The highest point of the East European Plain. The East European Plain

Geographical position of the East European Plain

The physical and geographical name of the Russian Plain is East European. The plain occupies about $4 million sq. km. and is the second largest in the world after the Amazonian lowland. Within Russia, the plain stretches from the coast of the Baltic Sea in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. In the north, its border starts from the shores of the Barents and White Seas to the shores of the Azov and Caspian Seas in the south. From the northwest, the Russian Plain is bordered by the Scandinavian Mountains, in the west and southwest by the mountains of Central Europe and the Carpathians, in the south by the Caucasus Mountains and in the east by the Ural Mountains. Within Crimea, the border of the Russian Plain runs along the northern foot of the Crimean Mountains.

The following features defined the plain as a physiographic country:

1. The location of a slightly elevated plain on the slab of the ancient East European Platform;
2. Moderate and insufficiently humid climate, which is largely formed under the influence of the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean;
3. The flatness of the relief had an impact on a clearly defined natural zonality.

Within the plain, two unequal parts stand out:

1. Socle-denudation plain on the Baltic crystalline shield;
2. The East European Plain proper with layered erosion-denudation and accumulative relief on the Russian and Scythian plates.

Relief crystal shield is the result of prolonged continental denudation. Tectonic movements of recent times have already had a direct impact on the relief. In the Quaternary period, the territory occupied by the Baltic crystalline shield was the center of glaciation, so fresh forms of glacial relief are common here.

A powerful cover of platform deposits within actually East European Plain, lies almost horizontally. As a result, accumulative and layer-denudation lowlands and uplands were formed. The folded foundation protruding to the surface in some places formed socle-denudation hills and ridges - the Timan ridge, the Donetsk ridge, etc.

The East European Plain has an average height of about $170$ m above sea level. On the coast of the Caspian Sea, the heights will be the smallest, because the level of the Caspian itself is $ 27.6 $ m below the level of the World Ocean. Elevations rise $ 300 $ - $ 350 $ m above sea level, for example, the Podolsk Upland, whose height is $ 471 $ m.

Settlement of the East European Plain

The Eastern Slavs, according to a number of opinions, were the first to settle Eastern Europe, but this opinion, others believe, is erroneous. On this territory for the first time in the $ 30 millennium BC. Cro-Magnons appeared. To some extent, they were similar to modern representatives of the Caucasian race, and over time, their appearance became closer to the characteristic features of a person. These events took place in a harsh winter. By the $X$ millennium, the climate in Eastern Europe was no longer so severe, and the first Indo-Europeans gradually began to appear on the territory of South-Eastern Europe. No one can say exactly where they were until that moment, but it is known that in the east of Europe they firmly settled in the $VI$-th millennium BC. e. and occupied a large part of it.

Remark 1

The settlement by the Slavs of Eastern Europe occurred much later than the appearance of ancient people on it.

The peak of the settlement of the Slavs in Europe is considered to be $ V$-$VI$ centuries. new era and under the pressure of migration in the same period, they are divided into eastern, southern and western.

South Slavs settled in the Balkans and nearby territories. The tribal community ceases to exist, and the first similarities of states appear.

Simultaneously, settlement Western Slavs, which had a northwestern direction from the Vistula to the Elbe. Some of them, according to archaeological data, ended up in the Baltics. On the territory of modern Czech Republic in the $VII$ c. the first state appeared.

IN Eastern Europe the resettlement of the Slavs took place without big problems. In ancient times, they had a primitive communal system, and later a tribal one. Due to the small population, there was enough land for everyone. Within Eastern Europe, the Slavs assimilated with the Finno-Ugric tribes and began to form tribal unions. These were the first state formations. In connection with climate warming, agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting and fishing are developing. Towards the Slavs was nature itself. East Slavs gradually became the most numerous group of Slavic peoples - these are Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians. The East European Plain began to be settled by the Slavs in the early Middle Ages, and by the $VIII$ c. they already dominated it. On the plain, the Eastern Slavs settled in the neighborhood with other peoples, which had both positive and negative features. The colonization of the East European Plain by the Slavs took place over half a millennium and proceeded very unevenly. At the initial stage, land development took place along the path, which is called " from Varangians to Greeks". In more late period there was an advance of the Slavs to the east, west and southwest.

The colonization of the East European Plain by the Slavs had its own characteristics:

1. The process was slow due to the severity of the climate;
2. Different population densities in the colonized territories. The reason is the same - natural and climatic conditions, soil fertility. Naturally, there were few people in the north of the plain, and in the south of the plain, where conditions are favorable, there were much more settlers;
3. Since there was a lot of land, there were no confrontations with other peoples during the settlement;
4. Slavs imposed tribute on neighboring tribes;
5. Small peoples "merged" with the Slavs, adopting their culture, language, customs, customs, way of life.

Remark 2

In the life of the Slavic people, who settled on the territory of the East European Plain, a new stage began, associated with the rapid development of the economy, a change in the life system and way of life, and the emergence of prerequisites for the formation of statehood.

Modern exploration of the East European Plain

After the settlement and settlement of the East European Plain by the Eastern Slavs, with the beginning of the development of the economy, the question of its study arose. Outstanding scientists of the country took part in the study of the plain, among which the name of the mineralogist V. M. Severgin can be mentioned.

studying the Baltics spring $1803$ V.M. Severgin drew attention to the fact that to the south-west of Lake Peipus, the character of the terrain becomes very hilly. To test his thoughts, he walked along the $24$ meridian from the mouth of the Gauja River to the Neman River and reached the Bug River, again noting many hills and sandy elevated fields. Similar "fields" were found in the upper reaches of the Ptich and Svisloch rivers. As a result of these works, in the west of the East European Plain, for the first time, an alternation of low-lying spaces and elevated “fields” was noted with the correct indication of their directions - from the southwest to the northeast.

Detailed study Polissya was caused by the reduction of meadow spaces due to plowing of land on the right bank of the Dnieper. For this purpose, in $1873$, the Western Expedition was created to drain the swamps. At the head of this expedition was the military topographer I. I. Zhilinsky. Researchers for $25$ summer period covered about $100$ thousand sq. km. territory of Polissya, $600$ of height measurements were made, a map of the region was compiled. Based on the materials collected by I.I. Zhilinsky, the work was continued by A.A. Tillo. The hypsometric map he created showed that Polissya was a vast plain with raised edges. The results of the expedition were $300$ lakes and $500$ rivers of Polesye mapped with a total length of $9$ thousand km. A great contribution to the study of Polissya was made by the geographer G.I. Tanfiliev, who concluded that the drainage of the Polissya swamps would not lead to the shallowing of the Dnieper and P.A. Tutkovsky. He identified and mapped $5$ of uplands in the swampy areas of Polissya, including the Ovruch Ridge, from which the right tributaries of the lower Pripyat originate.

