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Dnieper Russian: Днепр (Dnepr) Belarusian: Дняпро/Днепр (Dnyapro/Dnepr) Ukrainian: Дніпро (Dnipro) Ancient Greek: Βορυσθένης (Borysthenes)
The Dnieper River in Kiev, Ukraine
Dnieper River drainage basin
Location
Country	Russia, Belarus, Ukraine
Cities	Dorogobuzh, Smolensk, Mogilev, Kiev, Cherkasy, Dnipro, Zaporizhia
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	Valdai Hills, Russia
- coordinates	55°52′00″N 33°41′00″E / 55.86667°N 33.68333°E / 55.86667; 33.68333
- elevation	220 m (720 ft)
Mouth	Dnieper Delta
- location	Ukraine
- coordinates	46°30′00″N 32°20′00″E / 46.50000°N 32.33333°E / 46.50000; 32.33333Coordinates: 46°30′00″N 32°20′00″E / 46.50000°N 32.33333°E / 46.50000; 32.33333
- elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	2,201 km (1,368 mi)
Basin size	504,000 km2 (195,000 sq mi)
Discharge
- location	Kherson
- average	1,670 m3/s (59,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
- left	Sozh, Desna, Trubizh, Supiy, Sula, Psel, Vorskla, Samara, Konka, Bilozerka
- right	Drut, Berezina, Prypiat, Teteriv, Irpin, Stuhna, Ros, Tiasmyn, Bazavluk, Inhulets
Protection status
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Dnieper River Floodplain
Designated	29 May 2014
Reference no.	2244[1]

[ v t e ] Settlements next to the Dnieper Towns/villages blank spaces indicate as place above (")
Legend
Bocharovo Verkhnedneprovsky Dorogobuzh Smolensk Russia-Belarus border Dubroŭna Orsha Kopys Shkloŭ Mogilev Bykhaw Rahachow Žlobin Streshin Rečyca Loyew Komarin Belarus-Ukraine border Radul Liubech Vyshhorod Kiev Hydroelectric Power Plant Kiev Kozyn Ukrainka Rzhyshchiv Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Kaniv Kaniv Hydroelectric Power Plant Cherkasy Svitlovodsk Kremenchuk Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plant Horishni Plavni Verkhnodniprovsk Kamianske Middle Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant Dnipro Zaporizhia Dnieper Hydroelectric Station Vasylivka Dniprorudne Enerhodar Nikopol Kamianka-Dniprovska Novovorontsovka Velyka Lepetyha Hornostayivka Beryslav Kakhovka Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant Nova Kakhovka Dnipriany Oleshky Kherson Bilozerka Hola Prystan Ochakiv End of Dnieper Estuary — Black Sea (the few settlements further along the debatable estuary to the two points mentioned in the routemap are on inlets or far inland)

The Dnieper (UK: /ˈdniːpər/,^[2]US: /ˈniːpər/^[3]; Russian: Днепр, translit. Dnepr, /ˈdnjɛpər/;^[4]Belarusian: Дняпро/Днепр, translit. Dnyapro/Dnepr; Ukrainian: Днiпро, translit. Dnipro, /ˈ(d)niːproʊ/;^[5]) is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, and flowing through Russia, Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth-longest river in Europe.
The total length is approximately 2,200 km (1,400 mi)^[6] with a drainage basin of 504,000 square kilometres (195,000 sq mi).
The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations. The Dnieper is an important navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine and is connected via the Dnieper–Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe.

In antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes and was part of the Amber Road. Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga.

Etymology and name in various languages

The old picture with pre-1918 orthography of Dnieper (Днѣпръ)

Human representation of the Dnieper river (known as Borysthenes) on an Ancient Greek coin of Pontic Olbia, 4th–3rd century BC

The name Dnieper may be derived either from Sarmatian Dānu apara "the river on the far side" or from Scythian Dānu apr (Dānapr) "deep river." By way of contrast, the name Dniester either derives from "the close river" or from a combination of Scythian Dānu (river) and Ister, the Thracian name for the Dniester.^[7][8]

In the three countries through which it flows it has essentially the same name, albeit pronounced differently:

• 
  Russian: Днепр (Dnepr, [dnʲepr]) older Russian: Днѣпръ (Dnepr, [dnʲepr]);^[9];


• 
  Belarusian: Дняпро (Dnyapro, [dnʲaˈprɔ]) or Днепр^[10] (Dnyepr, [dnʲɛpr]);


• 
  Ukrainian: Дніпро (Dnipro, [dnʲiˈprɔ]) or Дніпер^[11] (Dniper, [ˈdnʲiper]) older Ukrainian: Днѣпръ (Dnipr, [ˈdnʲipr]).

