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Samara , formerly known as Kuybyshev during Soviet rule, is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia . The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 million residents, up to 1.22 million residents in the urban agglomeration, not including Novokuybyshevsk , which is not conurbated. The city covers an area of 541.382 square kilometers (209.029 sq mi), and is the eighth-largest city in Russia and tenth agglomeration, the third-most populous city on the Volga, as well as the Volga Federal District .

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145-735: Formerly a closed city , Samara is now a large and important social, political, economic, industrial, and cultural centre in Russia and hosted the European Union —Russia Summit in May 2007. It has a continental climate characterised by hot summers and cold winters. The life of Samara's citizens has always been intrinsically linked to the Volga River, which has not only served as the main commercial thoroughfare of Russia throughout several centuries, but also has great visual appeal. Samara's riverfront

290-443: A severe heat wave . Being far inland, summers are very warm and winters very cold for its latitude among European cities. Samara is the administrative center of the oblast and, within the framework of administrative divisions , it also serves as the administrative center of Volzhsky District , even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is, together with two rural localities , incorporated separately as

435-706: A "concrete tsunami" of modern office and apartment blocks. Several sports clubs are active in the city: Samara is also a popular venue for National and International Ice speedway , and the City won the Russian Ice Speedway Premier League in 2012/13 season, meaning they will now compete in the Super League in the 2013/14 season. Samara is one of eleven cities hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup with 6 matches (4 Group Stage matches, 1 Round of 16 match, 1 Quarter-Final) which will take place in

580-423: A 270-seat cinema/lecture hall, and a library with a reading hall. Museum's funds contain around 230,000 items, including abundant archaeological and scientific collections (paleontological, mineralogical, zoological, botanical), and folklore and ethnographical collections. Visitors are offered a wide choice of expositions: paleoecological – "Natural communities of Samara region", archaeological – "Priceless heritage of

725-630: A Closed Area Permit. From 1951 to 2012, the FCA encompassed an area of 28 square kilometres, containing numerous villages. Following several stages of reduction, by 2016, the border town of Sha Tau Kok remained as the sole settlement within the FCA. Within the Korean Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea are two "peace villages" (one maintained by each nation): Daeseong-dong (South) and (possibly) Kijŏng-dong (North). Access by non-residents to Daeseong-dong requires

870-684: A Russian "anti-extremism" law has led to an increase in repression of religious minorities. Local authorities and courts in Samara have targeted Jehovah's Witnesses by liquidating the group's legal entity ("Local Religious Organization" or "LRO") and designating it as an "extremist" organization. In November 2016, "the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the decision of the Samara Regional Court to recognize

1015-415: A daily newspaper. In the 1830s, general Alexander Bashilov planned the first regular grid of city streets north from Petrovsky Palace. Khodynka field south of the highway was used for military training. Smolensky Rail station (forerunner of Belorussky Rail Terminal ) was inaugurated in 1870. Sokolniki Park , in the 18th century the home of the tsar's falconers well outside Moscow, became contiguous with

1160-417: A factory. The name of such a facility was usually secret, as were the activities there. Incoming mail was addressed to "Mailbox #XXXX", thus the name of "mailbox". Most Soviet design bureaus (OKB) for weapons , aircraft, space technology, military electronics , etc., were "mailboxes". Russia has the largest number of closed cities globally. The policy governing these cities underwent significant changes in

1305-553: A major industrial center. The main compositional axes arose along the watershed of the Volga and Samara rivers, and the second axis - Novo-Sadovaya Street. The structure highlights the main urban centers: Samara Square and the area of the Botanical Garden. The existing historical buildings were renovated and redeveloped, old cemeteries and churches were demolished to accommodate new public and cultural facilities. The outbreak of

1450-494: A major role in arming the country. From the very first months of World War II the city supplied the front with aircraft, firearms, and ammunition. Health centres and most of the city's hospital facilities were turned into base hospitals. Polish and Czechoslovakian military units were formed on the territory of the Volga Military District. Samara's citizens also fought at the front, many of them volunteers. After

1595-449: A military escort, while Kijŏng-dong is not accessible to visitors. The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center sits within a closed city that occupies 24.8 square kilometers (9.6 sq mi). The classification of a city being closed or not closed is dubious in a North Korean context, as North Korean citizens generally need a permit if they wish to travel outside of their county, and further permits required for entry to Pyongyang , thus

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1740-603: A permit. An example of international cooperation in these cities is the Nuclear Cities Initiative (NCI), a joint effort of the United States National Nuclear Security Administration and Minatom , which involves, in part, the cities of Sarov , Snezhinsk , and Zheleznogorsk . The number of closed cities has been significantly reduced since the mid-1990s. However, on 30 October 2001, foreign travel

1885-591: A prosperous city that would eclipse its parent principality of Vladimir by the 1320s. On the right bank of the Moskva River, at a distance of eight kilometres (5 mi) from the Kremlin, by 1282 Daniel founded the first monastery with the wooden church of St. Daniel-Stylite, which is now the Danilov Monastery. Daniel died in 1303, aged 42. Before his death, he became a monk and, according to his will,

