Pyana
| Pyana | |
|---|---|
 | |
  | |
| Location | |
| Country | Russia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Volga Upland |
| • elevation | 220 m (720 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Sura |
• coordinates | 55°40′02″N45°54′59″E/ 55.6671°N 45.9163°E |
• elevation | 62 m (203 ft) |
| Length | 436 km (271 mi) |
| Basin size | 8,060 km2(3,110 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 25 m3/s (880 cu ft/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Progression | Sura→Volga→Caspian Sea |
ThePyana(Russian:Пья́на) is a river inNizhny Novgorod Oblastand theRepublic of Mordovia,Russia.It is a left tributary of theSura.
History and etymology
[edit]Pyana translates from Russian intodrunken.The original name of the river was likely Piana,[1]and, like many other old Russian geographical names, might be of Uralic origin (compare Finnishpienimeaningsmall).[2]The most likely reason for the transformation of Piana to Pyana was theBattle on Pyana River.[3]The battle was fought on 2 August 1377 between theBlue HordeKhanArapsha (Arab-Shah Muzaffar) and joint Russian troops underKnyazIvan Dmitriyevich. Awaiting the battle, the Russian Army lost discipline with drunkenness being a norm. They were unexpectedly attacked from all sides and crushed by the Mongols, forcing retreat to and across the Pyana. Many soldiers, and the Knyaz himself, drowned while crossing it.[1][4]This explanation is further supported by the original text of the chronicles of the battle, where the writer first calls the river Piana, then notes[5]the ironical similarity of the words piana and pyana (in a sense of drunkenness) and further uses Pyana as the river name.[1]
Geography and hydrology
[edit]The river is 436 kilometres (271 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 8,060 square kilometres (3,110 sq mi).[6]It freezes around November and thaws in April. The average discharge 65 km from its mouth is 25 m³/s and it can vary between 10 and 1,500 m³/s. River banks contain numerouskarstcaves.[7]Pyana is remarkable by its shape: it runs to the north-west and then turns 180° south-east making a nearly closed loop (see map) before turning north and merging with the Sura.[8]
Human activities
[edit]The towns ofPerevozandSergachare located on the Pyana. The river is navigable in its lower reaches.[7]On the river banks there is Ichalkovsky Natural Reserve of 936 ha area which is protected by the state since 1963.[9]There is ahydroelectric stationnear the village of Ichalkovo with the annual production of 600 MW. Its construction was started after World War II, but completed only in the 1990s.[10]
References
[edit]- ^abcD. S. Likhachev; et al., eds. (1999).Библиотека литературы Древней Руси.Vol. 6, середина XV века. St. Petersburg: Nauka; Russian Academy of Sciences. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-21.Retrieved2010-10-16.
- ^V. Malkin (1989)."Из истории слов. Почему реку назвали Гусем? (History of names. Why river was named after a goose)".Nauka i Zhizn.9:112.
- ^Pokhlebkin, William; Pokhlebkin, Vilʹi︠a︡m Vasilʹevich.A history of vodka(1992 ed.). Verso. p.67.ISBN0-86091-359-7.Google Books
- ^Solovyov, Sergey(1851–1879). "7".A History of Russia, vol. 3(1851–1879 ed.).
- ^"Поистиннѣ — за Пьяною пьяни!"
- ^«Река ПЬЯНА»,Russian State Water Registry
- ^abПьяна,Great Soviet Encyclopedia(in Russian)
- ^V. A. Mezentsev (1988).Энциклопедия чудес. Vol. 1. Обычное в необычном (Encyclopedia of wonders. Usual within unusual)(in Russian). Moscow: Znanie.
- ^Пещеры и провалы Ичалковского бора,2 May 2008 (in Russian)
- ^Каникулы для ГЭС,Nizhegorodskie News, 3 April 2007 (in Russian)
