General Information

Samara Region is situated in the southeastern European part of Russia. The area of the region is 53.6 thousand square kilometers, which makes 0.31% of the territory of Russia. It borders the Republic of Tatarstan in the north, the Saratov Oblast – in the south, the Orenburg Oblast – in the east and the Ulyanovsk Oblast in the northwest. The Samara region stretches 335 kilometers form north to south, and 315 kilometers form west to east. The population of the region is about 3,240 thousand people.

The Samara Oblast territory comprises 11 towns and 24 villages of urban type. The largest cities are Samara (1210.6 thousand people), Togliatti (724.1 thousand people), Syzran (187.3 thousand people), Novokuibyshevsk (117.6 thousand people), Chapayevsk (86.7 thousand people), Zhigulyovsk (59.8 thousand people), Otradny (53.4 thousand people).

The city of Samara lies on the left bank of the Volga River and at the mouth of the Samara River. It is a major river port and rail center of the region. The population of Samara is about 1.2 million people. The territory of Samara is about 260 sq. km.

City telephone code: 8462

Distance from Moscow: 1098 km

Time: Moscow time+ 1 hour

Climate and Nature

The climate of the region is distinctly continental. The average temperature in July is about +20C, the average temperature in January is -14 C.

Despite active industrial development of the city, the wild nature, flora and fauna are carefully preserved. The key nature reserves areas are the national park “Samarskaya Luka”, the Zhiguly public nature reserve and others.
Most of the territory of the Samara Oblast is forest steppe. Pine and wide-leaf woods are in the north of the oblast, southern and eastern parts are mostly steppes. The largest mountain chain of the oblast and at the same time the most magnificent in Russia are the Zhiguli Mountains situated in Samarskaya Luka.

Elks, deer, wild boars, roe deer, wolves, hares, dozens of unique species of birds, fish, insects inhabit the Oblast.

History

According to archeologists, the first human settlements in the Mid-Volga region date from the late Paleolithic period. Later Scythian and Sarmatian tribes migrated on the territory of the Oblast. After the victory of the Russians over the Tatars in the X century, the Volga region inhabitants became independent of the Khazars. With the growth of power and influence of Ancient Russia (called Rus), Moscow princes showed particular interest in Samarskaya Luka due to its extremely attractive economic and military strategic position.

In 1586 Samara Fortress was founded at the mouth of the Samara River. It is most likely that the meaning of the word ‘Samara’ is hidden in the forgotten language of a disappeared people. A city of about two million people today was founded in 1586 as part of a string of fortified towns along the Middle and Lower Volga. It became a stronghold of the Russian state to protect it from the nomads.

In 1850 the Samara Gubernia was founded. In 1935 Samara was renamed Kuibyshev, so the name of the oblast changed as well. The present boundaries of the oblast were established in 1936. In 1990 the city and the oblast were given their historic names – the Samara and Samara Oblast respectively.

The oblast is quite diverse in terms of its ethnic identity. The Russians are the main population. Other nationalities are represented as follows: Tartars – 3,6%, Kazakhs – 0,4%, Jews – 0,4%, Germans – 0,3%.

Economy

The Samara Oblast is among the leading industrial regions of Russia; it has 400 big and medium-sized enterprises and over 4 thousand smaller companies. The main fossils of the oblast are oil and natural gas. Among other natural resources significant for the economy of the oblast are oil shale, silicate clay, native sulphur, mineral waters, sodium chloride, construction stone and a number of other substances and minerals.

Exploration, extradition and processing have become a pivotal part of the economic potential of the oblast. The most developed branches of industry include machine-building and metalworking, fuel industry, power industry, chemical and petrochemical industries, non-ferrous metallurgy.

Samara was a closed city to foreigners until the Iron Curtain collapsed, and the city’s industries were among the reasons.

Places To See

Today with its numerous places of interest, rich history and picturesque architecture Samara is attracting numerous guests from abroad.

Samara has several museums. There is the Art Museum, the Alexei Tolstoy Museum (the writer lived and worked in Samara for some time) and others. One of the new museums is called ‘Stalin’s Bunker’ because it was built as a secure place for Stalin.

Samara has four theatres. There are the Drama Theatre, the Opera and Ballet House, the Theatre of Young Spectators and the Puppet Theatre. The circus of Samara is called "The Hat".

Samara is a place of religious diversity. Orthodox Russian churches dominate, but there is a large mosque, Catholic and Anglican churches in the city.

Hotels

Edelveis Hotel. Address: Moskovskaya Str., 6.
Equator Hotel. Address: Samara, Novo-Sadovaya Str., 18. Phone: +7 8462 382802.
Europe Hotel. Address: Galaktionovskaya Str., 171. Phone: +7 8462 708631, 708740, 708741, 708742.
Hansa Hotel. Address: Kuibyshev Str., 88. Phone: +7 8462 323615.
Kolos Hotel. Address: Samarskaya Str., 71/69. Phone: +7 8462 337900.
National Hotel. Address: Frunze Str., 91/37. Phone: +7 8462 337695. Fax: +7 8462 324163.
Lukoil Hotel. Address: Malaya Tsarevshchina.
Metallurg Hotel. Address: Eniseyskaya Str., 62a.
Oktiabrskaya Hotel. Address: Avrory Str., 209. Phone: +7 8462 222985 . Fax: +7 8462 222808.
Progress Hotel. Address: Svobody Str., 107b.
Rossia Hotel. Address: Gorky Str., 82. Phone: +7 8462 390311, 332441. Fax: +7 8462 332441.
Samara Hotel. Address: Razin Str., 128. Phone: +7 8462 323682.
Teatralnaya Hotel. Address: Polevaya Str., 4.
Tri Viaza Hotel. Address: Nekrasovskaya Str., 28
Yunost Hotel. Address: Aerodromnaya Str., 13. Phone: +7 8462 663802, 688521, 638522. Fax: +7 8462 663802.

Evgeniya Stroganova