Volkhov

The town developed during the industrialization in the first half of the 20th century. The settlement of Zvanka () with a train depot was built here while the railway connecting St. Petersburg with Vologda was being constructed. The governorates were also abolished and the district became a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. On December 27, 1933, the settlements serving the station, the dam, and the aluminum plant were merged with several adjacent villages to form the town of Volkhovstroy. In 2010, the administrative structure of Leningrad Oblast was harmonized with its municipal structure and Volkhov became a town of district significance. ==Administrative and municipal status==

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Volkhov serves as the administrative center of Volkhovsky District. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Volkhovsky District as Volkhovskoye Settlement Municipal Formation. ==Economy==

Industry The economy of Volkhov is essentially based on the Volkhov Hydroelectric Station and on the aluminum production plant. Transportation Volkhov (railway stations Volkhovstroy I and Volkhovstroy II) is an important railway hub. One railway line connects in with St. Petersburg (Moskovsky Rail Terminal), and Volkhovstroy I is the terminal station of suburban trains from St. Petersburg. To the east, a railway line continues to Vologda via Tikhvin and Cherepovets. Another railway line passing through Volkhov connects Chudovo in the south and Lodeynoye Pole, Petrozavodsk, and ultimately Murmansk in the north. In Chudovo, it connects to railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow, so that all traffic between Moscow and Murmansk proceeds via Volkhovstroy. Volkhov is located on the road connecting Kiselnya on the M18 Highway, which connects St. Petersburg and Murmansk, and Tikhvin, Cherepovets and Vologda. Volkhov is also connected by roads with Kirishi and with Novaya Ladoga. There are also local roads, with bus traffic originating from Volkhov. The Volkhov River is navigable; however, there is no passenger navigation. ==Culture and recreation==

The district contains five cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally seventeen objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The federal monuments are the Volkhov Hydroelectric station, the monument to Genrikh Graftio, the head of the construction of the power plant, the first building of the aluminum plant, as well as the houses where Graftio and Boris Vedeneyev, who was also leading the power plant construction, lived. ==Notable people==

• Boris Markarov, Olympic bronze medalist in water polo ==Twin towns and sister cities==

Volkhov is twinned with: • Mosjøen, Norway • Järvenpää, Finland • Grovskinka, Belarus • Sundsvall, Sweden ==References==