2030-511: A record 411 hours in July 2014, 79% of possible sunshine. December 2017 was the darkest month in Moscow since records began, with only six minutes of sunlight. Temperatures in the centre of Moscow are often significantly higher than in the outskirts and nearby suburbs, especially in winter. For example, if the average January temperature in the north-east of Moscow is −6.2 °C (20.8 °F), in

2175-593: A rest in Kuybyshev after returning to Earth. While there, he spoke to an improvised meeting of Progress workers. Kuybyshev enterprises played a leading role in the development of Soviet domestic aviation and the implementation of the Soviet space program. There is also an unusual monument situated in Samara commemorating an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft assembled by Kuybyshev workers in late 1942. This particular plane

2320-497: A special postcode, for example, Arzamas‑16, Chelyabinsk‑65. The actual settlement can be rather distant from its namesakes; for instance, Sarov , designated Arzamas-16, is in the federal republic of Mordovia , whereas Arzamas is in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (roughly 75 kilometres (47 mi) away). People not living in a closed city were subject to document checks and security checkpoints , and explicit permission

2465-639: A symbol of Russian-Bulgarian friendship. In 1935, Samara was renamed Kuybyshev in honour of the Bolshevik leader Valerian Kuybyshev . During World War II , Kuybyshev was chosen to be the alternative capital of the Soviet Union should Moscow fall to the invading Germans. In October 1941, the Communist Party and governmental organisations, diplomatic missions of foreign countries, leading cultural establishments and their staff were evacuated to

2610-448: A symptom of disorderly lifestyles of lower-class Russians recently arrived from the farms. Elites called for improved sanitation, which became part of Catherine's plans for increasing control over social life. National political and military successes from 1812 through 1855 calmed the critics and validated efforts to produce a more enlightened and stable society. There was less discussion about the poor conditions of public health. However, in

2755-558: A total population of approximately 1.5 million people. Seventy-five percent are administered by the Russian Ministry of Defense , with the remainder under the administration of Rosatom . It is believed that about 15 additional closed cities exist, but their names and locations have not been publicly disclosed by the Russian government. Some Russian closed cities are open to foreign investment, but entry for foreigners requires

2900-499: A week or two at a time. In the winter, average temperatures normally drop to approximately −10 °C (14 °F), though almost every winter there are periods of warmth with day temperatures rising above 0 °C (32 °F), and periods of cooling with night temperatures falling below −20 °C (−4 °F). These periods usually last about a week or two. The growing season in Moscow normally lasts for 156 days usually around 1 May to 5 October. The highest temperature ever recorded

3045-538: Is 19.7 °C (67.5 °F). The lowest ever recorded temperature was −42.1 °C (−43.8 °F) in January 1940. Snow, which is present for about five months a year, often begins to fall mid-October, while snow cover lies in late November and melts at the end of March. On average, Moscow has 1731 hours of sunshine per year, varying from a low of 8% in December to 52% from May to August. This large annual variation

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3190-508: Is a list of territories within Russia that do not have closed-city status but require special permits for foreigners to visit. The largest locality within such territory is the city of Norilsk . There were two closed cities in Estonia : Sillamäe and Paldiski . As with all the other industrial cities, their population was mainly Russian-speaking. Sillamäe was the site for a chemical factory that produced fuel rods and nuclear materials for

3335-564: Is a major transport hub . Samara is located on the M5 highway , a major road between Moscow and the Ural region . There are rail links to Moscow and other major Russian cities. The new, unusual-looking railway station building was completed in 2001. Samara is a major river port , due to its location at the confluence of the Volga and Samara rivers. Closed city A closed city or town

3480-539: Is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorization is required to visit or remain overnight. Such places may be sensitive military establishments or secret research installations that require much more space or internal freedom than is available in a conventional military base . There may also be a wider variety of permanent residents, including close family members of workers or trusted traders who are not directly connected with clandestine purposes. Many closed cities existed in

3625-527: Is a space museum (called Cosmic Samara) and an exhibition of aerospace history in Samara State Aerospace University . In the 2000s, a large number of contemporary art galleries have also been built. Samara Regional Museum of Local History named after Pyotr Vladimirovich Alabin is one of the oldest museums of the Volga region, founded on November 13, 1886. The museum offers 2,500 square meters of exposition and exhibition areas,

3770-615: Is a surname, most common in Russia, Bulgaria , Ukraine and North Macedonia . Additionally, there are similarly named places in Poland like Mozgawa . According to a Finno-Ugric hypothesis, the Merya and Muroma people, who were among the pre-Slavic tribes which inhabited the area, called the river Mustajoki "Black river", and the name of the river derives from this term. Other theories, having little or no scientific basis, are rejected by linguists. The original Old Russian form of

