The Svir is a river in Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It flows westwards from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga, thus connecting the two largest lakes of Europe. It is the largest river flowing into Lake Ladoga.
The length of the Svir is 224 kilometres (139 mi), whereas the area of its drainage basin is 84,400 square kilometres (32,600 sq mi).
The towns of Podporozhye and Lodeynoye Pole, as well as urban-type settlements Voznesenye, Nikolsky, Vazhiny, and Svirstroy are located at the banks of the Svir.
After Peter the Great connected the Svir with the Neva by the Ladoga Canal in the 18th century, the river has been part of the Mariinsky Water System, currently the Volga–Baltic Waterway. The Onega Canal is a bypass of Lake Onega from the south, which connects the Svir with the Vytegra. The Svir is heavily used for navigation, with both cargo traffic and cruise ships.
There are two dams with hydroelectric power plants on the river. The Lower Svir Hydroelectric Station, in Svirstroy, sits 81 kilometres (50 mi) from the rivers mouth, while the Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station, located in Podporozhye, is 128 kilometres (80 mi) away. Above the Upper Svir Hydroelectric Station, the Svir is built as the Ivinsky Razliv Reservoir. Locks are built around both dams.
