Sheksna River

The Sheksna, which connects the Rybinsk reservoir and the White Lake consists of three parts: the upper Sheksna (52 km long), the Sheksna reservoir (66 km long) and the Lower Sheksna (68 km long)

The upper Sheksna and the Sheksna Reservoir are separated from the lower Sheksna by a dam at the hydroelectric power station Sheksna.

The name of the river is derived from a Finnish language and means ‘the sedge covered tributary’; sedge is a grass-like plant.

The original construction of the Mariinsk Waterway did not interfere with the course of the Sheksna. However, subsequent modifications made it necessary to straighten the riverbed and to build a new network of the locks.

The construction of the Volga Baltic Canal led to considerable widening and deeping of the river which also resulted in flooding of extensive areas of forest here.