The paper presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of atmospheric aerosol based on in situ photometer SPM measurements data, MODIS (Aqua/Terra) and VIIRS satellite data, and HYSPLIT air flow modeling data. The study was conducted by comparing the optical characteristics obtained during the same periods over the Black Sea region and tracking the movement of aerosol towards reservoirs located in different parts of the Volga River: the Middle Volga (Gorky and Cheboksary Reservoirs) and the Lower Volga (Kuybyshev and Volgograd Reservoirs). The analysis revealed the days of dust aerosol presence in the atmosphere. We compared the periods when high values of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and low values of the Angstrom exponent were obtained for the Black Sea and for the Volga River. The periods when high values of AOD and low values of the Angstrom exponent were obtained simultaneously for the Black Sea and for the Volga River region were identified. A key finding of this study is the stability of the aerosol optical characteristics over the Black Sea and the Kuybyshev Reservoir, which persisted even during intensive dust transport from the Sahara Desert. This proves that regional algorithms for the Black Sea can be used to restore the brightness coefficients from satellite data when there is dust aerosol in the atmosphere over the Volga River reservoirs. The presented results provide a preliminary description of the atmosphere optical characteristics in the study regions and may be useful for testing the accuracy of standard atmospheric correction algorithms for satellite data.