The River Daugava or Western Dvina is a river rising in the Valdai Hills, Russia, flowing through Russia, Belarus, and Latvia, draining into the Gulf of Riga in Latvia, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The total length of the river is : in Russia, in Belarus, and in Latvia. It became connected to the Berezina and Dnieper rivers in the 19th century by a canal, which no longer functions. The Daugava forms part of the international border between Latvia and Belarus.