Hospitable, well-disposed and talented people live in Samara. They build spacecraft and launch vehicles, smelt metals, manufacture bearings, make chocolate and beer, develop laser technologies, erect wonderful buildings, perform unique surgical operations, educate and bring up children, develop culture. They turned Samara into a major industrial and trade center, into a metropolis with developing science and culture drawing attention of the whole world.

      Samara forms a crossroad of different cultural influences, confessions, political movements, various paths and ways: it is also center of new technologies. We are open for close and fruitful cooperation and are happy to make new friends and find business partners.

      We are glad to visitors of our city!

Samara is located on the left bank of the Volga river. Most of the city area occupies the country between the Volga river and its left tributaries — Samara and Sok. The city length down the river front is 50 km from the north to the south, its northern boundary is formed by Sokolyi Hills ranging on the bank of the Sok river.

The city stretches out from the Volga to the east for 20 km and adjoins limitless prairies (known here as steppes). The land within the city boundaries covers 46 597 ha. From the heights of Samara one can see one of the most picturesque places of the Volga bend — Zhiguli Gates. Most of the Zhiguli Hills area is situated on the territory of the national park Samarskaya Luka.

Samara is situated in the zone where climate is of continental type characterized by hot summer and cold winter. The average temperature of the warmest month (July) is +23.2°C. In summer the temperature can be as high as +39°C, and in winter it sometimes drops to -43°C.

A legend says that Metropolitan Alexy acknowledged later as Samara's heavenly patron, visited our place in the year 1357 and predicted that a great town would be erected there lighting up with piety, and that the town would never be ravaged. Volga quay of Samara was already shown on the XIV–XV centuries maps made by the Italians. Officially though the town's "family tree" grows from a fortress built in 1586 at the confluence of two rivers — Volga and Samara. This fortress became a safe advanced post protecting the eastern boundaries of the country from forays of nomads. The local customs office was established in 1600. More and more ships pulled up to Samara quay. Samara turned into the center of diplomatic and economic links between Russia and the Orient. Samara also opened its gates to peasant war rebels headed by Stepan Razin and Yemelyan Pugachyov welcoming them with traditional Bread-and-Salt. Reigning personages did not avoid Samara. Peter the Great, Alexander the 1st, the 2nd and the 3rd, Nikolai the 2nd visited the town. Orenburg Expedition Headquarters headed by I.K. Kirillov and V.N. Tatishtshev operated in Samara from 1736 through 1742. Academic Expeditions under the leadership of I.I. Lepyokhin and P.S. Pallas explored Samara area in the sixties of the XVIII century; world-wide known naturalist A. Humbolt came to Samara in 1829.

In 1780 Samara was turned into chief town of uyezd of Simbirsk Region ruled by governor-general. Uyezd and Zemstvo Courts of Justice and Board of Treasury were established. Regular Volga navigation started. It was January 1, 1851 when Samara became center of a large Province with the population of 20 000. This gave a stimulus to development of economic, political and cultural life of the community. In 1877, during the Russian-Turkish war, a mission of Samara Town Duma brought to Bulgarian fighting squads the symbol of spiritual solidarity — a banner tailored in Samara. Pyotr V. Alabin delivered the banner. Pierced with bullets and saturated with blood of Russians and Bulgarians it has become relic of Russian-Bulgarian friendship. Quick growth of Samara economy late XIX – early XX centiries was determined by the scope of bread trade and milling business. Rendering prospered. Samara Brewery came into being in the eighties, as well Kenitser Macaroni Factory, Ironworks, Confectionery Factory and Match Factory. The town was decorated with magnificent private residences and administrative buildings. Trade Houses of the Subbotins, Kurlins, Shikhobalovs, Smirnovs - founders of the milling industry who contributed a lot to development of the town — were widely known not only nationwide but also abroad where Samara wheat was exported. By its rapid upsurge Samara resembled young North-American cities, and contemporaries by right coiled the town "new Russian Orleans" and "Russian Chicago".

Samara and its surroundings played an important role in the fate of many outstanding cultural workers and men of letters. V.F. Kommisarzhevskaya, P.A. Strepetova, M.G. Sovina performed on Samara stages, F.I. Shalyapin and L.V. Sobinov sang in Olymp Theatre-Circus. Vladimir I. Lenin, one of the organizers of Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party, founder and leader of the Soviet state, lived and worked in Samara in the years 1889-1893.

By the start of the XX c. the population of the town was already more than 100 000, it was a major trade and industrial center of the Volga Area.

Stormy events of the year 1917 resulted in establishing of Soviet power in Samara, but in June 1918 under the armed support of the Czechoslovak corps the power in the town was taken by the Constituent Assembly Committee members.

For a short period Samara became capital of several provinces. 1921 was the year of severe hunger in Samara, In order to provide support to the people F. Nansen (the famous Polar explorer), M.Andersen-Nexe (Danish writer), Swedish Red Cross Mission and officers of APA from the United States came to Samara. In 1935 the town was given a new name in the honor of bolshevik V.V.Kuibyshev. The Great Patriotic War turned Kuibyshev with the population of 410 000 into the alternate capital of the USSR. Communist Party and governmental organizations, diplomatic missions of foreign countries, leading cultural establishments and their staff were evacuated to the town. Industrial enterprises and their workers also moved to that place. From the very first war months the town supplied the front with aircraft, firearms and ammunition.