By studying Donetsk Ridge the young engineer of the Lugansk foundry, E.P. Kovalevsky, who found out that this ridge is geologically a huge basin. Kovalevsky became the discoverer of the Donbass and its first explorer, who compiled a geological map of this basin. It was he who recommended to engage in the search and exploration of ore deposits here.

In $1840$, a master of field geology R. Murchison was invited to Russia to study the natural resources of the country. Together with Russian scientists, a site was surveyed southern coast of the White Sea. In the course of the work carried out, rivers and uplands in the central part of the East European Plain were explored, hypsometric and geological maps of the area were compiled, on which the structural features of the Russian platform were clearly visible.

On south of the East European Plain the founder of scientific soil science V.V. Dokuchaev. In $1883$, while studying chernozem, he came to the conclusion that there is a special chernozem-steppe zone in Eastern Europe. On the map compiled in $1900 by V.V. Dokuchaev allocates $5$ of the main natural zones on the territory of the plain.

In subsequent years, numerous scientific studies were carried out on the territory of the East European Plain, new scientific discoveries were made, and new maps were compiled.

East European Plain (Russian Plain)- plain in Eastern Europe, component European Plain. It extends from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Black, Azov and Caspian. In the northwest it is bounded by the Scandinavian mountains, in the southwest by the Sudetenland and other mountains of central Europe, in the southeast by the Caucasus, and in the west the river Vistula serves as the conditional boundary of the plain. It is one of the largest plains in the world. The total length of the plain from north to south is more than 2.7 thousand kilometers, and from west to east - 2.5 thousand kilometers. The area is over 4 million square meters. km. . Since most of the plain is located within Russia is also known as Russian plain.

On the territory of the plain, in addition to Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria are completely or partially located.

Relief and geological structure

The East European Plain consists of uplands with altitudes of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands along which large rivers flow. Average Height plains - 170 m, and the largest - 479 m - on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland in the Cis-Urals.

According to the features of orographic features within the East European Plain, three bands are clearly distinguished: central, northern and southern. A strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands passes through the central part of the plain: Central Russian, Volga, Bugulmin

To the north of this strip, low plains predominate, on the surface of which smaller hills are scattered in garlands and singly. From west to east-northeast, the Smolensk-Moscow, Valdai Uplands and Northern Uvals stretch here, replacing each other. The watersheds between the Arctic, Atlantic and internal drainless Aral-Caspian basins mainly pass along them. From Severnye Uvaly the territory goes down to the White and Barents Seas
The southern part of the East European Plain is occupied by lowlands (Caspian, Black Sea, etc.), separated by low elevations (Ergeni, Stavropol Upland).

Almost all large uplands and lowlands are plains of tectonic origin.

At the base of the East European Plain lie Russian stove with Precambrian crystalline basement, in the south the northern edge Scythian plate with Paleozoic folded basement. The boundary between the plates in the relief is not expressed. On the uneven surface of the Precambrian basement of the Russian plate, strata of Precambrian (Vendian, in places Riphean) and Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks lie. Their thickness is not the same (from 1500-2000 to 100-150 m) and is due to the unevenness of the basement relief, which determines the main geostructures of the plate. These include syneclises - areas of deep foundation (Moscow, Pechora, Caspian, Glazov), anteclises - areas of shallow foundation (Voronezh, Volga-Ural), aulacogens - deep tectonic ditches (Kresttsovsky, Soligalichsky, Moscow, etc.), ledges Baikal basement - Timan.

Glaciation strongly influenced the formation of the relief of the East European Plain. This effect was most pronounced in the northern part of the plain. As a result of the passage of the glacier through this territory, many lakes arose (Chudskoye, Pskovskoye, Beloe and others). In the southern, southeastern and eastern parts, which were subjected to glaciation in an earlier period, their consequences are smoothed out by erosion processes.

Climate

The climate of the East European Plain is influenced by the features of its relief, geographical position in temperate and high latitudes, as well as neighboring territories (Western Europe and North Asia), the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, a significant length from west to east and from north to south. The total solar radiation per year in the north of the plain, in the Pechora basin, reaches 2700 mJ / m2 (65 kcal / cm2), and in the south, in the Caspian lowland, 4800-5050 mJ / m2 (115-120 kcal / cm2).

The smoothed relief of the plain contributes to the free transfer of air masses. The East European Plain is characterized by western transport of air masses. In summer, the Atlantic air brings coolness and precipitation, while in winter it brings warmth and precipitation. When moving east, it transforms: in summer it becomes warmer and drier in the surface layer, and colder in winter, but also loses moisture. During the cold season, 8 to 12 cyclones come from different parts of the Atlantic to the East European Plain. When they move to the east or northeast, there is a sharp change in air masses, contributing to either warming or cooling. With the arrival of southwestern cyclones, the south of the plain is invaded by warm air subtropical latitudes. Then in January the air temperature can rise to 5°-7°C. The general continentality of the climate increases from the west and northwest to the south and southeast.

In summer, almost everywhere on the plain, the most important factor in the distribution of temperature is solar radiation, therefore, isotherms, unlike winter, are located mainly in accordance with geographic latitude. In the extreme north of the plain, the average July temperature rises to 8°C. The average July isotherm of 20°C goes through Voronezh to Cheboksary, approximately coinciding with the border between forest and forest-steppe, and the isotherm of 24°C crosses the Caspian lowland.

In the north of the East European Plain, more precipitation falls than can be evaporated under given temperature conditions. In the south of the northern climatic region, the moisture balance approaches neutral (atmospheric precipitation is equal to the evaporation rate).

Relief has an important influence on the amount of precipitation: on the western slopes of the uplands, precipitation is 150-200 mm more than on the eastern slopes and the lowlands shaded by them. In summer, on the uplands of the southern half of the Russian Plain, the frequency of rainy weather types almost doubles, while the frequency of dry weather types decreases at the same time. In the southern part of the plain, the maximum precipitation occurs in June, and in the middle lane - in July.

In the south of the plain, the annual and monthly totals of precipitation fluctuate sharply, wet years alternate with dry ones. In Buguruslan (Orenburg region), for example, according to observations over 38 years, the average annual precipitation is 349 mm, the maximum annual precipitation is 556 mm, and the minimum is 144 mm. Droughts are a frequent occurrence for the south and southeast of the East European Plain. Drought can be spring, summer or autumn. About one year out of three is dry.

In winter, a snow cover forms. In the north-east of the plain, its height reaches 60-70 cm, and the duration of occurrence is up to 220 days a year. In the south, the height of the snow cover decreases to 10-20 cm, and the duration of occurrence is up to 60 days.

Hydrography

The East European Plain has a developed lake-river network, the density and regime of which change following climatic conditions from North to South. In the same direction, the degree of swampiness of the territory, as well as the depth of occurrence and the quality of groundwater, change.

Rivers

Most of the rivers of the East European Plain have two main directions - northern and southern. The rivers of the northern slope flow to the Barents, White and Baltic Seas, the rivers of the southern slope head to the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.

