The White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal , often abbreviated to White Sea Canal is a ship canal

Ship canal

A ship canal is a canal especially constructed to carry ocean-going ships, as opposed to barges. Ship canals can be enlarged barge canals, canalized or channelized rivers, or canals especially constructed from the start to accommodate ships....

 in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea

White Sea

The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...

 with Lake Onega

Lake Onega

Lake Onega is a lake in the north-west European part of Russia, located on the territory of Republic of Karelia, Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast. It belongs to the basin of Baltic Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and is the second largest lake in Europe after Lake Ladoga...

, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. Until 1961, its original name was the Stalin White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal (Belomorsko–Baltiyskiy Kanal imeni Stalina). The canal was constructed by forced labour of GULAG

Gulag

The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...

 inmates and during its construction some 100,000 people died (although various estimates have been stated).

The canal runs partially along several canalised rivers and Lake Vygozero

Lake Vygozero

Lake Vygozero is a large freshwater lake in the Republic of Karelia, in the northwestern part of Russia. It has an area of 1,250 km², and is part of the Vyg River drainage in the White Sea basin....

.