S.A.K.A

At 1,420 miles the Dnieper is the fourth longest river in Europe. Its source is the turf swamps of the Valdai Hills, some 150 miles west of Moscow in central Russia, and it flows to its estuary on the Black Sea coast near Kherson, Ukraine. The flow is powerful and abundant and the river supports four hydroelectric power stations and six reservoirs in Ukraine. At Kaniv the power station and dam of the reservoir combine. The river is a major waterway for barge traffic and passenger cruises operate from Kiev to the Black Sea ports, with Kaniv a major port-of-call. According to his wish, from his monument Taras Shevchenko surveys the river and the lands to the East. On the riverbank a shallow draft armoured patrol boat from WWII has been placed as a memorial to the sailors of the flotilla of such military craft, who fought along the banks of the Dnieper to repel the advance of the German invaders. Though the railway no longer runs to Kaniv, the old railway bridge still stands, displaying the missing span, destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the taking of Kaniv in 1941.