Lenin Volga–Don Shipping Canal (Russian:Волго-Донской судоходный канал имени, В. И. Ленина, Volga-Donskoy soudokhodniy kanal imeni V. I. Lenina, abbreviated ВДСК, VDSK) is a ship canal in Russia. It connects the Volga and the Don at their closest points. Opened in 1952, its length is , of which is through rivers and reservoirs. The canal forms a part of the Unified Deep Water System of European Russia. Together with the lower Volga and the lower Don, the canal provides the shortest navigable connection between the Caspian Sea and the world's oceans, if the Mediterranean is counted, via the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. History There has been a trade and military route between the Volga and Don rivers from early human history. The existence of fortified settlement Tanais in the Don River delta, present since a time in the Bosporan Kingdom 438 BC– 370 AD, strongly suggests the route may have been notable enough to be fortified for more than two thousand years. The Sarkel fortress, on the near (left bank) of the lower Don, was the main control of this Volga trade route. The Don–Volga portage got its name from its trade importance 1000 years ago. In 1569, the Ottoman Empire attempted to connect the Volga and Don rivers via a canal. The Ottomans wanted to create a maritime link to Central Asia (especially the cities of Bukhara, Khwarazm and Samarkand) to facilitate trade. Together with a proposed Suez canal, the Volga-Don canal would also allow Central Asian Muslims to perform pilgrimage to Mecca. According to most historians, the Ottomans managed to dig one-third of the canal, before work was abandoned due to adverse weather. Other historians argue that the Ottomans merely leveled the ground so they could haul ships between the two rivers. In the end, the Ottomans retreated from the area and Russia promised to respect trade and pilgrimage routes to Central Asia. The first Russian attempts to connect the Volga and Don rivers were ordered by Peter the Great. After capturing Azov in 1696, he decided to build a canal, later named Petrov Val, on the Ilovlya River (a left tributary of the Don) and the Kamyshinka river (right tributary of the Volga). Compared to the canal it was much shorter, connecting a gap of 4 kilometers (2.5 mi), but due to a lack of resources and other problems, this attempt was abandoned in 1701.