The town developed during the industrialization in the first half of the 20th century. The settlement of Zvanka with a train depot was built here while the railway connecting St. Petersburg with Vologda was being constructed. It was a part of Novoladozhsky Uyezd of St. Petersburg Governorate. A second rail line running north of the station towards Murmansk was constructed in 1916, making the station an important railway junction. In 1918, construction of the Volkhov Hydroelectric Station started on this spot. In 1926, the power plant became operational and in 1932, the first Soviet aluminum plant was launched nearby. On August 1, 1927, the uyezds were abolished and Volkhovsky District, with the administrative center in Zvanka, was established. The governorates were also abolished and the district became a part of Leningrad Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. On August 15, 1930, the okrugs were abolished as well and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On December 27, 1933, the settlements serving the station, the dam, and the aluminum plant were merged with several adjacent villages to form the town of Volkhovstroy. On September 19, 1939, Volkhovstroy became a town of oblast significance and on April 11, 1940, it was renamed Volkhov. During World War II, between 1941 and 1944, the Volkhov River separated the Soviet and the German positions, and Volkhov was a battleground scene. The city itself was never occupied by German troops, and in December 1941 the advance of the German troops to Volkhov was stopped by the Red Army. In 2010, the administrative structure of Leningrad Oblast was harmonized with its municipal structure and Volkhov became a town of district significance.
The economy of Volkhov is essentially based on the Volkhov Hydroelectric Station and on the aluminum production plant.
Transportation
Volkhov is an important railway hub. One railway line connects in with St. Petersburg, and Volkhovstroy I is the terminal station of suburban trains from St. Petersburg. To the east, a railway line continues to Vologda via Tikhvin and Cherepovets. Another railway line passing through Volkhov connects Chudovo in the south and Lodeynoye Pole, Petrozavodsk, and ultimately Murmansk in the north. In Chudovo, it connects to railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow, so that all traffic between Moscow and Murmansk proceeds via Volkhovstroy. Volkhov is located on the road connecting Kiselnya on the M18 Highway, which connects St. Petersburg and Murmansk, and Tikhvin, Cherepovets and Vologda. Volkhov is also connected by roads with Kirishi and with Novaya Ladoga. There are also local roads, with bus traffic originating from Volkhov. The Volkhov River is navigable; however, there is no passenger navigation.
Culture and recreation
The district contains five cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally seventeen objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The federal monuments are the Volkhov Hydroelectric station, the monument to Genrikh Graftio, the head of the construction of the power plant, the first building of the aluminum plant, as well as the houses where Graftio and Boris Vedeneyev, who was also leading the power plant construction, lived.