The main watershed between the rivers of the sowing and southern slopes is stretched from the west-southwest to the east-northeast. It passes through the swamps of Polesie, the Lithuanian-Belarusian and Valdai Uplands, Northern Uvals. The most important watershed junction lies on the Valdai Upland. The sources of the Zapadnaya Dvina, the Dnieper and the Volga lie in close proximity here.

All rivers of the East European Plain belong to the same climatic type - predominantly snow-fed with spring floods. Despite belonging to the same climatic type, the rivers of the northern slope differ significantly in their regime from the rivers of the southern slope. The former are located in an area of ​​positive moisture balance, in which precipitation prevails over evaporation.

With an annual precipitation of 400-600 mm in the north of the East European Plain in the tundra zone, the actual evaporation from the earth's surface is 100 mm or less; in the middle lane, where the evaporation ridge passes, 500 mm in the west and 300 mm in the east. As a result, the share of river flow here is from 150 to 350 mm per year, or from 5 to 15 l / s per square kilometer of area. The crest of the runoff passes through the hinterland of Karelia (the northern coast of Lake Onega), the middle reaches of the Northern Dvina and the upper reaches of the Pechora.

Due to the large runoff, the rivers of the northern slope (Northern Dvina, Pechora, Neva, etc.) are full of water. Occupying 37.5% of the area of ​​the Russian Plain, they provide 58% of its total runoff. The abundance of water in these rivers is combined with a more or less uniform distribution of runoff over the seasons. Although snow nutrition is in the first place for them, causing spring floods, rain and ground types of nutrition also play a significant role.

The rivers of the southern slope of the East European Plain flow in conditions of significant evaporation (500-300 mm in the north and 350-200 mm in the south) and a small amount of precipitation compared to the rivers of the northern slope (600-500 mm in the north and 350-200 mm in the south), which leads to a reduction in runoff from 150-200 mm in the north to 10-25 mm in the south. If we express the flow of rivers of the southern slope in liters per second per square kilometer of area, then in the north it will be only 4-6 liters, and in the southeast less than 0.5 liters. The insignificant size of the runoff determines the low water of the rivers of the southern slope and its extreme unevenness during the year: the maximum runoff falls on a short period of spring flood.

lakes

The lakes are located on the East European Plain extremely unevenly. Most of them are in the well-moistened northwest. The southeastern part of the plain, on the contrary, is almost devoid of lakes. It receives little atmospheric precipitation and, moreover, has a mature erosional relief, devoid of closed basin forms. On the territory of the Russian Plain, four lake regions can be distinguished: the region of glacial-tectonic lakes, the region of moraine lakes, the region of floodplain and suffusion-karst lakes, and the region of estuary lakes.

Region of glacial-tectonic lakes

Glacial-tectonic lakes are common in Karelia, Finland and the Kola Peninsula, forming a real lake country. Only in the territory of Karelia there are almost 44 thousand lakes with an area from 1 hectare to several hundred and thousand square kilometers. The lakes of this area, often large, are scattered along tectonic depressions, deepened and processed by the glacier. Their shores are rocky, composed of ancient crystalline rocks.

Region of moraine lakes Region of floodplain and suffosion-karst lakes

The inner central and southern regions of the East European Plain cover the area of ​​floodplain and suffosion-karst lakes. This area lies outside the boundaries of glaciation, with the exception of the northwest, covered by the Dnieper glacier. Due to the well-pronounced erosion relief, there are few lakes in the region. Only floodplain lakes along river valleys are common; occasionally there are small karst and suffusion lakes.

Area of ​​firth lakes

The area of ​​estuary lakes is located on the territory of two coastal lowlands - the Black Sea and the Caspian. At the same time, estuaries are understood here as lakes of various origins. The estuaries of the Black Sea Lowland are sea bays (in the past, river mouths), fenced off from the sea by sand spits. Limans, or ilmens, of the Caspian Lowland are poorly formed depressions that are filled with water from the rivers flowing into them in spring, and in summer turn into swamps, salt marshes or hayfields.

The groundwater

Groundwater is distributed throughout the East European Plain, forming the East European platform artesian region. The depressions of the foundation serve as reservoirs for the accumulation of waters of artesian basins of various sizes. Within Russia, three artesian basins of the first order are distinguished here: Central Russian, East Russian and Caspian. Within their limits, there are artesian basins of the second order: Moscow, Sursko-Khopyor, Volga-Kama, Cis-Ural, etc. One of the large ones is the Moscow basin, confined to the syneclise of the same name, which contains pressure waters in fractured carbonic limestones.

With depth chemical composition and temperature groundwater change. Fresh waters have a thickness of no more than 250 m, and their mineralization increases with depth - from fresh hydrocarbonate to brackish and salty sulfate and chloride, and below - to chloride, sodium brines and in the deepest parts of the basin - to calcium-sodium. The temperature rises and reaches a maximum of about 70°C at depths of 2 km in the west and 3.5 km in the east.

natural areas

On the East European Plain, there are practically all types of natural zones available on the territory of Russia.

The most common natural areas (from north to south):

• Tundra (northern Kola Peninsula)
• Taiga - Olonets Plain.
• Mixed forests - Central Berezinsky plain, Orsha-Mogilev plain, Meshchera lowland.
• Broad-leaved forests (Mazowiecke-Podlaskie Lowland)
• Forest-steppe - Oka-Don Plain, including the Tambov Plain.
• Steppes and semi-deserts - Black Sea lowland, Ciscaucasian plain (Kuban lowland, Chechen plain) and Caspian lowland.

Natural territorial complex of the plain

The East European Plain is one of the large natural territorial complexes (NTC) of Russia, the features of which are:

• large area: the second largest plain in the world;
• Rich Resources: PTK has rich land resources, for example: minerals, water and plant resources, fertile soil, many cultural and tourism resources;
• historical significance: many important events in the history of Russia took place on the plain, which is undoubtedly an advantage of this zone.

On the territory of the plain are Largest cities Russia. This is the center of the beginning and foundation of Russian culture. Great writers drew inspiration from the beautiful and picturesque places of the East European plain.

