Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks

Subject / Relics
The trade route from "the Varangians to the Greeks". During the 9th-11th centuries it connected Rus and the Northern Europe with Byzantine Empire on the route: the Baltic Sea - the Neva River - Ladoga Lake - the Volkhov River - Ilmen Lake - the Lovat River - portages to the Western Dvina River - portages to the Dnieper River and then with the Dnieper River stream to the Black Sea. The military-trade route connected the old Russian towns (Ladoga, Novgorod, Smolensk, Kiev) with Constantinople and the European trading centres (Dorestadt, Hedeby, Birka and others). "Tale of Bygone Years" (Russian Primary Chronicles) (the early 12th century) describes the route in connection with an apocryphal legend about the Apostle Andrew travel from the Black Sea region to "the Kievan Mountains" and the place of "Future" Novgorod and then further to Rome. Voyages of the Russians of the middle of the 10th century were described by Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos. On our days sail-rowing boats of the scientific expedition "Nevo" (between 1985-1995) went 2720 km from Bolshoy Tyuters Island in the Gulf of Finland as far as Berezan Island in the Dnieper-Bug estuary during 90-95 one-day passages (in all with day-spendings - 110-115 days). The getting through portages such as the Lopat River - the Dvina River and the Dvina River - the Dnieper River took about two weeks. Along the route there were 110 old Russian base stations (320 archarlogical monuments): towns, opened trade and crafts settlements, sentry fortresses, navigation references, rural settlements. Through contacts between the Baltic and Black Sea were traced from 825 - 839. From the 11th century the route southern part was attacked by nomads at the Dnieper rapids. On the Leningrad Oblast territory there are the archaelogical corroborations of the routing and working of the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks": at B. Tyuters Island harbour in the Gulf of Finland; in Peterhof and the Galley Harbour at the Neva River mouth; on the Volkhov River, around the harbour of the town settlement in Staraya Ladoga (from the middle of the 8th century); in areas of rapids at the villages of Noviye (New) Duboviki, Velsi - gostinopolye, Gorodishche-Podsopye. Plotkin, Konstantin Moiseyevich
Konstantin VII Porhyrogenitus
Topographical landmarks/Baltic Sea, the
Topographical landmarks/Bolshoy Tyuters Island
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volkhov District/Gostinopolye Village
Topographical landmarks/Ilmen Lake
Topographical landmarks/Ladoga Lake
Historical Toponyms/Ladoga Town
Topographical landmarks/Lovat River, the
Topographical landmarks/Neva River, the
Historical Toponyms/Noviye Duboviki
Saint-Petersburg City/Peterhof Town
Leningrad Oblast, the/Kirishi District/Podsopye Village
Leningrad Oblast, the/Volkhov District/Staraya Ladoga Village
Topographical landmarks/Volkhov River, the
Topographical landmarks/Zapadnaya Dvina River, the
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"Nevo", archeology - navigation expedition