Oka
The Oka ( Russian Ока́ ) is a 1,480 km long right tributary of the Volga in the European part of Russia .
It is the largest right and after the Kama the second largest tributary of the Volga .
River course
The Oka rises on the Central Russian Plate near the village of Alexandrowka south of Oryol . First, flows north through the oblasts Oryol , Tula and Kaluga . After the confluence of the Ugra , it turns east just before Kaluga . Between Alexin and Protvino , for example , the border between the Tula and Kaluga oblasts largely follows the course of the river.
It then flows through Moscow Oblast , where it takes up the Moskva River , and continues meandering strongly in southeast and eastern directions through Ryazan Oblast . From Schilowo it runs mainly north and north-east.
After flowing through the southeast of Vladimir Oblast for a few kilometers , it marks the border between the Oblasts of Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod for a longer section . Then it turns again to the east and flows into the Volga in Nizhny Novgorod in the oblast of the same name.
Navigability and use as a traffic route
The Oka is navigable over a length of 1200 km from Serpuchow . Several locks below the confluence of the Moskva guarantee navigability at least as far as Kolomna, even when the water level is low. Until the 1960s, the Oka was navigable to Oryol during the spring floods.
The Oka is connected to the Caspian Sea via the Volga and to the Baltic Sea via the Moscow River, the Moscow Canal and the Volga-Baltic Sea Canal. There is a connection with the White Sea via the White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal , which branches off to the north from the Volga-Baltic Sea Canal . Finally, there is a connection via the Volga-Don Canal and the Don with the Black Sea and thus the Mediterranean .
Tributaries
The most important tributaries of the Oka are the Kljasma and Moskva from the left and the Moksha and the Upa from the right.
Cities and sights
The largest cities on its banks are Oryol, Kaluga, Alexin, Serpukhov, Stupino , Kolomna , Ryazan , Kassimov , Murom , Pavlovo , Dzerzhinsk and Nizhny Novgorod.
Many historically and culturally significant sights lie on the banks of the Oka, including the monasteries and churches of Murom , Islamic and Russian Orthodox sacred buildings in Kassimow , the fortified Kremlin in Kolomna and Serpukhov and the historic old towns of Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod.
The birthplace of the poet Sergei Jessenin in Konstantinowo (Ryazan Oblast) can be visited as well as a museum in honor of the painter and educator Vasily Polenov in Saokski (Tula Oblast).
Another attraction is the NIGRES power line mast on the Oka .
Origin of name and history
It is believed that the origin of the name comes from either the Lithuanian word aka - source or the Finnish word joki - river, since prior to the colonization by Russians, the upper regions of the Oka were by Baltic tribes, such as the Golyad and the lower Oka by Finnish tribes how the Meschtscheren , Merja and Muroma were populated.
In the age of feudal fragmentation of the Rus, the Upper Oka principalities , which had emerged from the Principality of Chernigov , were located on the upper reaches of the Oka . In the middle and lower course were the principalities of Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal . In 1221, Grand Duke Juri II of Vladimir founded Nizhny Novgorod to protect the strategically important confluence of the Oka and the Volga. Both principalities came under the rule of the Golden Horde under Batu Khan in the 13th century .
Vladimir-Suzdal disintegrated into several competing principalities, including the up-and-coming Principality of Moscow , which gradually incorporated the other areas on the middle and lower Oka. After the end of the Tatar-Mongol influence in 1480 and the Principality of Ryazan was in 1521 annexed by now ascended to the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In the 16th century, the Oka formed the southern border of Russia to the so-called Wild Field and served as one of the few natural barriers against the incursions of the Crimean Tatars and other equestrian nomads. Numerous fortresses and fortifications were built along the Oka (see Russian Verhaulinie ) before the border shifted further south. The guard duty against the Tatar attacks in the 16th century was called beregovaya slushba (bank service). This term referred to the north bank of the Oka.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Article Oka in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
- ↑ a b Oka in the State Water Register of the Russian Federation (Russian)
- ↑ UNESCO - Oka at Gorbatov ( Memento of the original from November 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
