The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Volga German ASSR, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR. Its capital city was Engels located on the Volga River. As a result of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the republic was abolished and Volga Germans were exiled.

Engels is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia. An important port located on the Volga River across from Saratov, Engels is the administrative center of the oblast, and is connected to it with a bridge. It is the second-largest city in Saratov Oblast with a population of 202,419 (2010 Russian census).