Other toponyms and pronunciations

• The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δάναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively


• 
  Old East Slavic name used at the time of Kievan Rus' was Slavuta or Slavutych
  


• The Huns called it Var,^[12]
  


• Bulgars - Buri-Chai.^{[citation needed]}
  


• The name in Crimean Tatar: Özü^[13], hence Ochakiv (formerly Özü-cale, Dnieper fortress)

The river is mentioned both by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC as Borysthenes (Βορυσθένης), as well as by Strabo; this name is Scythian (cf. Proto-Iranian Hurú-stáHnam) or local population contemporary with the Herodotus' lifespan^[14] and translates as "wide land", referring most likely to the Pontic steppes (Ukrainian steppes).^{[citation needed]} . Unless Icelandic Snorre Skald Sturlasson, in Ynglinga saga, meant Danube, which is rather unlikely, wrote that this river run through Great Sviþjoð (Great Sweden), and separate Asia from Europe (also named Enea, from the eponymous Aeneas). It is, Snorre explains, in his time called Tanais, in earlier times Tanakvisl, and Vanakvisl. This is the realm of the Vanir. To the east is Asia, and the realm of the Æsir. In Snorre Sturlasons perspective ancient peoples that were either later deified, or who practiced deification of their rulers, aka apotheosis.

Geography

satellite image of the Dnieper river estuary, captured 8-Aug 2015

The total length of the river is variously given as 2,145 kilometres (1,333 mi)^[6] or 2,201 km (1,368 mi),^{[15][16][17][18]} of which 485 km (301 mi) are within Russia, 700 km (430 mi) are within Belarus,^[6] and 1,095 km (680 mi) are within Ukraine. Its basin covers 504,000 square kilometres (195,000 sq mi), of which 289,000 km² (112,000 sq mi) are within Ukraine,^[19] 118,360 km² (45,700 sq mi) are within Belarus.^[6]

The source of the Dnieper is the sedge bogs (Akseninsky Mokh) of the Valdai Hills in central Russia, at an elevation of 220 m (720 ft).^[19] For 115 km (71 mi) of its length, it serves as the border between Belarus and Ukraine. Its estuary, or liman, used to be defended by the strong fortress of Ochakiv.^{[citation needed]}

On the Dnieper to the south of Komarin urban-type settlement, Braghin District, Gomel Region the southern extreme point of Belarus is situated.^[20]

Tributaries of the Dnieper

The Dnieper has many tributaries (up to 32,000) with 89 being rivers of 100+ km.^[21] The main ones are, from its source to its mouth:

Dnieper basin showing peoples in the ninth century

Many small direct tributaries also exist, such as, in the Kiev area, the Syrets (right bank) in the north of the city, the historically significant Lybid (right bank) passing west of the centre, and the Borshahivka (right bank) to the south.

The water resources of the Dnieper basin compose around 80% out of all Ukraine.^[21]

Rapids

Rapids at Dnieper in 1915

Dnieper Rapids were part of trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, first mentioned in the Kiev Chronicle^{[clarification needed]}. The route was probably established in the late eighth and early ninth centuries and gained significant importance from the tenth until the first third of the eleventh century. On the Dnieper the Varangians had to portage their ships round seven rapids, where they had to be on guard for Pecheneg nomads.

Along this middle flow of the Dnieper, there were nine major rapids (although some sources cite a fewer number of them), obstructing almost the whole width of the river, about 30–40 smaller rapids, obstructing only part of the river, and about 60 islands and islets.

After Dnieper Hydroelectric Station was built in 1932, they were inundated by Dnieper Reservoir.

Canals

There are a number of canals connected to the Dnieper:

• The Dnieper–Donbas Canal;


• The Dnieper–Kryvyi Rih Canal;


• The Kakhovka Canal (south-east of the Kherson region);


• The Krasnoznamianka Irrigation System in the south-west of the Kherson region;


• The North Crimean Canal—will largely solve the water problem of the peninsula, especially in the arid northern and eastern Crimea;


• The Inhulets Irrigation System.