The variety of natural complexes of the Russian Plain is great. These are flat coastal lowlands covered with shrub-moss tundra, and hilly-morainic plains with spruce or coniferous-broad-leaved forests, and extensive swampy lowlands, erosion-dissected forest-steppe uplands and floodplains, overgrown with meadows and shrubs. The largest complexes of the plain are the natural zones. The features of the relief and climate of the Russian Plain determine a clear change within its natural zones from northwest to southeast, from tundra to deserts. temperate zone. The most complete set of natural zones can be traced here in comparison with other large natural regions of our country. The northernmost regions of the Russian Plain are occupied by tundra and forest tundra. The warming effect of the Barents Sea is manifested in the fact that the strip - tundra and forest-tundra on the Russian Plain is narrow. It expands only in the east, where the severity of the climate increases. The climate on the Kola Peninsula is humid, and winters are unusually warm for these latitudes. Plant communities are also peculiar here: shrub tundra with crowberry are replaced to the south by birch forest tundra. More than half of the plain area is occupied by forests. In the west they reach 50°N. sh., and in the east - up to 55 ° N. sh. There are zones of taiga and mixed and broad-leaved forests. Both zones are heavily swamped in the western part, where precipitation is high. Spruce and pine forests are widespread in the taiga of the Russian Plain. The zone of mixed and broad-leaved forests gradually wedges out to the east, where the climate becomes more continental. Most of this zone is occupied by the NTC of moraine plains. Picturesque hills and ridges with mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, which do not form large massifs, with meadows and fields alternate with monotonous sandy, often marshy lowlands. There are many small lakes filled with clear waters and intricately winding rivers. And a huge number of boulders: from large ones, the size of freight car to very small ones. They are everywhere: on the slopes and tops of hills and hills, in the lowlands, on arable land, in forests, riverbeds. To the south, sandy plains - woodlands, remaining after the retreat of the glacier, appear. Broad-leaved forests do not grow on poor sandy soils. Pine forests dominate here. Large areas of woodlands are swamped. Among the swamps, low-lying herbaceous ones predominate, but there are also upland sphagnum ones. A forest-steppe zone stretches along the edge of the forests from that west to the northeast. Uplands and low plains alternate in the forest-steppe zone. The uplands are dissected by a dense network of deep gullies and ravines and are better moistened than the low plains. Prior to human intervention, they were predominantly covered by oak forests on gray forest soils. Meadow steppes on chernozems occupied smaller areas. The low plains are poorly dissected. There are many small depressions (depressions) on them. In the past, meadow forb steppes on chernozems dominated here. Currently, large areas in the forest-steppe zone are plowed up. This causes increased erosion. The forest-steppe is replaced by the steppe zone. The steppe spreads out as a wide boundless plain, more often completely flat, in places with mounds and small hills. Where areas of steppe virgin lands have been preserved, at the beginning of summer it seems silvery from flowering feather grass and worries like the sea. At present, fields are visible everywhere as far as the eye can see. You can drive tens of kilometers, and the picture will not change. In the extreme southeast, in the Caspian Sea, there are zones of semi-deserts and deserts. The temperate continental climate determined the dominance of spruce forests in the forest-tundra and taiga of the Russian Plain, and oak forests in the forest-steppe zone. The increase in continentality and dryness of the climate was reflected in a more complete set of natural zones in the eastern part of the plain, the shift of their boundaries to the north, and the wedging out of the zone of mixed and broad-leaved forests.

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Notes

Literature

• Lebedinsky V.I. Volcanic crown of the Great Plain. - M .: Nauka, 1973. - 192 p. - (The present and future of the Earth and mankind). - 14,000 copies.
• Koronkevich N. I. Water balance of the Russian Plain and its anthropogenic changes / USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geography. - M .: Nauka, 1990. - 208 p. - (Problems of constructive geography). - 650 copies. - ISBN 5-02-003394-4.
• Vorobyov V. M. Volokovye ways on the Main watershed of the Russian Plain. Tutorial. - Tver: Slavic world, 2007. - 180 p., ill.

Links

• East European Plain // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.

