A traveler once sailed to Europe and arrived in Saint-Nazaire, on the French coast. Standing speechless before the Loire estuary, he thought to himself, “This surely is the greatest river in Europe, it is immense!” Overcome with surprise, he set off towards the setting sun and eventually made it to the Black Forest in Germany, where the Danube stretches 2,857 kilometers to the Black Sea. Overwhelmed by vertigo at the top of the great river, the traveler exclaimed with even more emotion: “This is the greatest river in Europe, I cannot imagine another that would be greater and more majestic than this one!” Back from his emotions, but undaunted, the traveler set off again, still heading east. Arriving in Russia, in Volgograd, he fell to his knees before what he saw: the gigantic Volga and its 3,500 kilometers, cradle of Russian civilization—the Volga-Matushka, “Mother Volga.” “This is the river of rivers, I have found it!” said the traveler, feverish before the banks of the river, at the end of his journey eastward: he had just found the largest and, in many ways, the most exceptional of Europe's rivers, which begins in the boreal forest, runs alongside the steppes of Central Asia, and ends in an inland sea bordered by snow-capped peaks and deserts...

The Volga, an exceptional river-tree, rises in western Russia and ends its course in the Caspian Sea. We could stop there in our description, but that would leave the greatest river lovers wanting more. However, while most rivers flow into seas and oceans, the Volga carries its water into an inland sea—unconnected to the global ocean—which it itself helps to fill, accounting for 80% of its volume. This is why the Caspian Sea takes up more space on the map than the other seas in the series.

Seen from this perspective, the Caspian Sea is essentially part of the Volga itself, a large basin covering 371,000 km² and reaching a depth of 1,000 meters. Bordered by five different countries, with the green Caucasus and its immense peaks (including Elbrus, rising to 5,642 meters) to the west and Central Asia and its desert plains, the Caspian Sea embodies a natural extension of the Volga and offers a striking geographical spectacle as well as a masterful demonstration of the lake effect on the landscape.

Returning to the river itself, the aerial part of the tree, and its landscapes, we can say that they are relatively plain, not very striking, even downright linear and monotonous. Unlike the Danube and the Rhône, which flow majestically down from the Alps and magnificent snow-capped peaks and glaciers, the Volga owes its flow to snow falling on a very even surface (peaking at 228 meters) two and a half times the size of France, encompassing vast agricultural plains, steppes, and boreal forests. The Volga is a tree growing on very fertile land: most of its surface area is agricultural, while the cities located along its course are important industrial centers.

Which tree could best represent the Volga? I think of the silver birch, Betula pendula, an emblematic species of cold, boreal Europe, growing in small groves at low altitudes, which reflects the anthropized landscapes of the Volga. The birch is also Russia's national tree and symbolizes grace, tenderness, strength, and beauty for Russian women. A key element in many Russian folk tales and legends, the identity of an entire people can be found in the branches of the Volga birch.

The Volga Birch, Betula Volga