Robya River

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The Robya River has two tributaries - the right tributary, Starovskaya (~Old) Robya, flows out of Dehino lake; the left tributary, Shubinskaya Robya, flows out of a large bog area called Demidovsky Moh (~ Demid's Moss). Other tributaries include small creeks running from the bogs in nearby forests. The length of Robya proper, from the confluence point to Lovat River, is about 9 km. The banks of the river are mostly clay, the water is dark and murky.

A few spots on Robya River are quite shallow, with tiny rapids visible during the lowest water levels in summer. The river is polluted with trees left over from the decades of logging. Timber rafts were transported downstream during the high spring water, some of the timber sunk and became an obstacle to navigation. A peculiar sight is a so-called "toplyak" - the heavier part of the tree trunk is stuck at the river bottom, with the top part rising a couple inches above the water like a beacon.

During the World War II, the land around Robya River was a site of heavy fighting. Several villages on the banks of Robyas were burned by the German army and were never re-populated afterwards. The remains of trench war fortifications (such as dugouts, bomb craters, and barbed wire) are still visible. The clay soil provides excellent preservation, and various "archeologists" continue to find all kinds of artifacts, including human remains and lots of ammunition.