I have little, important, factual information about the traffic on the Russian waterways. I am aware that Moscow being the "Port of Five Seas," that obviously water transport is possible from the Caspian, the Black, and the Azof Sea in the south, to the Baltic and White Seas in the north. From my observation, this traffic consisted mostly of freighters and various tankers. Only occasionally did we see passenger ships as well.

The ILYA REPIN and the many other vessels we saw of her type had, apparently been built in Austria. They were not only river vessels, but also designed for much rougher waters such as the Lakes Onega and Ladoga. Both of these lakes can get quite intense storms and thus any vessel crossing these rather wide-open waters had better be able to handle the quite sizeable waves they may, there, encounter. The ILYA REPIN though she mostly travels up and down the rivers and canals, had stabilizers, which on these two northers lakes, certainly came in handy.

Finally, Russia's inland navigation is only seasonally possible. When the temperatures get low enough in the fall and winter, the inland waters freeze and permit no further navigation.

MS ILYA REPIN:

Our vessel was a very comfortable and efficient vessel. She had 88 cabins and could thus carry around 176 passengers. She had a comfortable dining room which could seat all the guests at one sitting. There was a bar, and a 'conference/concert hall where language lessons were being given and in the evenings, four excellent musicians gave concerts. There was a classical pianist, who at other times also played some popular music in the bar, a very capable soprano-opera singer and two delightful guitarists. It was a joy to see these artists work together to present very enjoyable concerts.