In June 2013 we visited Russia. Before that we had a couple of weeks in the UK while our frequent travel companions Craig and Sonia, together with Sonia's two Russian speaking cousins and their partners and two other couples, travelled from Beijing by the trans-Siberian railway. We all met up in Moscow and a day later joined our cruise ship. The tour provided another three guided days in Moscow before setting off for a cruise along the Volga-Baltic Waterway to St Petersburg; through some 19 locks and across some very impressive lakes.
This river cruise was most interesting from a technical and geographical point of view.
Relatively flat countryside and many rivers and streams have allowed engineers to construct elaborate canal and lock systems across Europe and it is possible in summer to travel by boat or barge from the Baltic to the black sea and the Mediterranean; across Poland into France and Germany and connected countries; and even across the English Chanel. In the north many of these waterways are frozen in winter but as we saw, they constitute a significant commercial asset for moving bulk materials and very large industrial components; in addition to tourist cruise ships.
In Russia (as in North America) the differing levels in large freshwater lakes also provides a significant hydroelectric power resource.
The Hydroelectric Powerstation at Uglich