why ar ethe dnieper and volga rivers?
457249
They are rivers in the former soviet union if I remember correctly.
1043514
I like Russians.  I'm half Russians.  Some of the world's greatest scientific achievements in fields including space exploration have been made by Russians.  In the last hundred years Russia has transformed an agrarian society into an educated and industrialized nation.  Russia is now rivaling India as a new destination for companies seeking highly skilled employees in the fields of technology.  Being Russian makes me proud of who I am and of the accomplishments of the nation I am descended from.
1151580
Russia.  Still has the making of a powerful military, but in complete shambles, easier to conquer.  Also rich in natural resources and fuel for the supplies I would need.
848766
It could provide a steady flow of down stream water for crops and farming i.e. never flood and never a drought.\nFloods wipe out crops and crops can't grow without water
476805
It was actually Stalin's personal decision to end it. People were getting too rich, and they did not care very much about Socialist Principals any more. Neither Stalin nor the Communist Party were interested to lose control over Russia, hence it was decided to cancel the NEP toward the end of the 1920th decade. Cancellation of NEP was the first step of Stalin Power consolidation, Purges and Hunger were to follow.
215620
- heavily forested swamps of Eastern Poland and White Russia: Hitler was forced to choose whether he wanted to attack northeast or southeast, with forces once committed to one direction not being easily available to be transferred; it is said that the war was long in July 1941 when the bulk of German armor was pulled from the northern route south to Kiev, slowing down the advance in the north just enough for Russians to make a stand at Smolensk, earning them time they desperately needed; the very same forests slowed down Russians in 1944.\n- major rivers: Russians were forced to expend major resources when trying to cross Dnepr, Visla, and other rivers during their offensive. Not only did this mean heavier casualties, it also required coordination and concentration of artillery on a scale not seen before.\n- long distances: Whereas war in France in 1940 included just one offensive and allied campaign in the west in 1944-1945 three, the distances in Russia were so great that it was a constant stop and go for both sides as they constantly ran out of supplies on its frontlines. Battles such as Kursk (1943) required months of preparation just to make sure everything arrives where it needs to. Long distances and stretched frontlines also meant having to use 2nd line troops (e.g. Stalingrad operation) or having no troops at all in certain areas of the frontline (e.g. Kursk operation or Rumanian offensive 1944).
259932
Most rivers are fresh water.
51353
It is linked because freshwaterews are also forms of waters like rivers, streams etc.
444036
Water is essential to life, so any people, like wandering tribes, are likely to start to congregate round water sources. Civilisations then can start to grow.
9475
I don't have any solid research but I imagine there were at least a few general reasons:\n\nTo spread out a kingdom because individuals and their livestock needed more land, OR to accomodate growing populations in a certain kingdom/city/empire.\n\nTo provide a safer buffer from enemies, that is, cities in the center of an increasing territory for better protection.\n\nTo secure resources or trade routes\n\nTo convert other people to the expanding religion\n\nTo populate newly/randomly discovered territories\n\nI am editing now, I suppose those things could have been the reason in the very earliest of times but in prehistoric societies, I bet survival sums it up pretty well. Maybe not expansion but certainly the nomadic thing...pick up and move to beat the weather or a threatening pack of animals, to find food or land appropriate to grow food and support livestock. Territory would certainly have had something to do with it, if there was a serious enough pissing contest with a threatening enough adversary, such as an unfriendly neighboring clan, a settlement of people might pick up and move to give themselves more safety by giving the big guy wider berth.
1180296
It was for colonization.  People were wanting to move farther into the country and they were mostly farmers.
143147
Natural Resources\nThe mineral-packed Ural Mountains and the vast oil, gas, coal, and timber reserves of Siberia and the Russian Far East make Russia rich in natural resources. However, most such resources are located in remote and climatically unfavorable areas that are difficult to develop and far from Russian ports. Oil and gas exports continue to be the main source of hard currency, but declining energy prices have hit Russia hard. Russia is a leading producer and exporter of minerals, gold, and all major fuels. The Russian fishing industry is the world's fourth-largest, behind Japan, the United States, and China. Russia accounts for one-quarter of the world's production of fresh and frozen fish and about one-third of world output of canned fish. Natural resources, especially energy, dominate Russian exports. Ninety percent of Russian exports to the United States are minerals or other raw materials.\n\n\nIndustry\nRussia is one of the most industrialized of the former Soviet republics. However, years of very low investment have left much of Russian industry antiquated and highly inefficient. Besides its resource-based industries, it has developed large manufacturing capacities, notably in machinery. Russia inherited most of the defense industrial base of the Soviet Union, so armaments are the single-largest manufactured goods export category for Russia. Efforts have been made with varying success over the past few years to convert defense industries to civilian use.\n\n\nAgriculture\nRussia comprises roughly three-quarters of the territory of the former Soviet Union but has relatively little area suited for agriculture because of its arid climate and inconsistent rainfall. Northern areas concentrate mainly on livestock, and the southern parts and western Siberia produce grain. Restructuring of former state farms has been an extremely slow process. The new land code passed by the Duma in 2002 should speed restructuring and attract new domestic investment to Russian agriculture. Foreigners are not allowed to own farmland in Russia. Private farms and garden plots of individuals account for over one-half of all agricultural production.
667178
Having worked closely with the Moldovans at the UN I can see unequivocally they are VERY independent of the Russians and much more closely aligned to the Romanians.  They share the same buildings in New York and the same living quarters and often vote against the Russians in matters at the UN.  Regarding physical and consumer needs it takes time for  a country to be weaned from the mother country.  The United States imported almost everything from The Netherlands and Great Britain from the 1650's until the Revolutionary War.  It is unrealistic to expect a country of a few million people to cut all ties with its superpower host immediately especially when it has no natural resources of its own and needs energy from Russia.  It will take time for Moldova to find its way but they are looking and Kishinev is very independent.
18242
Because the Ural Mountains separate Europe from Asia.\nThat's the reason Russia is divided between Europe and Asia
809705
You say bridges over rivers, not canals, so unlikely that they were for horses pulling barges. As for being ties to stop the bridge walls from seperating, they normally used flat plates, rather than rings, as this gives a bigger surface area on the brickwork. \nI can only think that they were actually for horses, the kind that were pulling carts etc over the bridge, to tie up to, and the horses could be watered and fed without galloping off to the local hostelry with their owners. \nJust a guess really. Am sure the other answers are just as accurate. Good question though.
858404
the Plains of European Russia, the West Siberian \nPlains, the Central Siberian Plateau and Mountains and \nUplands.\n\nThe Plains of European Russia form a part of the Central \nEuropean plains and extend from the Arctic Ocean in the \nnorth to the Black Sea. These fertile plains are drained by \nseveral rivers of which Volga is the most important. It \nfalls into the Caspian Sea.\n\nThe West Siberian plains are lowlands between the Urals on \nthe west and the Yenisey on the east. They gently slope \ntowards the Arctic Ocean in the north .\n\nThe Central Siberian Plateau lies between the river Yenisey \nin the west and river Lena in the east. Deeply eroded by \nrivers it rises to a height of 500 metres.\n\nTo the east of the river Lena are the rugged mountains of \nEastern Siberia.These include the Kamchatka region of \nearthquakes and volcanic activities .The Caucasus mountains \nrun between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the south \nwestern region .Mt Elbrus , with a height of 5,633 \nmetres ,is the highest mountain peak in Russia .\n\n\n=]
529701
Because they live in the rivers that never dry.