Our History
Swipe cards left and right or choose a period on the timeline below.
before 10th c.
Ancient Roots: Sturgeon in the Life of Lower Volga Peoples
How sturgeon was caught and used on the lower Volga long before industrial fishing — from nomads and first settlements to merchant deals and town markets.
Read articlefolk memory
Sturgeon in Proverbs, Tales, and Folk Memory
How sturgeon and the Volga live in proverbs, tales, and folk memory of the lower Volga region — from byliny to family stories.
Read articleover the centuries
Sturgeon Species on the Volga: Beluga, Sevruga, Sterlet
Which sturgeon species lived and live in the Volga basin — beluga, sevruga, sterlet — and their place in the fishery and river ecology.
Read articleannual cycle
Sturgeon Spawning and Migration on the Volga
How sturgeon moves up the Volga to spawn, which routes it chooses, and how migration changed because of dams and fishing.
Read article13th–19th c.
The Sturgeon River: Why the Volga Became the Center of the Sturgeon Fishery
How the lower Volga and its delta made the region Russia's main sturgeon fishing ground — from natural conditions to trade routes and life on the riverbank.
Read article1589–1917
Tsaritsyn as a Fishing Town on the High Bank
How position on the high right bank shaped Tsaritsyn as a center of sturgeon trade and fishing on the lower Volga.
Read article17th–19th c.
Sturgeon and Caviar: Volga Trade from Tsaritsyn to the Capital
How sturgeon and caviar from the lower Volga became world-class goods and passed through Volga towns on the way to the capital and abroad.
Read article18th–19th c.
Seine, Setline, and Trotline: Ways of Catching Sturgeon on the Lower Volga
What gear and methods Volga fishermen used to take sturgeon — from large seines to single setlines and trotlines along deep pools.
Read article19th c.
Fishing Artels of the Nineteenth Century: How the Volga Fishery Worked
How fishing artels were organized on the lower Volga — from dividing the catch and bylaws to seasonal stations near Tsaritsyn and ties to town trade.
Read article19th c.
Fishing Factories and Commercial Stations on the Lower Volga
How large fishing enterprises near Tsaritsyn were organized — processing, storage, ice houses, and shipping catch on an industrial scale.
Read article19th c.
Fisherman's Family: Life and Traditions by the Water
How a fishing family lived on the lower Volga — house by the water, seasonal labor, traditions, and passing the craft to children.
Read article1862–1917
Railway and Sturgeon Delivery
How the railway changed sturgeon's path from the lower Volga to capitals and provincial towns — speed, ice, and new trade geography.
Read article19th–20th c.
Embankment and Landings: Volgograd's River Face
How embankments, landings, and the river port shaped Volgograd's appearance and linked the city to the sturgeon fishery on the lower Volga.
Read article19th–20th c.
Sturgeon in the Kitchen: From Peasant Table to City Restaurants
Culinary traditions of Volgograd and the Volga region tied to sturgeon — how fish was cooked and served in different eras, from izba to city dining room.
Read article19th–20th c.
Women in the Sturgeon Fishery
The role of women in the lower Volga sturgeon fishery — from processing catch and trade to preserving family traditions and river knowledge.
Read article20th c.
The Twentieth Century: Hydropower, War, and the Fate of Sturgeon near Stalingrad
How dam building, industrialization, and war changed the sturgeon fishery and sturgeon numbers in the Volgograd area.
Read article1950s–1980s
Hydropower on the Volga and the Fate of Fish Migration
How dams and hydropower on the Volga changed sturgeon and other fish migration routes and what is done to preserve them.
Read article1990s — present
Poaching and Fighting Caviar Smuggling
How poaching and caviar smuggling threaten sturgeon on the Volga and what countermeasures apply in the region.
Read article2000s — present
Sturgeon Conservation Today: Hatcheries, Quotas, and Protected Areas
Modern measures to protect sturgeon in Volgograd Oblast and on the lower Volga — hatcheries, quotas, protected zones, and the role of society.
Read article21st c.
Fish Hatcheries of Volgograd Oblast Today
How modern hatcheries in the region are organized, how they replace wild fishing, and how they link to sturgeon conservation in the Volga.
Read article21st c.
Legacy of the Sturgeon Fishery in Modern Volgograd
What remains in the city today from centuries of fishing — place names, memory, museums, and cultural traditions of the lower Volga region.
Read article2020s
Museum of Sturgeon Exhibition: What Visitors Will See
What you can see and learn at the Museum of Sturgeon on the Volga — exhibits, stories, and links between the fishery's past and modern protection.
Read article21st c.
Sturgeon Theme in Volgograd Tourism
How sturgeon history becomes part of Volgograd tourist routes — museum, embankment, gastronomy, and tours.
Read articlefuture
Future of Volga Sturgeon
Prospects for sturgeon in the Volga — science, aquaculture, protection, and the role of Volgograd residents in species survival.
Read article