An excerpt characterizing the East European Plain

Prince Bagration, having driven to the highest point of our right flank, began to descend, where erratic shooting was heard and nothing was visible from the powder smoke. The closer they descended to the hollow, the less they could see, but the more sensitive became the proximity of the real battlefield itself. They began to meet the wounded. One with a bloody head, without a hat, was dragged by two soldiers by the arms. He wheezed and spat. The bullet hit, apparently, in the mouth or throat. Another, whom he met, was walking briskly alone, without a gun, groaning loudly and waving his hand in fresh pain, from which blood was pouring, like from a glass, onto his overcoat. His face looked more frightened than hurt. He was wounded a minute ago. Having crossed the road, they began to descend steeply and on the descent they saw several people who were lying; they met a crowd of soldiers, some of whom were not wounded. The soldiers walked uphill, breathing heavily, and, despite the appearance of the general, they talked loudly and waved their hands. Ahead, in the smoke, rows of gray overcoats were already visible, and the officer, seeing Bagration, ran screaming after the soldiers marching in a crowd, demanding that they return. Bagration rode up to the ranks, along which here and there shots quickly clicked, drowning out the conversation and shouts of command. All the air was saturated with gunpowder smoke. The faces of the soldiers were all smoked with gunpowder and animated. Others beat them with ramrods, others sprinkled them on the shelves, took out charges from their bags, and still others fired. But whom they were shooting at, this was not visible from the powder smoke, which was not blown away by the wind. Quite often, pleasant sounds of buzzing and whistling were heard. "What it is? - thought Prince Andrei, driving up to this crowd of soldiers. “It can't be an attack because they don't move; there can't be carre: they don't cost that much."
A thin, weak-looking old man, a regimental commander, with a pleasant smile, with eyelids that more than half closed his senile eyes, giving him a meek appearance, rode up to Prince Bagration and received him as a master dear guest. He reported to Prince Bagration that there was a French cavalry attack against his regiment, but that, although this attack was repulsed, the regiment lost more than half of its people. The regimental commander said that the attack was repulsed, giving this military name to what was happening in his regiment; but he really did not himself know what was happening in those half an hour in the troops entrusted to him, and could not say with certainty whether the attack was repulsed or his regiment was defeated by the attack. At the beginning of the actions, he only knew that cores and grenades began to fly all over his regiment and beat people, that then someone shouted: “cavalry”, and ours began to shoot. And so far they have been shooting not at the cavalry, which disappeared, but at the French foot soldiers, who appeared in the hollow and fired at ours. Prince Bagration bowed his head as a sign that all this was exactly as he wished and assumed. Turning to the adjutant, he ordered him to bring two battalions of the 6th Chasseurs from the mountain, past which they had now passed. Prince Andrei was struck at that moment by the change that had taken place in the face of Prince Bagration. His face expressed that concentrated and happy determination that a person has when he is ready to throw himself into the water on a hot day and takes the last run. There were no sleepy dull eyes, no feigned thoughtful look: round, hard, hawk-like eyes gazed forward enthusiastically and somewhat contemptuously, obviously not stopping at anything, although his former slowness and measuredness remained in his movements.
The regimental commander turned to Prince Bagration, begging him to drive back, as it was too dangerous here. "Have mercy, your Excellency, for God's sake!" he said, looking for confirmation at the retinue officer, who was turning away from him. "Here, if you please, see!" He let them see the bullets, which incessantly squealed, sang and whistled around them. He spoke in such a tone of request and reproach, with which a carpenter says to a master holding an ax: “Our business is familiar, but you will get your hands wet.” He spoke as if he himself could not be killed by these bullets, and his half-closed eyes made his words even more convincing. The staff officer joined in the exhortations of the regimental commander; but Prince Bagration did not answer them and only ordered them to stop firing and line up in such a way as to make room for the two battalions that were approaching. While he was talking, as if by an invisible hand stretched from right to left, from the rising wind, a canopy of smoke that hid the hollow, and the opposite mountain with the French moving along it opened up before them. All eyes were involuntarily fixed on this French column, moving towards us and meandering along the ledges of the terrain. The furry hats of the soldiers were already visible; it was already possible to distinguish officers from privates; one could see how their banner fluttered on the staff.
“They are going well,” said someone in Bagration’s retinue.
The head of the column had already descended into the hollow. The collision must have taken place on this side of the descent...
The remnants of our regiment, which was in action, hastily forming up, retreated to the right; from behind them, dispersing the stragglers, two battalions of the 6th Chasseurs approached harmoniously. They had not yet reached Bagration, and already a heavy, heavy step was heard, beaten in the leg by the whole mass of people. From the left flank, the company commander walked closest to Bagration, a round-faced, stately man with a stupid, happy expression on his face, the same one who ran out of the booth. He apparently did not think of anything at that moment, except that he would pass by the authorities as a fine fellow.
With ruthless self-satisfaction, he walked lightly on muscular legs, as if he were swimming, stretching himself without the slightest effort and differing in this lightness from the heavy step of the soldiers walking along his step. He carried at his foot a thin, narrow sword (a bent skewer that did not look like a weapon) at his foot, and, looking now at his superiors, then back, without losing his step, flexibly turned around with his whole strong camp. It seemed that all the forces of his soul were aimed at the best way walk past the authorities, and feeling that he was doing this job well, he was happy. “Left ... left ... left ...”, he seemed to say inwardly every step, and according to this tact, with variously strict faces, a wall of soldier figures, weighed down with satchels and guns, moved, as if each of these hundreds of soldiers mentally sentenced every step: “ left ... left ... left ... ". The fat major, puffing and breaking his pace, went around the bush along the road; a lagging soldier, out of breath, with a frightened face for his malfunction, was trotting up to the company; the ball, pressing the air, flew over the head of Prince Bagration and his retinue and in time: “left - left!” hit the column. "Close up!" I heard the flaunting voice of the company commander. The soldiers arced around something in the place where the ball fell; the old cavalier, a flank non-commissioned officer, lagging behind the dead, caught up with his line, jumped up, changed his foot, fell into step and looked around angrily. “Left…left…left…” seemed to be heard from behind the menacing silence and the monotonous sound of feet hitting the ground at the same time.
- Well done guys! - said Prince Bagration.
"For the sake of ... hoo ho ho ho! ..." resounded through the ranks. The gloomy soldier who was walking on the left, shouting, looked round at Bagration with such an expression as if he were saying: "we know ourselves"; the other, without looking back and as if afraid of being entertained, with his mouth open, shouted and passed.
They were ordered to stop and take off their knapsacks.
Bagration rode around the rows that passed by him and dismounted from his horse. He gave the Cossack the reins, took off and handed over the cloak, straightened his legs and straightened his cap on his head. The head of the French column, with officers in front, appeared from under the mountain.
"With God blessing!" Bagration spoke in a firm, audible voice, turned for a moment to the front and, slightly waving his arms, with the awkward step of a cavalryman, as if laboring, went forward across the uneven field. Prince Andrei felt that some irresistible force was drawing him forward, and he experienced great happiness. [Here the attack occurred, about which Thiers says: “Les russes se conduisirent vaillamment, et chose rare a la guerre, on vit deux masses d" infanterie Mariecher resolument l "une contre l" autre sans qu "aucune des deux ceda avant d "etre abordee"; and Napoleon on St. Helena said: "Quelques bataillons russes montrerent de l" intrepidite ". [The Russians behaved valiantly, and a rare thing in war, two masses of infantry marched decisively against one another, and neither of the two gave way until the very collision. Napoleon's words: [Several Russian battalions showed fearlessness.]
The French were already close; already Prince Andrei, walking next to Bagration, clearly distinguished the bandages, red epaulettes, even the faces of the French. (He clearly saw one old French officer, who, with twisted legs in boots, was with difficulty walking uphill.) Prince Bagration did not give a new order and still silently walked in front of the ranks. Suddenly, one shot crackled between the French, another, a third ... and smoke spread through all the upset enemy ranks and the firing crackled. Several of our men fell, including the round-faced officer who walked so cheerfully and diligently. But at the same moment as the first shot rang out, Bagration looked around and shouted: "Hurrah!"
"Hurrah ah ah!" a drawn-out cry resounded along our line, and, overtaking Prince Bagration and each other, in a discordant, but cheerful and lively crowd, ours ran downhill after the upset French.

