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Samara is one of the largest cities in Russia. It is situated in the south-eastern part of European Russia, the Volga Federal District. Samara is the capital of Samara Oblast. Population: 1,157,880 (2002 Census); 1,254,460 (1989 Census). The metropolitan area of Samara-Togliatti-Syzran within Samara Region constitutes the population of more than 3.0 million people. Formerly a closed city, Samara is now a large and important social, political, economic, industrial and cultural centre of European Russia which in May 2007 held the European Union—Russia Summit.
Samara is located on the left bank of the Volga river which acts as its western boundary. Its northern boundary is formed by Sokolyi Hills and by the steppes in the south and east.

In the centre of this small square stands a monument to Chapaev, designed by Matvei Manizer in 1932. Vasily Chapaev himself was a distinguished military commander who joined the Bolshevik Party in 1917 and subsequently fought against the White Army in the Civil War. He disappeared after an ambush in 1919 when he tried to escape by swimming across a river. He posthumously rose to legendary status after the publication of a book called Chapaev by Dmitry Furmanov in 1924. The book was made into a popular movie ten years later. The striking statue features Chapaev at the front of a band of soldiers, urging them onwards.	Samara Drama Theatre was constructed in 1888 according to the project by architect M.N. Chichagov in the "pseudo Russian" architectural style. The facade with its picturesque brick ornaments much resembles Moscow architectural style of the 17th century.		It is the new symbol of the city of Samara, situated at the end of Lenin Prospect. The rocket was constructed in October, 2001, its height is 54.62 meters. The rocket isn't a model, but a real one. It was made for training purposes. The opening was devoted to the 40th anniversary of the first flight into space; the 40th anniversary of the creation of the special spacecraft construction bureau; the 40th anniversary of the creation of strategic missile troops. The city space museum is to take residence in a building neighbouring the Rocket.
	Taking pride of place on top of a grassed slope above the banks of Volga, the dominant feature in the square is the Monument of Glory. Considered the 'symbol of Samara', the statue was built in honour of Samara's aviation workers during the Second World War. Hence the sexless figure at the top of the column is sporting a set of wings. The pedestal is some 40 meters high while the worker himself is an additional 13 meters tall.
Monument of Glory at Ploshchad Slavy		Top of the Monument of Glory	Old wooden houses in Samara
Volga at Samara	Buildings by the Volga, Samara	Building, Samara	Government building in Ploshchad Slavy
	At the north-eastern corner of Ploshchad Slavy stands the small but attractive Cathedral of St George. A recent creation, the church was built in 2001 under the guidance of architect Yury Kharitinov in honour of the older and larger incarnation that was destroyed during the Communist era. The church looks a lot like a miniature version of Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Fitting with the general purpose of Ploshchad Slavy, the Cathedral of St George is devoted to Samara's war dead. Entrance to the church is free but unfortunately the interior isn't particularly impressive.
St George Cathedral		St George Cathedral	War memorial and Eternal Flame
Stalin's Secret Bunker
		In 1942, with German Army at the doors of Moscow, Samara was named USSR  second capital and it would have become the capital city, had Moscow fallen down to the German Army, because it was considered to be out of the range of the German artillery. Moscow eventually resisted, so Samara never became the capital city. But the great underground construction, known as Stalin's Bunker was built here, and the Soviet government  was planned be moved into this bunker in case of Moscow defeat. It was an important and top secret military object until 1990. Until 1990 the residents of the neighbourhood didn't even suspect there was such  construction under their homes. The bunker was built in nine months of 1942. The bunker is about 40 meters deep.
Map of Russia showing Moscow and Samara	The building over the Stalin's secret bunker.		Entrance to Stalin's secret bunker Samara
Descending the to the bunker	Stalin's underground secret bunker Samara	Security door at the first landing.	Stalin's desk in the bunker
Receiving secret orders	Sofa in Stalin's office	The bunker operations room
Stained window of Stalin in bunker	Military motorcycle combination	BMW motorcycle combination	Guns and headgear outside Stalin's Bunker, Samara

 This page was last modified on Thursday February 05, 2009