This canal connects the White Sea with Lake Onega, and having access to the Baltic Sea and the Volga-Baltic Waterway. The Volga freezes for most of its length for three months each year.

The Volga–Baltic Waterway connects Onega Lake with the Volga River, Caspian Sea and Black Sea. Those who built the canal were killed during the construction or were shot, and those who survived were sent to build another canal—the Volga-Baltic—to connect the White Sea with the Black, with Moscow becoming a port of five seas. Entering Lake Ladoga. Its overall length between Cherepovets and Lake Onega is 368 kil Route. The 1933 lower lock near the town of Svirstroi on the Svir River, part of the Volga-Baltic Waterway, Russia. The canal served as a testing ground for the use of forced labor in a massive infrastructure project. The canal’s speedy completion provided an impetusforothersimilarprojects,suchasDalstroiandtheMoskva-Volga Canal. This is not a continuous canal. The Canal and River System in Russia- The Volga Baltic Waterway The Volga Baltic Waterway is an integral part of life in Russia, ranging from commerce and economic domains, to those of culture and travel. Country church flooded by the Volga-Baltic Canal construction, Russia. "Most people here live with a lack of historical memory,” says Lyubov Pomortseva, a history teacher from the village Nadvoritsy. After Povenets there are seven locks close together, forming the "Stairs of Povenets". The Moscow Canal, the Volga–Don Canal, and the Volga–Baltic Waterway form navigable waterways connecting Moscow to the White Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

These locks are the southern slope of the canal. It was built between 1931 and 1933 in a record time, opening on August 2, 1933.

The Volga–Baltic Waterway, formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System (Russian: Мариинская водная система), is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga River with the Baltic Sea.Its overall length between Cherepovets and Lake Onega is 368 kilometres (229 mi).. Volga-Baltic Waterway. The canal begins near Povenets settlement in Povenets bay of Lake Onega. This Volga Baltic Waterway joins the Baltic Sea to the Volga River. It’s three rivers and a lake connected by canals and locks. Volga-Baltic Waterway canal and river system, about 1,100 km long, links the Volga River and the St. Petersburg industrial area. The Volga Baltic Waterway , a complicated section often called the Volga-Baltic Canal. The Volga Baltic Waterway, which was once known as the Mariinsk Canal System, is a network of rivers and canals in Russia.

Volga–Baltic Waterway - The Volga–Baltic Waterway, formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System, is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga River with the Baltic Sea. It’s components are: 1. the Vytegra River which flows northward into Lake Onegra 2. The White Sea–Baltic Canal runs through the lake from the White Sea to the Baltic Sea. Sunset, River Volga, west of Uglich, Volga-Baltic Waterway, Russia. the White Sea–Baltic Canal in the history of the Gulag.

The Water Division Canal, connecting the Vytegra and the Kovzha River.

Alternatively, from Lake Onega river ships can sail eastward into the Volga–Baltic Waterway.