Fauna

The river is part of the Quagga mussel's native range.^[22] The mussel has been accidentally introduced around the world where it has become an invasive species.^[22]

Reservoirs and hydroelectric power

From the mouth of the Prypiat River to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, there are six sets of dams and hydroelectric stations, which produce 10% of Ukraine's electricity.^[21]

The first constructed was the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station (or DniproHES) near Zaporizhia, built in 1927–1932 with an output of 558 MW.^{[citation needed][23]} It was destroyed during World War II, but was rebuilt in 1948 with an output of 750 MW.^{[citation needed]}

^{[citation needed]}

Regions and cities

Satellite image of the Dnieper and its tributaries

Regions

• The Dnieper River in different regions


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  The Dnieper River in Kherson, Ukraine
  

  
  

  
  


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  The Dnieper River in Dorogobuzh, Russian Empire, before 1917
  

  
  

  
  


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  The Dnieper River in Kremenchuk, Ukraine
  

  
  

  
  

Cities

Major cities, over 100,000 in population, are in bold script.
Cities and towns located on the Dnieper are listed in order from the river's source (in Russia) to its mouth (in Ukraine):

Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga.^[24]

Navigation

Almost 2,000 km (1,200 mi) of the river is navigational (to the city of Dorogobuzh).^[21] The Dnieper is important for the transport and economy of Ukraine^{[citation needed]}: its reservoirs have large ship locks, allowing vessels of up to 270 by 18 metres (886 ft × 59 ft) to access as far as the port of Kiev and thus create an important transport corridor.^{[citation needed]} The river is used by passenger vessels as well. Inland cruises on the rivers Danube and Dnieper have been a growing market in recent decades.

Upstream from Kiev, the Dnieper receives the water of the Pripyat River. This navigable river connects to the Dnieper-Bug canal, the link with the Bug River. Historically, a connection with the Western European waterways was possible, but a weir without any ship lock near the town of Brest, Belarus, has interrupted this international waterway. Poor political relations between Western Europe and Belarus mean there is little likelihood of reopening this waterway in the near future.^[25] River navigation is interrupted each year by freezing in winter, and severe winter storms.

In the arts

Literature

The River Dnieper has been a subject of chapter X of a story by Nikolai Gogol A Terrible Vengeance (1831, published in 1832 as a part of the Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka short stories collection). It is considered as a classical example of description of the nature in Russian literature. The river was also described in the works of Taras Shevchenko.

Visual arts

The River Dnieper has been a subject for artists, great and minor, over the centuries. Major artists with works based on the Dnieper are Arkhip Kuindzhi and Ivan Aivazovsky.

• The Dnieper in painting


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  Catherine II leaving Kaniów in 1787 by Johann Gottlieb Plersch
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ice in the Dnieper by Ivan Aivazovsky, 1872
  

  
  

  
  


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  Moonlit Night on the Dnieper by Arkhip Kuindzhi, 1882
  

  
  

  
  


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  Dnieper by Arkhip Kuindzhi, 1881
  

  
  

  
  


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  Sapphire Dnieper by Jan Stanisławski, 1904
  

  
  

  
  

Popular culture

• The river is one of the symbols of the Ukrainian nation^[26] and is mentioned in the national anthem of Ukraine.


• There are several names that connect the name of the river with Ukraine: Overdnieper Ukraine, Right-bank Ukraine, Left-bank Ukraine, and others. Some of the cities on its banks — Dnipro, Dniprorudne, Kamianka-Dniprovska — are named after the river.


• The Zaporozhian Cossacks lived on the lower Dnieper and their name refers to their location "beyond the rapids".^[27]
  


• The river is referred to as Dnipro, in the song "Hey, Dnipro, Dnipro".^{[citation needed]}
  


• The folk metal band Turisas have a song called "The Dnieper Rapids" on their 2007 album The Varangian Way.^[28]
  


• 
  Leon Bolier featured a track called "Dnipro" in his debut 2-CD album Pictures. The track is said to be inspired by his visit to Kiev in May 2008.^{[citation needed]}
  


• 
  Roberto Bolaño's novel 2666 features the Dnieper as a significant feature of the village of Hans Reiter.


• Beat laureate Spencer Hash spent childhood summers observing tide patterns in the Dnieper.^{[citation needed]} It provides the backdrop for most of his 1998 novel Embassy.

Ecology

Nowadays the Dnieper River suffers from anthropogenic influence and obtain numerous emissions of pollutants.^[29] The Dnieper is close to the Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant radioactive dumps (near Kamianske), and susceptible to leakages of radioactive waste. The river is also close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station (Chernobyl Exclusion Zone) that is located next to the mouth of the Prypiat River.

See also

• 
  Dnieper portal
  


• Threat of the Dnieper reservoirs


• List of rivers of Russia


• List of rivers of Belarus


• List of rivers of Ukraine


• Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks

References and footnotes

External links

• "Комсомольская правда" об угрозах плотины Киевской ГЭС и водохранилища [1]
  


• "Аргументы и факты" о реальных угрозах дамбы Киевского водохранилища и ГЭС [2]
  


• "Известия" о проблематике плотины Киевского водохранилища и ГЭС [3]
  


• Эксперт УНИАН об угрозах дамбы Киевского водохранилища [4]