Vuoksi

The Vuoksi (Вуокса, historically: "Uzerva"; Vuokša; Vuoksi; Vuoksen) is a river running through the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches, an older main northern branch at Priozersk (Käkisalmi), a smaller branch a few kilometers to the north of it, and a new southern branch entering further southeast as Burnaya River (Finnish: Taipaleenjoki), which has become the main stream in terms of water discharge. Since 1857, the old northern distributaries drain only the lower reaches of the Vuoksi basin and are not fed by Lake Saimaa. The northern and southern branches actually belong to two separate river systems, which at times get isolated from each other in dry seasons. The descent between Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga is . The entire run of the river is via the Priozersk branch, or via the Taipale (Burnaya) branch. It has a drainage basin of . For most of its length, the river broadens out to a series of lakes bound together by shorter riverlike connections. One of these lakes, Uusijärvi close to Priozersk, was renamed Ozero Vuoksa ("Lake Vuoksa") by the Soviets. The Vuoksi connects Lake Ladoga with central Finland, and was once an important route for trade and communication. A western branch, which disappeared due to ongoing land uplift, was an alternative route for the Karelians to reach the Gulf of Finland when the Neva River was blocked by enemies. Now the Saimaa Canal bypasses the Vuoksi and enters the Gulf of Finland in the Bay of Vyborg near the medieval city of Vyborg. During both the Winter and Continuation Wars the river Vuoksi was a major Finnish defensive line against the Soviet advance. The Mannerheim Line and VKT-line were located along the northern shore of its southern armlet. From the Industrial Revolution, power generated from Vuoksi's rapids made the Vuoksi region Finland's industrial center in the late 19th century.