Aswan
Dam
The Aswan
Dam is an embankment dam
situated across the
Nile River
in Aswan, Egypt. Since the
1960s, the name commonly refers to the High Dam. Construction of
the High Dam became a key objective of the Egyptian Government
following the Egyptian
Revolution of 1952, as the
ability to control floods, provide water for irrigation, and
generate hydroelectricity
were seen as pivotal to
Egypt´s industrialization.
The High Dam was constructed between 1960 and 1970, and has had a
significant impact on the economy and culture of
Egypt.
Before the
dams were built, the Nile River flooded every year
during late summer, when water flowed down the valley from
its East African drainage
basin. These floods brought high water and
natural nutrients and minerals that
annually enriched the fertile soil along
the floodplain
and delta; this had
made the Nile valley ideal for farming since ancient
times. Because floods vary, in high-water
years the whole crop might be
wiped out, while in low-water years widespread
drought and famine occasionally
occurred. As Egypt´s
population grew and
conditions changed, both a desire and ability developed to control
the floods, and thus both protect and support
farmland and the
economically important cotton crop. With
the reservoir storage
provided by the Aswan dams, the floods could be lessened and the
water stored for later release.
Egypt–Russia
relations
Egypt–Russia relations
(Russian:
Российско-египетские
отношения)
refer to bilateral relations
between Egypt and Russia. Diplomatic
relations between the USSR and Egypt
were established on August 26, 1943. Egypt has an
embassy in
Moscow. Russia has an embassy in
Cairo and a consulate-general in
Alexandria.
History
Relations
between Russia and Egypt have a long history. Early on, they were
centered on the Russian government´s and the Russian
Church´s support for the
Greek
Orthodox Church of Alexandria. As early
as in 1556, Patriarch
Joachim of Alexandria sent a
letter to the Russian Czar Ivan IV, asking the
Orthodox monarch to provide some material assistance for
the Saint
Catherine´s Monastery in
the Sinai
Peninsula, which had suffered from the Turks. In
1558 the Czar sent to Egypt a delegation led by archdeacon Gennady,
who, however, died in Constantinople before he could reach Egypt.
From then on, the embassy was headed by a Smolensk merchant
Vasily Poznyakov. Poznyakov´s delegation visited Alexandria, Cairo,
and Sinai, brought the patriarch a fur coat and an icon
sent by the Czar. Poznyakov´s account of its two and half years´
travels, which may have been the first ever Russian first-hand
African trip report, became popular among Russian readers for
centuries to follow.
Russia continued to provide support to
Egyptian Christians for centuries to
come.
In the
1950s, Gamal Abdel Nasser
independent and anti-imperialist policy
earned him enthusiastic support from the Communist government of
the USSR. The degree of the Soviet approval of the Egyptian
leader´s policies culminated, rather controversially, in the award
of the highest Soviet decoration, the star of the
Hero of the
Soviet Union with
the Order of Lenin
to Nasser during Nikita
Khrushchev´s visit to
the African country in 1964.
During the
Nasser years, many young Egyptians studied in Soviet universities
and military schools. Among them was the future
president, Hosni
Mubarak, who went for training in
a military pilot school in
Kyrgyzstan.
The
relationship went sour within years after the death of Nasser, when
the new president Anwar Sadat
started re-orienting the country toward
the West. On May 27, 1971, a friendship treaty was signed between
the two countries, but relations were nevertheless declining. In
July 1972 the Egyptian government expelled Soviet military advisers
from Egypt and in March 1976 abrogated the friendship treaty. In
1981, these relations were severed as a result of Soviet opposition
to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Relations were reestablished
under president Hosni Mubarak
in 1984, and Alexander
Belonogov became the
Ambassador. In February 1989, Soviet Minister of Foreign
Affairs Eduard Shevardnadze
visited
Egypt.
Intergovernmental relations improved
after the fall of Communism in the USSR, and Russia´s appearance as
an independent political actor. In April 2005 the Russian
President Vladimir Putin
visited Egypt, and Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak
visited Russia in April 2008. Both
countries agreed to work together to help Egypt create a nuclear
programme which is mostly for civilian purposes. In May 2013,
Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi
visited
Russia.
After the
Egyptian army´s dispose Mohamad
Morsi, Russian policy was greatly supportive
to the Egyptian government policy after Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates
bringing Russian support on the
table.
In November
2013, the Foreign Minister
of Egypt, Nabil Fahmy
met with his Russian
equivalent, Sergey
Lavrov, while the Egyptian chief of army
staff, Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi, met with the Minister of
Defence of Russia, Sergei
Shoigu. Fahmy stated that Egypt wished to
return to Soviet-level relations with Russia, and Shoigu hinted
that there may be military cooperation between the
Russian and Egyptian navies
and air forces. Egypt may
also be planning several billion dollars´ worth of military
equipment from Russia.
FROM
WIKIPEDIA
A panorama of Aswan
Dam
The
Aswan High Dam as seen from space
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