Samara is one of the largest cities in Russia, the capital of Samara Region, with the population of over 1,164,000 people (2003). It is situated in the European part of Russia on the Volga River. Samara is one of the major economic, industrial and cultural cities of Russia.
Understand
Samara region is located in the southeastern part of the European territory of Russia in the basin of the Volga, the largest river in Europe. The region has the area of 53,6 thousand sq.km (0,31 % of the total territory of Russia ). In the north it borders on the Republic of Tatarstan, in the south - on Saratov area, in the east - on Orenburg area, in northwest - on Ulyanovsk area. The area stretches from north to south for 335 km and from west to east for 315 km. Samara region is forest-steppe region. In the north it is covered with coniferous and broadleaved woods, and its south and east are mainly steppe areas. The largest mountain range of the area and one of the most beautiful places in Russia are Mountains Zhigulevskie. The main river of the region except Volga, the most significant rivers are Samara, Sok, Kinel', Big Irgiz, Kondurcha.
Samara was officially founded in 1586 when on the bank of the Volga River the construction of the fortress that was to protect the Russian State from the incursion of martial nomadic tribes was started. But in fact, the settlement on the bent of the Volga River had been mentioned in the ancient chronicles since 14th century. During World War II Samara (the city situated not far from Moscow ), then named Kuibyshev, was the second capital of USSR. The city's growth was stimulated during World War II by its distance from the war zone and the evacuation there of numerous government functions when Moscow was threatened by German attack; also helped the postwar development of the Volga-Urals oilfield. The city reverted to its old name in 1991.
Many famous people worked and lived in Samara. Outstanding Russian writers Lev Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky, painters Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov and Ivan Aivazovsky, revolutionists Michael Frunze and Vladimir Lenin are among them. Even a French writer Alexander Duma had paid a visit to Samara in 1858. Impressed by the travel he wrote the book "From Paris to Astrakhan " where he gave his description of Samara.
Get in
The city is served by highways and railways, as well as international airlines, among them
Lufthansa flying to and from Frankfurt, or
CSA Czech Airlines flying to and from Prague with convenient connections worldwide, which makes it an attractive tourist destination as well. Kurumoch airport code is KUF. There are more than 10 daily flights to Samara from Moscow, the Russian capital, served by
Aeroflot Russian Airlines,
Samara Airlines,
S7 Airlines and
UTair Aviation , as well as many direct flights from Samara to other Russian cities, including Saint Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk,...
