Therefore, he considers the primary hydronym Ladoga to originate in the eponymous inflow to the lower reaches of the Volkhov River whose early Finnic name was Alodejoki (corresponding to modern Finnish: Alojen joki) 'river of the lowlands'.

Lake Ladoga is navigable, being a part of the Volga–Baltic Waterway connecting the Baltic Sea with the Volga River.

Geologically, the Lake Ladoga depression is a graben and syncline structure of Proterozoic age (Precambrian).

[9] Deglaciation following the Weichselian glaciation took place in the Lake Ladoga basin between 12,500 and 11,500 radiocarbon years BP.

[10][11] At 9,500 BP, Lake Onega, previously draining into the White Sea, started emptying into Ladoga via the River Svir.

Between 9,500 and 9,100 BP, during the transgression of Ancylus Lake, the next freshwater stage of the Baltic, Ladoga certainly became part of it, even if they hadn't been connected immediately before.

It has been hypothesized, but not proven, that waters of the Litorina Sea, the next brackish-water stage of the Baltic, occasionally invaded Ladoga between 7,000 and 5,000 BP.

[17] Nizhnesvirsky Natural Reserve is situated along the shore of Lake Ladoga immediately to the north of the mouth of the River Svir.

[18] In the Middle Ages, the lake formed a vital part of the trade route from the Varangians to the Eastern Roman Empire, with the Norse emporium at Staraya Ladoga defending the mouth of the Volkhov since the 8th century.

During the Russo-Swedish War of 1656–1658, the Swedes deployed several armed vessels (called Lodja) on lake Ladoga to combat the Russians though no large sea battles were fought.

In the 18th century, the Ladoga Canal was built to bypass the lake which was prone to winds and storms that destroyed hundreds of cargo ships.

After the Winter War (1939–40) according to the Moscow Peace Treaty, Ladoga, previously shared with Finland, became an internal basin of the Soviet Union.

During World War II not only Finnish and Soviet, but also German and Italian vessels operated there (see also Naval Detachment K and Regia Marina).

Under these circumstances, during much of the Siege of Leningrad (1941–44), Lake Ladoga provided the only access to the besieged city as a section of the eastern shore remained in Soviet hands.

After World War II, Finland lost the Karelia region again to the USSR, and all Finnish citizens were evacuated from the ceded territory.