The majestic Volga River has been famous for its fish since ancient times. The many peoples that live on the banks of the great river believed that it was fish from the Volga River that supported and fed the whole world. In the 17th century, fishermen from the upper Volga city of Yuravets were responsible for supplying Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich with the sturgeon, sheefish and sterlet for his table. More than 50 years ago soviet power engineers built a cascade of powerful hydroelectric power plants on the Volga, transforming the river into a series of reservoirs. One of them, the Gorky Reservoir, then became a popular place for fishermen to cast their rods. It is here on the bank of the reservoir that the all-Russian Fisherman Festival (“Rybak Rybaka”) takes place.