The Samara (in 1935-90 Kuibyshev) is a large industrial, scientific and cultural center of Russia situated on the left bank of the great Volga-river which is the main waterway of the European part of the country.
As a town Samara is known from 1586 when it was founded as a fortress for repulsing raids of nomad peoples. The town was named after small river Samara fall into Volga here, a source named the latter disappear in ages. From XVII century it lost defensive importance and due convenient location it became a large transport center. Land ways from Middle Asia ended and river ways to Black, Baltic Seas and the rest of Russia began here. A lot of goods were transferred from "ship of desert" - camels on to barges and backwards. The town was named as a "land port". It had become one of the biggest corn-trade center of Russia.
During War II the town was "reserved capitals" of USSR. The foreign embassies, some departments of Soviet Government were accommodated here. The most interested object of that period - the "Stalin's bunker": it is 37 meters deep and absolutely secret up to end of 80's. Also, many of the plants were evacuated here. All of this resulted to strong growth of the town.
Nowadays Samara is a 1.26 million population industrial center. Here there are more than a hundred of machine-building and metalworking, aviation and space, energetics, oil-chemical and food enterprises. This production are: passenger and transport aircrafts and aircraft engines, radars, space ships, precision bearings, oil-refining products, building materials, watches, chocolate candy. The firm AutoVAZ (LADA) (Samara, Riva, Niva, Sputnik cars) located in Togliatti - city near Samara.
There are 11 Universities and many scientific research institutes and designing organizations in Samara. The inhabitants of Samara have 4 theatres - the Drama Theatre, the Opera House, the Theatre of Young Spectators, the Puppet Theatre and also the Philharmonic Society with its own symphony orchestra. The Folk Volga-region Chorus and children's dancing group "Zadumka" have acquired a wide popularity both in Russia and abroad. There are some concert halls, a circus. Grushin festival gather tens of thousands lovers of "Author's" ("Hiking") song in the countryside of Samara on the first week-end of July every year. The 7 museums of Samara possess a rich variety of objects.
Samara is located on board of forest and steppe zones and have a excellent countryside. It is good for hiking and sky. There are horseback routes. Beautiful wild beaches stretches for kilometers. Over the Volga there is the small mountains - Zhiguli. It's national park. The thirty centuries ago the middle Volga region was a center Scythian lands. Now archaeological expeditions work here and they may be visited. There are some stadiums and tennis courts in the town. Also, there is a mountain-skiing trace.
A temperate continental climate is here. The middle temperature of July is +21 °C, of January -14 °C, a lot of snow.
Samara is an important transport junction in the center of Russia. It is connected with all parts of Russia by waterways, air routes, highways and railways. The best ways to get to Samara from abroad are via Moscow (by train or by airplane) or via Tel Aviv, Ganover or Frankfurt (there are the air lines).