From the Northern River Port in Moscow, the MS ILYA REPIN headed north along the Moskva River and soon branched off into the Moscow-Volga Canal. For a long time various tsars had tried to connect Moscow to the Baltic Sea. However, until the time of Stalin the canals and all the locks that were required had allowed only small river boats to actually complete the trip. Then, Stalin came along. He was determined to overcome that drawback. Even though the Moskva River and the Oka River already flowed into the Volga, making them navigable ... (more)