Samara

/seuh mahr"euh/; Russ. /su mah"rddeuh/, n.

a port in the SE Russian Federation in Europe, on the Volga. 1,257,000. Formerly (1935-91), Kuibyshev.

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formerly (1935–91) Kuybyshev

City (pop., 2001 est.: 1,146,400) and river port, eastern Russia.

Located on the left bank of the Volga River where the Samara River joins the Volga, it was founded in 1586 as a fortress protecting the Volga trade route. It was the scene of the rebellion of Yemelyan Pugachov against Catherine II in 1773–74. It later became a major trade centre. Its growth was stimulated during World War II by the relocation there of numerous government functions when Moscow was threatened by German attack. It is highly industrialized and is the centre of a network of pipelines. Oil and petrochemicals are the major industries.

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▪ Russia

formerly  (1935–91) Kuybyshev  also spelled  Kujbyšev, or Kuibyshev 

      city and administrative centre, west-central Samara oblast (region), western Russia. It lies along the Volga River at the latter's confluence with the Samara River. Founded in 1586 as a fortress protecting the Volga trade route, it soon became a major focus of trade and later was made a regional seat. In 1935 the city was renamed after Valerian Vladimirovich Kuybyshev (1888–1935), a prominent Bolshevik. The city's growth was stimulated during World War II by its distance from the war zone and the evacuation there of numerous government functions when Moscow was threatened by German attack; the postwar development of the Volga-Urals oil field also helped. The city reverted to its old name in 1991.

      Samara is now one of the largest industrial cities of Russia and the centre of a network of pipelines, with oil refining and petrochemicals the major industries, especially in the satellite town of Novokuybyshevsk. There are huge engineering factories making a wide range of products, including petroleum equipment, machinery, ball bearings, cables, and precision machine tools, and there are many building-materials and consumer-goods industries. Much of the city's power comes from a hydroelectric-power plant completed in 1957 at Zhigulyovsk, a few miles upstream. A group of industrial and residential suburbs and satellite towns ring the city. Samara has excellent communications by ship along the Volga and along rail lines connecting it to European Russia, Siberia, and Central Asia. The city has cultural and research establishments and several institutions of higher education. Pop. (2005 est.) 1,151,681.

▪ oblast, Russia

formerly  (1935–91) Kuybyshev, or Kuibyshev 

      oblast (region), western Russia. It is located in the middle Volga River area where the river makes a great loop around the Zhiguli Hills. The hills, heavily forested and deeply dissected by ravines, rise to 1,214 feet (370 metres). The Volga left (east) bank, constituting most of the region, is largely level plain. The natural oak woodlands and grass steppe of the left bank have been almost entirely ploughed up since Russians began intensive colonization of the area in the 18th century. But the region's agriculture, which is dominated by spring wheat, corn (maize), millet, and sunflowers, suffers severely from recurrent droughts and insufficient irrigation. Market gardening is important near Samara, the regional headquarters, and fruit growing is important on the Volga right bank. World War II and the presence of abundant petroleum and natural-gas deposits in the region led to great industrial development, especially oil refining, petrochemicals, and a broad range of engineering in the towns along the Volga. A large automobile plant began production at Tolyattigrad in 1970. A huge hydroelectric station was built at Zhigulyovsk on the Volga in 1950–57. Pop. (2005) 3,201,272.

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