The attack of the 6th Chasseurs ensured the retreat of the right flank. In the center, the action of Tushin's forgotten battery, which managed to set fire to Shengraben, stopped the movement of the French. The French extinguished the fire carried by the wind and gave time to retreat. The retreat of the center through the ravine was carried out hastily and noisily; however, the troops, retreating, were not confused by teams. But the left flank, which was simultaneously attacked and bypassed by the excellent forces of the French under the command of Lann and which consisted of the Azov and Podolsky infantry and Pavlograd hussar regiments, was upset. Bagration sent Zherkov to the general of the left flank with orders to retreat immediately.
Zherkov briskly, without taking his hand off his cap, touched the horse and galloped off. But as soon as he drove away from Bagration, his forces betrayed him. An insurmountable fear came over him, and he could not go where it was dangerous.
Having approached the troops of the left flank, he did not go forward, where there was shooting, but began to look for the general and commanders where they could not be, and therefore did not give orders.
The command of the left flank belonged in seniority to the regimental commander of the very regiment that presented itself under Braunau Kutuzov and in which Dolokhov served as a soldier. The command of the extreme left flank was assigned to the commander of the Pavlograd regiment, where Rostov served, as a result of which there was a misunderstanding. Both commanders were greatly irritated against each other, and at the same time that the right flank had long been going on and the French had already launched an offensive, both commanders were busy with negotiations that aimed to offend each other. The regiments, both cavalry and infantry, were very little prepared for the upcoming business. The people of the regiments, from a soldier to a general, did not expect a battle and calmly engaged in peaceful affairs: feeding the horses in the cavalry, collecting firewood in the infantry.
“He is, however, older than me in rank,” said the German, a hussar colonel, blushing and turning to the adjutant who drove up, “then leave him to do as he wants. I cannot sacrifice my hussars. Trumpeter! Play Retreat!
But things were getting rushed. Cannonade and shooting, merging, thundered from the right and in the center, and the French hoods of Lannes' shooters were already passing the mill dam and lined up on this side in two rifle shots. The infantry colonel with a shuddering gait approached the horse and, mounting it and becoming very straight and tall, rode to the Pavlograd commander. The regimental commanders arrived with courteous bows and hidden malice in their hearts.
“Again, colonel,” said the general, “however, I cannot leave half the people in the forest. I beg you, I beg you,” he repeated, “take position and prepare for the attack.
“And I ask you not to interfere with your own business,” the colonel answered, getting excited. - If you were a cavalryman ...
- I'm not a cavalryman, Colonel, but I'm a Russian general, and if you don't know...
“Very well known, Your Excellency,” the colonel suddenly cried out, touching the horse, and turning red-purple. - Would you like to join the chains, and you will see that this position is worthless. I don't want to destroy my regiment for your pleasure.
“You are forgetting, Colonel. I do not observe my pleasure and I will not allow it to be said.
The general, accepting the colonel's invitation to the tournament of courage, straightening his chest and frowning, rode with him in the direction of the chain, as if all their disagreement was to be decided there, in the chain, under the bullets. They arrived at the chain, several bullets flew over them, and they silently stopped. There was nothing to see in the chain, since even from the place where they had previously stood, it was clear that it was impossible for the cavalry to operate through the bushes and ravines, and that the French were bypassing the left wing. The general and the colonel looked sternly and significantly as the two roosters, preparing for battle, looked at each other, waiting in vain for signs of cowardice. Both passed the test. Since there was nothing to say, and neither one nor the other wanted to give a reason to the other to say that he was the first to get out from under the bullets, they would have stood there for a long time, mutually experiencing courage, if at that time in the forest, almost behind them, the rattle of guns and a muffled, merging cry were heard. The French attacked the soldiers who were in the forest with firewood. The hussars could no longer retreat with the infantry. They were cut off from the retreat to the left by a French line. Now, however inconvenient the terrain was, it was necessary to attack in order to make their way.
The squadron, where Rostov served, who had just managed to get on his horses, was stopped facing the enemy. Again, as on the Ensky bridge, there was no one between the squadron and the enemy, and between them, separating them, lay the same terrible line of uncertainty and fear, as it were, a line separating the living from the dead. All people felt this line, and the question of whether or not they would cross the line and how they would cross the line worried them.
A colonel rode up to the front, angrily answered something to the questions of the officers, and, like a man desperately insisting on his own, gave some kind of order. No one said anything definitive, but rumors of an attack swept through the squadron. There was a command to build, then sabers screeched out of their scabbards. But still no one moved. The troops of the left flank, both the infantry and the hussars, felt that the authorities themselves did not know what to do, and the indecision of the commanders was communicated to the troops.
“Hurry, hurry,” thought Rostov, feeling that at last the time had come to taste the pleasure of the attack, about which he had heard so much from his comrades hussars.
- With God, g "fuck," Denisov's voice sounded, - g "ysyo, magician" sh!
In the front row, the croups of horses swayed. Grachik pulled the reins and set off on his own.
On the right, Rostov saw the first ranks of his hussars, and even further ahead he could see a dark stripe, which he could not see, but considered the enemy. Shots were heard, but in the distance.
- Add lynx! - a command was heard, and Rostov felt how he was giving in backwards, interrupting his Grachik at a gallop.
He guessed his movements ahead, and he became more and more cheerful. He noticed a lone tree ahead. This tree was at first in front, in the middle of that line that seemed so terrible. And so they crossed this line, and not only was there nothing terrible, but it became more and more cheerful and lively. "Oh, how I will cut him," thought Rostov, clutching the hilt of the saber in his hand.
– Oh oh oh ah ah!! - voices boomed. "Well, now whoever gets caught," thought Rostov, pressing Grachik's spurs, and, overtaking the others, let him go all over the quarry. The enemy was already visible ahead. Suddenly, like a wide broom, something lashed the squadron. Rostov raised his saber, preparing to cut, but at that time the soldier Nikitenko, galloping ahead, separated from him, and Rostov felt, as in a dream, that he continued to rush forward with unnatural speed and at the same time remained in place. Behind him, the familiar hussar Bandarchuk galloped up at him and looked angrily. Bandarchuk's horse shied away, and he galloped past.
"What is this? am I not moving? “I fell, I was killed ...” Rostov asked and answered in an instant. He was already alone in the middle of the field. Instead of moving horses and hussar backs, he saw around him motionless earth and stubble. Warm blood was under him. "No, I am wounded and the horse is killed." Rook got up on his front legs, but fell, crushing his rider's leg. Blood was flowing from the horse's head. The horse struggled and could not get up. Rostov wanted to get up and fell too: the cart caught on the saddle. Where were ours, where were the French - he did not know. Nobody was around.
He freed his leg and stood up. “Where, on what side was now that line that so sharply separated the two troops?” he asked himself and could not answer. “Has something bad happened to me? Are there such cases, and what should be done in such cases? he asked himself, getting up; and at that time he felt that something superfluous was hanging on his left numb hand. Her brush was like someone else's. He looked at his hand, searching in vain for blood. “Well, here are the people,” he thought happily, seeing several people running towards him. “They will help me!” Ahead of these people ran one in a strange shako and in a blue overcoat, black, tanned, with a hooked nose. Two more and many more fled behind. One of them said something strange, non-Russian. Between the rear of the same people, in the same shakos, stood one Russian hussar. He was held by the hands; his horse was kept behind him.
“That's right, our prisoner ... Yes. Will they take me too? What kind of people are these? Rostov kept thinking, not believing his eyes. "Are they French?" He looked at the approaching French, and despite the fact that in a second he galloped only to overtake these Frenchmen and cut them down, their proximity now seemed to him so terrible that he could not believe his eyes. "Who are they? Why are they running? Really to me? Are they running towards me? And for what? Kill me? Me, whom everyone loves so much? - He remembered the love for him of his mother, family, friends, and the intention of the enemies to kill him seemed impossible. "Or maybe - and kill!" He stood for more than ten seconds, not moving from his place and not understanding his position. The hump-nosed Frenchman in front ran so close that you could already see the expression on his face. And the heated, alien physiognomy of this man, who, with a bayonet in excess, holding his breath, easily ran up to him, frightened Rostov. He grabbed a pistol and, instead of firing it, threw it at the Frenchman and ran towards the bushes with all his might. Not with that feeling of doubt and struggle with which he went to the Ensky bridge, he fled, but with the feeling of a hare running away from dogs. One inseparable feeling of fear for his young, happy life dominated his entire being. Quickly jumping over the fences, with the swiftness with which he ran, playing burners, he flew across the field, occasionally turning his pale, kind, young face, and a chill of horror ran down his back. "No, it's better not to look," he thought, but, running up to the bushes, he looked back again. The French lagged behind, and even at the moment he looked back, the one in front had just changed his trot to a step and, turning around, was shouting something loudly to his rear comrade. Rostov stopped. "Something's wrong," he thought, "it can't be that they want to kill me." Meanwhile, his left hand was so heavy, as if a two-pound weight was hung from it. He couldn't run any further. The Frenchman also stopped and took aim. Rostov closed his eyes and bent down. One, another bullet flew, buzzing, past him. He gathered his last strength, took left hand to the right and ran to the bushes. There were Russian arrows in the bushes.

