Water Barriers and Routes of the North-West Frontier of the Russian State in the 17th – early 18th Centuries

Roads have always made it possible to link together the most remote parts of any country. For most countries of Eastern Europe, the inland water spaces of rivers and lakes, not separated from each other by mountain systems, became the factor of creating a unified system of communications in the region. In the course of the research work, information about the water barriers and routes, everyday functioning of the road system, the ideas of foreigners about roads in the border area of the North-West of Russian state were analyzed. The transport structure of the North-Western borders of the Russian state that developed over the course of the 16th-18th centuries was a complex system that functioned in special natural and climatic conditions. Due to the large abundance of streams, rivers, lakes and marshes, border roads were formed taking into account the most favorable routes for movement and places for crossing. Most often, on the Russian side, roads through streams and small rivers were no permanent bridges. Bridges were built across deep and wide river streams, but many of them were floating bridge. Regular work to repair and maintain bridges was not enough. For active exploitation, as a result of rains, melting of snow and ice, spring floods bridges and crossings were damaged or destroyed. Travelers during their trips often had to repair bridges and establish crossings on their own. Even at the end of the 17th century they preferred to cross large rivers in boats and rafts. Travelling by waterways was less exhausting, but the network of rivers and lakes did not allow moving between all settlements. Therefore, travelers were forced to combine both land and water routes during one trip. The abundance of rivers and lakes in the North-West of the Russian state not only served as an obstacle, but rather contributed to the development of infrastructure near possible crossings, the maintenance and development of navigation on rivers and lakes. For centuries, waterbodies, on the one hand, served as an obstacle to the conquerors, and on the other hand, contributed to the development of a network of communications in the border regions. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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