Volkhov Hydroelectric Station

The Volkhov Hydroelectric Station stands on the Volkhov River, in the town of Volkhov, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It was the first large hydroelectric power station built in Soviet Russia under the GOELRO electrification plan.

Construction began in 1918 (preparatory work had started in 1917); the first turbine was launched in 1926, and the station reached full capacity in 1927. The project was designed by engineer Genrikh Graftio together with Y. A. Palitsyn, and the building itself was designed by architect O. R. Munts.

Today the station's installed capacity is 86 MW; its eight turbines generate about 367 million kWh per year. During World War II, the Volkhov Hydroelectric Station supplied electricity to besieged Leningrad through an underground cable laid across Lake Ladoga.

The Volkhov Hydroelectric Station is a federally protected cultural heritage site and one of the symbols of the GOELRO plan and early Soviet-era power engineering.