Samara

Samara (Сама́ра), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ˈkujbɨʂɨf), is the ninth-largest city in Russia and the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Some statistics indicate that it is the eighth or ninth-largest city by population, rather than sixth. It is in the southeastern part of Western Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara rivers, on the east bank of the Volga which acts as the citys western boundary; across the river are the Zhiguli Mountains, after which the local beer (Zhigulyovskoye) is named. The northern boundary is formed by the Sokolyi Hills and by the steppes in the south and east. The city covers 46,597 ha, with a population of the metropolitan area of Samara, Tolyatti and Syzran has a population of over 3 million. It is about 300 km from Kazan, 410 km from Ufa, 340 km from Saratov and 235 km from Oral, Kazakhstan.Formerly a closed city, Samara is now a large and important social, political, economic, industrial, and cultural centre in European Russia and hosted the European Union—Russia Summit in May 2007. It has a continental climate characterised by hot summers and cold winters. The life of Samaras citizens has always been intrinsically linked to the Volga River, which has not only served as the main commercial thoroughfare of Russia throughout several centuries, but also has great visual appeal. Samaras riverfront is considered one of the favourite recreation places both for local citizens and tourists. After the Soviet novelist Vasily Aksyonov visited Samara, he remarked: I am not sure where in the West one can find such a long and beautiful embankment.

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