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River in News: Dnieper
Context:
Paul Josephson, a specialist in Soviet and Russian history, discussed how Russia’s two-year invasion of Ukraine has transformed the Dnipro River into a significant weapon of war.
Dnieper River Overview:
- It is the fourth-longest river in Europe, after the Volga, Danube, and Ural rivers.
- It is 1,367 miles (2,200 km) in length and drains an area of about 195,000 square miles (505,000 square km).
- The Dnieper River and its 32,000 tributaries drain much of Belarus and Ukraine in Eastern Europe.
- It originates in the low Valday Hills in western Russia, near Moscow.
- It flows through Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine before emptying into the Black Sea (Dnieper Delta, Black Sea, Ukraine).
- The city of Kherson is located on the northern bank of the River, upstream of the Dnieper Delta.
- The river converges with the Southern Bug River in the Dniprovska Gulf near the delta area.
- The river is called Dnepr in Russian, Dnipro in Ukrainian, and Dnyapro in Belarusian.
- Major Cities Along the River: Dorogobuzh, Smolensk, Mogilev, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson.
- The water of the river is low in minerals and is soft.
Historical Significance:
- Integral to the Amber Road trade routes
- Contested area during the later 17th century between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia.
- The Dnieper has been heavily developed, with numerous hydroelectric plants, reservoirs, and canals constructed along its course since the 1950s.
- The river is home to over 60 species of fish, including commercially important species like pike, roach, carp, and catfish.
- The Dnieper has also suffered from pollution and environmental damage due to human activities in the surrounding regions.
Pollution:
- Suffers from significant anthropogenic pollution with numerous emissions.
- Radioactive Threats: Close to Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant’s radioactive waste dumps near Kamianske and near the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station and Exclusion Zone by the Pripyat River, a major tributary.
