city, Volgograd oblast (region), western Russia. The city lies along the Volga River and the Volgograd reservoir. In 1697 Peter I the Great built a fort, Petrovsk, to protect workmen attempting to construct a canal between the Volga and Don rivers. Renamed Dmitriyevsk in 1710 and Kamyshin in 1780, it became the centre of an agricultural region and a transshipment point; it was linked by rail to Tambov in 1895. Modern Kamyshin also has engineering and other industries. Pop. (2006 est.) 121,829.