Which Russian canal, completed in 1952, connects the Volga River to the Don River?

The Russian canal completed in 1952 that connects the Volga River to the Don River is the Volga-Don Canal.

Officially called the Lenin Volga-Don Shipping Canal, it links the rivers near Volgograd in southwestern Russia. The canal itself is about 101 kilometers long, with sections passing through rivers and reservoirs. Thirteen locks help vessels overcome the difference in elevation between the Volga and Don waterways.

The project was built between 1948 and 1952 and opened on June 1, 1952. It became part of Russia’s Unified Deep Water System, creating a navigable route from the Caspian Sea through the Volga, the Don, the Sea of Azov, and onward to the Black Sea and Mediterranean.

A common mix-up is the Moscow Canal, which connects the Moskva River with the Volga but does not reach the Don. The White Sea-Baltic Canal and Suez Canal serve entirely different routes. Earlier Ottoman and Russian attempts to connect the Volga and Don had failed before the modern canal was constructed.