Infantry regiments, caught unawares in the forest, ran out of the forest, and companies, mingling with other companies, left in disorderly crowds. One soldier, in fright, uttered a terrible and meaningless word in the war: “cut off!”, And the word, along with a feeling of fear, was communicated to the whole mass.
- Bypassed! Cut off! Gone! shouted the voices of the fugitives.
The regimental commander, at the very moment he heard the shooting and shouting from behind, realized that something terrible had happened to his regiment, and the thought that he, an exemplary, who had served for many years, an innocent officer, could be guilty before his superiors in an oversight or indiscipline, so struck him that at that very moment, forgetting both the recalcitrant cavalryman colonel and his general importance, and most importantly - completely forgetting about danger and a sense of self-preservation, he, grabbing the pommel of the saddle and spurring his horse, galloped to the regiment under a hail of bullets that sprinkled, but happily passed him by. He wanted one thing: to find out what was the matter, and to help and correct the mistake at all costs, if it was on his part, and not be guilty of him, having served for twenty-two years, an exemplary officer who was not noticed in anything.

Relief, history of development

Geostructurally, the East European Plain basically corresponds to the East European Platform. At its base lie strongly dislocated crystalline rocks protruding to the day surface within the Baltic and Ukrainian shields. In the rest of the much larger part of the platform, crystalline rocks are hidden under a layer of gently sloping sedimentary rocks that make up the Russian Plate. The southern part of the East European Plain (from the Sea of ​​Azov to the Caspian Sea) corresponds to the Scythian Plate, where rocks of a strongly deformed Hercynian basement lie under the cover of platform sedimentary formations.

The East European Plain is divided into two unequal parts: the socle-denudation plain on the Baltic crystalline shield and the Russian Plain proper with layered erosion-denudation and accumulative relief on the Russian and Scythian plates. Socle-denudation lowlands and uplands on the Baltic Shield with a height of up to 300-600 m (Manselkya, Suomenselkya, West Karelian, etc.) include areas of massive hills and plateaus with heights of more than 1000 m (massif up to 1190 m). The relief of the shield arose as a result of long-term continental denudation and preparation of structural forms composed of relatively strong rocks. Recent tectonic movements had a direct impact on the relief, especially faults that bound massifs and depressions, river valleys and the basins of numerous lakes. During the Anthropogenic time, the territory of the Baltic Shield served as the center of glaciation, so fresh forms of glacial relief are widespread here.

Within the limits of the Russian Plain proper, a thick cover of platform deposits lies almost horizontally, composing accumulative and stratal-denudation lowlands and uplands, mainly corresponding to depressions and elevations of the folded base. In some places, the folded basement protrudes to the surface, forming socle-denudation uplands and ridges (the Dnieper and Azov uplands, the Timan and Donetsk ridges).

The average height of the Russian Plain is about 170 m. The lowest heights are on the coast of the Caspian Sea, the level of which is 27.6 m lower. The heights rise up to 300-350 m above sea level (Podolsk Upland, up to 471 m). The relative excess of watersheds over valleys averages 20-60 m.

The Russian Plain is subdivided into three morphological zones. In the northern part, stratal-denudation lowlands and uplands of pre-anthropogenic age are widespread with landforms of glacial and water-glacial origin superimposed on them. Glacial-accumulative forms are most pronounced in the northwest, in the area of ​​the last (Valdai) glaciation, where hilly ridges and uplands stretch: Baltic, Valdai, Vepsovskaya, Belozerskaya, Konoshsko-Nyandoma. This is the region of the Lake District with its characteristic abundance of lakes (, Kubenskoye, Vozhe, etc.).

To the south, southeast, and east, there is an area that was subjected only to more ancient glaciations, where the original glacial-accumulative relief was reworked by erosion-denudation processes. Moraine-erosion uplands and ridges (Belarusian, Smolensk-Moscow, Borisoglebskaya, Danilevskaya, Galichsko-Chukhloma, Onego-Dvinskaya, Dvinsko-Mezenskaya, Northern Uvaly) alternate with extensive moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial and alluvial lowland plains (Upper Volga, Dvinsko - Mezenskaya, Pechorskaya, etc.).

To the south there is a zone of erosion-denudation layer-monoclinal uplands and accumulative lowlands, elongated mainly in the meridional and submeridional directions and caused by the alternation of waves of recent uplifts and relative subsidence. In the direction from the southwest to the northeast, elevations are traced: Bessarabian, Volyn, Podolsk, Pridneprovsk, Azov, Ergeni, upland, Poduralskoe plateau. Uplands alternate with outwash and alluvial-terraced lowland plains: Pripyat, Dnieper, Gorky Trans-Volga, Meshcherskaya, Oka-Don, Ulyanovsk and Saratov Trans-Volga.

In the extreme south and southeast of the East European Plain, a strip of coastal lowlands extends, which experienced tectonic subsidence and partial subsidence under sea level in the Neogene and Anthropogene. The original flat plain relief of marine accumulation here has been reworked to varying degrees by the processes of water erosion and loess accumulation (Black Sea lowland), alluvial-proluvial accumulation (Azov-Kuban lowland), fluvial and eolian processes ().

Hydrography

Hydrographically, the territory of the East European Plain is divided into two parts. Most of them have a drain into the ocean. The northern rivers ( , ) belong to the basin , the western and southern rivers belong to the basin . The latter include rivers flowing into the Baltic (, rivers and), Black (,) and Azov () seas. The rivers of the basins, and some others, flow into, which have lost contact with.

Climate

Most of the East European Plain belongs to that region of the temperate zone, where there is a gradual transition from maritime to continental climate. Western winds prevail. The influence of the air masses of the Atlantic Ocean weakens from the northwest to the southeast, in connection with which there is excessive moisture in the north and northwest, sufficient moisture in the central zone, and insufficient moisture in the southeast. The extreme north of the East European Plain belongs to the subarctic zone with a predominance of temperate types of air masses in summer and arctic types of air masses in winter, with significant seasonal fluctuations in air temperature, with the development of permafrost rocks and soils. In the extreme southeast of the plain, the climate is continental, arid, with large seasonal fluctuations in air temperature.

natural areas

The East European Plain is characterized by a distinct natural zonality. In a narrow strip of the coast of the Barents Sea, subarctic moss-lichen tundra dominates. To the south are the temperate zones. The most significant strip of forests, stretching from and to. Along the line - it is divided into dark coniferous taiga and mixed (coniferous-broad-leaved) forests, turning into broad-leaved forests in the extreme south-west of the plain. To the south, from the Carpathians to the Urals, a forest-steppe zone stretches, beyond which a steppe zone extends to the Black and Azov Seas and to the Caucasus. The vast territory of the Caspian lowland and the Sub-Ural plateau is occupied by semi-deserts and deserts.

