Samara is a Russian city of millions, located at the mouth of the Samara River in the Volga. According to legend, the Metropolitan of Moscow visited the site in 1357 and predicted a future metropolis, but it was not until 1586 that Samara’s modern history began. At this time, a fort was built here, which was supposed to secure the transport route along the rivers and the borders of the kingdom. It was one of several forts from the 1580s along the banks of the Volga, and Samara was strengthened with the establishment of a customs office in 1600. The population increased, but the number of citizens was only around 700 in 1670. Growth increased from the beginning of the 18th century, where Samara became an important city for trade and diplomacy between Russia and the East, and was visited by Peter the Great and later Tsars.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the population had risen to approximately 4,000, and in 1851 the ever-growing town was made a regional administrative town. The number of citizens was 110,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, when in 1935 Samara was named Kuybyshev. The new name came from the Bolshevik and Soviet politician Valerian Kuybyshev, who had just passed away. During World War II, Kuybyshev was designated as an alternative capital of Russia if Moscow were to fall into German hands. In 1941, part of the country’s administration was moved to Kuybyshev, and under the city’s Communist Party building, a bunker was built for Josef Stalin, but it was never used. After the war, the city was developed as one of the leading centers for aircraft production and space travel, and from 1960 Kujbyshev was a so-called closed city in the Soviet Union. In 1991, Samara got its old name back.

Today, Samara is a city with several attractions in the right-angled streetscape, which was established with the 19th-century town plan. The area along the Volga and where the Samara River flows into the Volga was laid out in rectangles with several squares as central elements. The largest square was the one that came to be called Sobornaya Ploshad/Соборная площадь, which means Cathedral Square. The name came from the Octododox cathedral that was built here from 1869 until its opening in 1894. In 1924, the name of the square was changed to Kommunalnaya Ploshad/Коммунальная площадь, and in the years 1930-1932 the local cathedral was demolished. In 1935, the square changed its name again. This time to the current Ploshad Kujbysheva/Площадь Куйбышева.

Kuybyshev Square is one of the world’s largest with an area of ​​15 hectares. It is home to the Samara Opera and Ballet Theatre/Самарский театр оперы и балета, which was founded and opened its first season with a production of Modest Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov. The current building was built as a Palace of Culture and opened in 1938. In front of the theater stands a statue of Kuybyshev, and if you go west from here on ulitsa Shostakovicha/улица Шостаковича you will come to the house with Bunker Stalina/Бункер Сталина, which was built in 37 meters below the Jordan in 1942. The bunker was supposed to be able to protect Josef Stalin, and the city of Kuybyshev was selected as an alternative capital if Germany captured Moscow during their invasion of the Soviet Union. The bunker is set up as a museum, and it is located under the former headquarters of the Soviet Communist Party in Samara.

The building above Stalin’s bunker is adjacent to Ploshad Chapaeva/Площадь Чапаева square, where there is a monument to Vasiliy Chapaev, who was a commander in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. At the square, you can also visit the Samara Military History Museum/Самарский военно-исторический музей and see the Samara Academic Drama Theater/Самарский академический театр драмы, located in a beautiful theater building from 1888. If you continue north from here, you will come to the Iversky Nunnery/Иверский женский монастырь , which was established in 1860. The monastery developed into a significant architectural ensemble, which can be seen today on the hilly area, from which there is also a view of the Volga. From the monastery you can walk to the river promenade along the Volga, where the city’s long sandy beach is also located.

In the area south of Kuybyshev Square lies the majority of old Samara. Here you can take a nice stroll in the cozy streets and, among other things, visit the Samarsky Oblastnoy Khudozhestvennyj Muzej/Самарский областной художественный музей, an impressive art museum which is one of the largest in Russia. You can also see some of the fine urban spaces that were created with the old town plans from the 19th century, such as Revolution Square/Площадь Революции, where there is a monument with a statue of Vladimir Lenin. One should also take a walk down the main street Leningradskaya ulitsa/Ленинградская улица, which has been converted into a pedestrian zone with shops and eateries on the central stretch.

You can also continue along the riverbank to the north, and in that area you will reach the square Ploshad Slavy/площадь Славы, whose name means Square of Glory. Construction of the large square began in 1968, and the facility was completed in 1971. The central element is the Monument of Glory/монумент Славы, created in honor of Samara’s aviation industry workers who performed their important work during World War II. The monument is a 40 meter high pedestal with a 13 meter long figure of a worker holding wings in his raised hands. In addition to the monument, you can see an eternal flame, a church and other elements of the overall square, which also lies as a colossal terrace with a panoramic view of the Volga.

The aviation industry and its achievements have been important to Samara for many years, and this can be seen on several monuments around the city. In the northern part of the city you can see the Monument to the Soyuz launch rockets/Памятный комплекс ракеты-носителя Союз. Inaugurated in 2001 as part of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s spacewalk, the monument consists of an R-7 11A511 rocket and a museum. The rocket was built in 1984 and was in use for training purposes. In the same area of ​​the city you can see a monument to the fighter plane Il-2/Ил-2. The aircraft was built in what was then Kujbyshev, shot down in 1943 and restored in order to be re-displayed in the city, where more than 15,000 of the type were produced during World War II.