A Sberbank building in Volgograd. The regional economy still revolves around the Volga River, with agricultural, shipbuilding, metallurgy, and petrochemical industries providing most of the region's jobs. Volgograd has a single line metrotram system opened in 1984, and sits astride European Route 40 from the port of Calais, France to the city of Ridder, Kazahkstan in Central Asia.

Mamaev Kurgan ((Мамаев Курган) is the symbol of the Volgograd Oblast. The city then known as Tsaritsyn was the site of several battles between Red and White armies from 1919 to 1920. The Soviet Communist Party renamed the city for Josef Stalin in 1925

Mamaev Kurgan is one of the largest statues in the world and stands as a memorial to the Battle of Stalingrad. Stalingrad's population greatly expanded during the Soviet industrialization drive of the 1930s, and this made it an important industrial center along the nautical highway of the Volga River. The city became a target for heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe in 1942. Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler understood that if Stalingrad could be secured by his forces, then the Volga lifeline of oil and supplies headed north along the river would be severed, and Russia cut in half. The Battle of Stalingrad culminated in house to house fighting in the bitter winter of 1942-43, costing an estimated 1.5 million Soviet and German lives.

The Wehrmacht's Sixth Army under Gen. Friedrich Paulus, besieged the ruined city for months, until the Germans found themselves encircled by a gigantic Soviet pincer movement in February 1943. Out of supplies and demoralized by fierce Soviet resistance, the 6th Army surrendered, becoming the first field army in German history to be completely wiped out. In captivity, Gen. Paulus became the leader of the pro-Soviet "German Anti-Fascist Resistance Committee", broadcasting on behalf of the Soviets into Nazi occupied Europe. Hitler's catastrophe at Stalingrad marked the end of his genocidal dream of conquest in the East, and the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. Victory at Stalingrad also boosted the international prestige of the Soviet Union and convinced the British and Americans that the Soviets would be able to win the war. A massive influx of Lend-Lease Aid from the United States followed, helping the Red Army to launch its own blitzkrieg against the Nazi armies in 1944

A Russian girl standing in front of Mamaev Kurgan at sunset. The statue, "The Motherland Calls" (Родина-мать зовёт) was completed in 1967. It stands 279 feet tall and was sculpted by Yevgeny Vuchetich and a team of artists.

Tributary to the Volga in March 2008

A lake on the Volga River in March 2008. During the spring months the river swells from winter ice melting upstream in northern Russia. By summer the river retreats, leaving behind large sand dunes for beachgoers and sunbathers to enjoy.

Barges along the river in March 2008. The Volga is bigger than the Mississippi River in the United States.

An irrigation canal for agriculture. The Volgograd region is one of the breadbaskets of Russia, and there are many historic theories about this region serving as the homeland of the fierce Scythian horse peoples Herodotus and other ancient Greek historians wrote about and of pre-Christian Russian pagan religions.

An August 2008 evening on the Volga River

Another view of the river

A dirt track along the river

A tributary to the river

Sunset on the Volga

The Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael the Archangel near the town of
Svetly Yar (Светлый Яр) in Volgograd Region

Another view of St. Michael the Archangel

Sunset over St. Michael the Archangel. The former rector, Vladimir, has
entered the Russian Orthodox monastic life

The beach along a tributary of the Volga River. Many Russian conservationists are concerned about the effects of petrochemical and sewage runoff on wildlife in and around the river, which flows into the Caspian Sea.

Sand dunes along the shore, deposited by the river during the spring.

A young Russian couple strolling hand in hand on the beach

Trees along the shore

A beachgoer

Bags on the beach

Another view of the beach

Birch trees

Tall grass

Evening sunset and trees

All of these photos were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5600 digital camera without a tripod. Link and reference to Russia Blog required when reposting these photos.