The Russian Plain served for centuries as a territory connecting western and eastern civilizations by trade routes. Historically, two busy trade arteries ran through these lands. The first is known as "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks." According to it, as is known from school history, the medieval trade in goods of the peoples of the East and Rus' with the states of Western Europe was carried out.

The second is the route along the Volga, which made it possible to transport goods by ship to Southern Europe from China, India and Central Asia and in the opposite direction. The first Russian cities were built along the trade routes - Kyiv, Smolensk, Rostov. Veliky Novgorod became the northern gate of the way from the "Varangians", guarding the safety of trade.

Now the Russian Plain is still a territory of strategic importance. The capital of the country and the largest cities are located on its lands. The most important administrative centers for the life of the state are concentrated here.

The geographical position of the plain

The East European Plain, or Russian, occupies territories in the east of Europe. In Russia, these are its extreme western lands. In the northwest and west, it is bounded by the Scandinavian Mountains, the Barents and White Seas, the Baltic coast and the Vistula River. In the east and southeast it is adjacent to the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus. In the south, the plain is bounded by the shores of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.

Relief features and landscape

The East European Plain is represented by a gently sloping flat relief formed as a result of faults in tectonic rocks. According to relief features, the massif can be divided into three bands: central, southern and northern. The center of the plain consists of vast uplands and lowlands alternating with each other. The north and south are mostly represented by lowlands with occasional low elevations.

Although the relief is formed in a tectonic way and minor shocks are possible on the territory, there are no tangible earthquakes here.

Natural areas and regions

(The plain has planes with characteristic smooth drops.)

The East European Plain includes all natural zones found on the territory of Russia:

• Tundra and forest-tundra are represented by the nature of the north of the Kola Peninsula and occupy a small part of the territory, slightly expanding towards the east. The vegetation of the tundra, namely, shrubs, mosses and lichens, is replaced by birch forests of the forest tundra.
• The taiga, with its pine and spruce forests, occupies the north and center of the plain. On the borders with mixed broad-leaved forests, places are often swampy. A typical Eastern European landscape - coniferous and mixed forests and swamps are replaced by small rivers and lakes.
• In the forest-steppe zone, one can see alternating uplands and lowlands. Oak and ash forests are typical for this zone. Often you can find birch-aspen forests.
• The steppe is represented by valleys, where oak forests and groves, alder and elm forests grow along the banks of the rivers, and tulips and sage blossom in the fields.
• Semi-deserts and deserts are located on the Caspian lowland, where the climate is harsh and the soil is saline, but even there you can find vegetation in the form different varieties cacti, wormwood and plants that adapt well to a sharp change in daily temperatures.

Rivers and lakes of the plains

(A river on a flat area of ​​the Ryazan region)

The rivers of the "Russian Valley" are majestic and slowly carry their waters in one of two directions - north or south, to the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, or to the southern inland seas of the mainland. Rivers of the northern direction flow into the Barents, White or Baltic Seas. Rivers of the southern direction - to the Black, Azov or Caspian Seas. The largest river in Europe, the Volga, also "flows lazily" through the lands of the East European Plain.

The Russian Plain is the realm of natural water in all its manifestations. The glacier, which passed through the plain millennia ago, formed many lakes on its territory. Especially a lot of them in Karelia. The consequences of the stay of the glacier were the emergence in the North-West of such large lakes as Ladoga, Onega, Pskov-Peipsi reservoir.

Under the thickness of the earth in the localization of the Russian Plain, reserves of artesian water are stored in the amount of three underground basins of huge volumes and many located at a shallower depth.

Climate of the East European Plain

(Flat terrain with slight drops near Pskov)

The Atlantic dictates the weather regime on the Russian Plain. Western winds, air masses that move moisture, make summer on the plain warm and humid, winter cold and windy. During the cold season, winds from the Atlantic bring about ten cyclones, contributing to changeable heat and cold. But the air masses from the Arctic Ocean are still striving for the plain.

Therefore, the climate becomes continental only in the depths of the massif, closer to the south and southeast. The East European Plain has two climatic zones - subarctic and temperate, increasing continentality towards the east.

Many rivers flow through the East European Plain.

The largest of them is the Volga. It flows into the Caspian Sea.

Another very large Russian river, the Dnieper, flows into the Black Sea, and the Don flows into the Sea of ​​Azov.

Yellow paint on the physical map of Russia marks the Valdai hill. Among its hills there are many lakes and swamps. On one of the swamps, near the village of Volgino-Verkhovye, there is a small wooden building. Inside it is a well about a meter deep. From its viscous bottom, a strong spring beats, which is considered the source of the Volga.

At first, the Volga flows in a barely noticeable stream. Gradually the Volga becomes wider and wider. Passenger ships and cargo ships - barges - go along it.

It's good to sail on a boat along the Volga on a fine summer day! How majestically and calmly it flows! How beautiful are the flooded bright sun coast! Everywhere, wherever you look, endless fields stretch, ripening ears sway under a light breeze, shady forests rustle, meadows covered with lush grass turn green.

This goes on for a day, and two, and three ... But as soon as the river turns south, everything around changes.

After the city of Samara, on the right bank you can still see forests in some places, but on the left you rarely see even a lonely tree.

When Volgograd is left behind, the dull steppe, scorched by the sun, overgrown with brown, withered grass, stretches endlessly along both banks. The earth cracked from the scorching heat. It rarely rains here.

Since the spring, when the snow melts, there is still enough water. But as soon as summer sets in, the rivers begin to dry up one after another, the ponds become shallow. Plants cannot live without water.

Even further south, closer to Astrakhan, you will not see even a piece of open mail. On both banks, wherever you look, there is only sand and clay. Only unpretentious sheep manage to look for stunted bushes of yellow waste among the sandy hills.

And along these lands weary of heat and thirst, the Volga lazily and slowly flows. She could drink millions of hectares of fields, meadows, orchards and kitchen gardens to the fullest. But the Volga runs past. It carries its fresh, clear waters directly to the Caspian Sea.

Think about it: is it possible to allow the vast regions through which flows the largest river in Europe to remain without water and turn into a barren desert? Of course not!

To use the Volga waters to generate electricity and irrigate fields, meadows, orchards and orchards, huge dams were built on the great Russian river. Huge reservoirs formed around the dams.

Next to the dams, huge hydroelectric power plants (abbreviated as hydroelectric power plants) were built.

The dams raised the water level of the Volga. It has become much deeper and now does not get shallow anywhere in the summer. Large cargo and passenger ships can navigate the river. Transporting goods by river is much cheaper than by rail.

Timber, oil, grain, salt, cars, tractors, agricultural machines and many other goods are transported along the Volga.

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