Just past Astrakhan, the Volga flows into this inland "sea" that is actually a lake
The Cossacks returned to take Astrakhan, and it was only the armies 
of the... [DOC] [TLE] Volga River [PAR] From there it turns south, flows past Ulyanovsk, Tolyatti, Samara, Saratov and ... 
into the Caspian Sea below Astrakhan at 28 meters (92 ft) below sea level.