars
In the interwar period, the economy of the region developed in accordance with the approved master plans. During the five-year plans, power plants were built, and light industry enterprises were built. The legacy of the tsarist regime was also widely used (some of the factories founded at that time were still operating). Much attention was paid to the rise of educational institutions, on which new proletarian cadres were being trained. The characteristics of the Volga population could not be ignored - there was a need for a balanced national policy, requiring a special approach in each case. An example of such an activity is the establishment of the Volga Germans republic , which lasted from 1923 to 1941.
The pace of development of the region accelerated during the war. In the Volga region, many industries were evacuated from areas captured by Nazi occupiers. Most of these enterprises remained here after the Victory.
The chemical and oil industries were also developed.
Industrial Development and Human Resources
The efforts to industrialize the Volga yielded results. Of the ten cars produced in the country, seven were produced on the banks of the great Russian river (in Ulyanovsk and Tolyatti). Things are somewhat more modest with trucks, but one in ten is also not so small. In the city of Engels (Saratov Region), a powerful trolleybus plant operates. In the region there is a whole complex of enterprises manufacturing products of high-precision instrumentation (including defense). Aircraft and machine tool industries are also represented seriously. The Volga population is a source of qualified personnel, the training of which is carried out by many higher educational institutions. In many respects, the region successfully competes with such developed industrial areas as the Ural and Central.
Nowadays
The Volga region today is a vast part of the territory of Russia (more than 6% of its total area), which includes areas conventionally divided into three groups:
- Upper Volga: Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo, Kostroma and Yaroslavl ;.
- Middle Volga: Samara and Ulyanovsk, as well as the republics of Chuvashia, Tatarstan and Mari El.
- Lower Volga: Samara, Ulyanovsk, Volgograd and Saratov plus the republics of Kalmykia and Tatarstan.
They are part of two federal districts (Volga and South).
The region is home to 17 million Russians.
The population density of the Volga region is extremely heterogeneous, it is three times higher than the national average (31 people / sq. Km), but in the Republic of Kalmykia it is very small - only 4.3 people / sq. km
The national composition is specific: 16% of Tatars, 5% of Mordovians and Chuvash live here, other nations are represented, but most of all Russians - up to 70%.
There are 90 cities in the Volga region, of which three are “millionaires” (Samara, Kazan and Volgograd). Probably in the coming years, Saratov will join them.
Population growth is high, but this is largely due to the large number of migrants. The land here is really good, it has predictably favorable prospects, and they come here for permanent residence willingly.