A dug-out for Stalin known as Stalin's Bunker was constructed in a very short time span. But Stalin never came there. The famous military parade of November 7, 1941 was held on the central square of the town. March 5, 1942 was the day when Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was first performed in the town's Opera and Ballet House by the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra conducted by S.A.Samosud. The symphony was broadcast all over the world. Health centers and most of the hospital facilities were turned into base hospitals. Air-force pilots (legendary A. Meresyev among them) were on vacation in Chkalov Health Center.

Polish and Czechoslovak military units were formed on the territory of Volga Military District. Samara citizens fought at the front, many of them volunteered. After the war the defense industry developed rapidly in Samara; existing facilities changed their profile and new factories were built. In the year 1960 Samara (bearing still the name of Kuibyshev) became missile shield of the country.

April, 12 1961 was the day when the whole world heard the voice and saw the face of the man who first stepped into space, it was Yury Gagarin. The launch vehicle Vostok which delivered the first manned spaceship to the orbit was built at Samara Progress Plant. And it was exactly Kuibyshev on the Volga where Yury Gagarin came to take a rest after landing; he first spoke of an improvised meeting of Progress workers.

Samara enterprises played a leading hand in development of domestic aviation and implementation of space programs. An unusual monument is situated in Samara, it is Ilyushin-2 aircraft assembled by the Kuibyshev workers late 1942. This attack plane was brought down in 1943 in the sky over Karelia, but the heavily wounded pilot K. Kotlyarovsky managed to bring the aircraft on to land near the lake of Oriyarvi. The aircraft returned to its native land in 1975. It was placed at crossing of two major roads as a symbol of deeds of home front servicemen and air-force pilots during the Great Patriotic War.

Samara citizens' life has been associated with Volga, serving as the main commercial route of Russia through several centuries. Besides Volga has a great visual appeal.

Samara river-front is one of the favorite recreation places of local dwellers and the guests. After Vasily Aksyonov visited Samara he remarked: "I am not sure where in the West one can find such a long and beautiful embankment. Possibly around Lake of Geneva only".

January 1991 — historically fixed name Samara was given back to the city. At the close of the X c Samara is one of major industrial cities of Russia with a powerful cultural potential, multinational population and great history. Samara is known to be the leading industrial center of the Volga Area. The city is among the top ten Russian cities as regards produced national income and industry volume. Samara stands for world-famous launch vehicles, satellites and various space services, engines and cable, aircraft and rolled aluminum, block-module power stations; refinery, chemical and cryogenic products; gas-pumping units; bearings of different sizes, drilling bits; automated electric equipment; airfield equipment; truck-mounted cranes; construction materials; chocolate made by Russia Chocolate Factory; vodka Rodnik; Zhiguli beer; food processing and light industry products.

From the beginning of the nineties Samara is an open city with regard to establishing business and cultural links. The city established partnership relations with many countries of the world. Samara develops sister-city relations with Stuttgart, St.-Louis, Stara-Zagora, Dnepropetrovsk, Zhengzhou, Kaliningrad and Feodosia in dealing with social problems in health care, education and culture. Municipality of Stuttgart, West-East Society, Circle Supporting Children Laken iII with Cancer, Olgahospital, Katharinenhospital supplied health care institutions of Samara and the Region with medical equipment and medicaments. Regularly held conferences and seminars with the assistance of foreign colleagues make it possible to exchange experience, attract medical men to advanced training, upgrade the quality of diagnostics, apply innovative treatment techniques.

Infant mortality rate in Samara Region is the lowest all over Russia now. Technical assistance provided by the Swiss Government helped to mount new equipment at Studiony Ovrag Water Treatment Plant. Installation of Potable Water Ozonization Commercial Plant is on the schedule.

Financial and consulting assistance to Samara institutions is rendered by Eurasia Fund, ALHA, Know-How Fund, Soros Foundation, TACIS, EBRD, USAID. The number of foreigners coming to Samara is sky-rocketing. Exhibitions and fairs of presenting products of foreign companies are organized here.

International program "Scholarships for Young Scientists" involves more and more higher education establishments of Samara.

Education in Samara begins in 188 schools of general education, lyceums, high schools and the college of continuous education (from elementary up to higher education) known as Nayanova University existing under the aegis of International Parliament for Security and Peace attached to UNO.

The number of medal winners in Samara is growing. Graduates of the year 1999 received 173 gold medals and 504 silver medals. The effective program Children of Samara covers all fields of upbringing and education — preschool (in 318 kinder gartens), school, additional, extracurricular, at leisure. 27 000 children are pooled in teenager clubs as per interests including sports, tourist, martial-patriotic, environmentally-biological, artistic-and-esthetic, decorative-and-applied, model building. Not only education workers and officials contribute to the project implementation but also directors of different services, members of legislative bodies, war and labor veterans, tutelage councils. Old Russian tradition — universal involvement in upbringing — is being revived.

Samara is a major educational and scientific center of Volga Area. 12 public and 13 commercial institutions of higher education as well as 26 colleges train future physicists and mathematians, pedagogues and medical doctors, musicians and actors, directors and artists, aircraft- and missile-producers, journalists and lawyers, economists and architects, oil industry workers and mechanical engineers, archeologists and electronic engineers, metallurgists and railroaders, telecommunication workers and interpreters and a lot of others. The recently inaugurated Management Institute trains economic executives to be.

The students are instructed by prominent scientists, highly skilled lecturers and experts. Basic research is also carried out in Samara. Samara Research Center of Russian Academy of Sciences incorporates Samara branch of the Physical Institute, Theoretical Engineering Institute and Image Processing Systems Institute. Major research institutions operate in the city.