History and economy

The Dnieper basin has been populated since ancient times. It was of central importance in the history of the peoples of eastern Europe, particularly in the founding of the ancient Kievan state. Along this waterway a system of river routes developed in the 4th to 6th century ce as a “route from the Varangians to the Greeks,” connecting the Black Sea with the Baltic and linking the Slavs with both the Mediterranean and the Baltic peoples. Half of the Dnieper (about 700 miles [1,100 km]) borders or passes through Ukrainian territory, and the river is for the Ukrainians the same kind of national symbol that the Volga River is for the Russians.

The first historical information about the Dnieper is recorded by the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century bce); the river is also mentioned later by the ancient writers Strabo and Pliny the Younger. It was first depicted on a map drawn by Ptolemy in the 2nd century ce. Instrument surveys of the Dnieper were begun early in the 18th century.

Under the Soviets, in line with the general plan for water management, much work was undertaken for the multipurpose exploitation of the Dnieper’s water resources. In 1932, in accordance with the Soviet Union’s electrification plan, the river’s first hydroelectric power station was completed at Zaporizhzhya in the region of the rapids. It was the largest power station in Europe until the construction of the huge power stations on the Volga in the 1950s. Completely destroyed by the German army during World War II, the dam was rebuilt in 1947, and its capacity increased. Hydroelectric power stations and reservoirs have also been built on the Dnieper at Kiev (completed 1966), Kaniv (1973), Kremenchuk (1961), Dniprodzerzhinsk (1965), and Kakhovka (1958). As a result of their construction, many problems have been solved: a continuous deepwater route from the mouth of the Pripet to the Black Sea has been created; the chronic water shortages in the Donets Basin and Kryvyy Rih industrial regions have been solved; and irrigation of arid lands in southern Ukraine and Crimea has been made possible.

Regular navigation on the Dnieper extends as far upstream as Orsha, and, when the water is high, to Dorogobuzh. On the upper Dnieper the required depths are maintained by straightening and by dredging. Below the confluence with the Pripet, navigable locks make the passage of modern vessels possible. The principal cargoes are coal, ore, mineral building materials, lumber, and grain. The chief ports are Smolensk, Orsha, Mahilyow, Rechytsa, Loyew, Kiev, Cherkasy, Kremenchuk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Nikopol, Kakhovka, and Kherson.

The Kryvyy Rih region is supplied with water from the Kakhovka Reservoir by means of the Dnieper–Kryvyy Rih Canal. The North Crimea Canal, which was completed in 1971, originates in the reservoir; the canal, 250 miles (400 km) long, is designed for irrigation of the steppes of the Black Sea Lowland and northern Crimea and for the creation of a water route from the Dnieper to the Sea of Azov.

Damming the Dnieper and diverting its waters, however, have radically altered its natural hydrology and ecology. Seasonal flow variations have been reduced, upstream access for anadromous fish has been reduced, effluents from cities and industry (as well as from increased agricultural runoff) have caused pollution, and diversion of water for irrigation and evaporation from reservoirs have lowered the annual outflow of the river by some 20 percent. In addition, the wetlands around the river’s estuary have been seriously damaged by pollution and reduced discharge.