3915-472: Is about −7.0 °C (19.4 °F). At the end of January–February it is often colder, with frosts reaching −30.0 °C (−22.0 °F) a few nights per year (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013). The last decade was the warmest in the history of meteorological observations of Moscow. Temperature changes in the city are depicted in the table below: Moscow is one of the few cities with paleontological monuments of world significance on its territory. One of them

4060-485: Is due to convective cloud formation. In the winter, moist air from the Atlantic condenses in the cold continental interior, resulting in very overcast conditions. However, this same continental influence results in considerably sunnier summers than oceanic cities of similar latitude such as Edinburgh . Between 2004 and 2010, the average was between 1800 and 2000 hours with a tendency to more sunshine in summer months, up to

4205-437: Is global, not regional. During the summer, extreme heat is often observed in the city (2001, 2002, 2003, 2010 , 2011, 2021 ). Along with a southern part of Central Russia , after recent years of hot summer seasons, the climate of the city gets hot-summer classification trends. Winter also became significantly milder: for example, the average January temperature in the early 1900s was −12.0 °C (10.4 °F), while now it

4350-537: Is home to Russian companies in different industries and is served by a comprehensive transit network, which includes four international airports , ten railway terminals, a tram system , a monorail system , and the Moscow Metro , which is the busiest metro system in Europe and one of the largest rapid transit systems in the world. The city has over 40 percent of its territory covered by greenery, making it one of

4495-643: Is one of the main recreation sites for both local citizens and tourists. Samara is named after the Samara River , which probably means "summer water" (signifying that it froze in winter) in the Indo-Iranian language which was spoken there around the third millennium BC. The Samara city gives its name to the Samara culture , a neolithic culture of the fifth millennium BC, and the Kurgan hypothesis associates

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4640-643: Is one of twelve Hero Cities . The demonym for a Moscow resident is rendered as Muscovite in English. The site of modern-day Moscow has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Among the earliest finds are relics of the Lyalovo culture , which experts assign to the Neolithic period. They confirm that the first inhabitants of the area were hunters and gatherers. Around 950 AD, two Slavic tribes, Vyatichi and Krivichi , settled here. The Vyatichi may have formed

4785-760: Is the Gorodnya River with its tributaries, on the banks of which outcrops of the Quaternary and older Cretaceous periods are located. Fossils of the bivalve mollusk Inoceramus kleinii and tubular passages of burrowing animals, described in 2017 as a new ichnospecies Skolithos gorodnensis , were discovered in the Coniacian deposits near the stream bed of the Bolshaya Glinka River. Ichnogenera Diplocraterion , Planolites , Skolithos and possibly Ophiomorpha were found in

4930-587: Is the capital and largest city of Russia . The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia , with a population estimated at over 13 million residents within the city limits, over 19.1 million residents in the urban area, and over 21.5 million residents in its metropolitan area . The city covers an area of 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), while the urban area covers 5,891 square kilometers (2,275 sq mi), and

5075-707: Is the House-Museum of Mikhail Frunze which opened in 1934 but its building was constructed in 1891. On February 23, 2004, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the museum, a new, third exposition was opened, in which new materials, previously classified as top secret, were exhibited. The exposition details information on the Russian Civil War , the confrontation on the Eastern Front between the armies of Mikhail Frunze and Alexander Kolchak , about " The Reds ", " The Whites " and " The Greens ", and about

5220-519: Is the unicameral city duma of Samara, Russia . A total of 37 deputies are elected for five-year terms. Since 2015, deputies are elected in a two-tier system: district deputies are elected who then elect representatives to the duma. In a 2019 law, the number of representatives was reduced from 41 to 37 while maintaining the two-tier system. The Samara City Duma was founded in 1870 following administrative reforms that year. In 2020, 210 district deputies were elected who then elected 37 representatives to

5365-441: The city of oblast significance of Samara —an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts . As a municipal division , the city of oblast significance of Samara is incorporated as Samara Urban Okrug . In April 2015, Samara's nine city districts were granted municipal status. The Duma of Samara Urban Okrug ( Russian : Дума городского округа Самара , romanized :  Duma gorodskogo okruga Samara )

5510-640: The 1980 Summer Olympics and one of the host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup . The city contains several UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is known for its display of Russian architecture , particularly in areas such as the Red Square and buildings such as the Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Moscow Kremlin , the latter of which is the seat of power of the Government of Russia . Moscow

5655-581: The Albian deposits. Paleolithic flint tools were discovered in the Quaternary deposits of the Bolshaya Glinka stream bed. In 1878, paleontologist Hermann Trautschold discovered the left flipper of an ichthyosaur near the village of Mnevniki, which later became part of Moscow. In 2014, the animal was named Undorosaurus trautscholdi , after its discoverer. Trautschold determined the age of

5800-600: The Idel-Ural historical region. Ahmad ibn Fadlan visited the area that is now Samara around 921 while on his journey to the Volga Bulgars who then controlled the region from their capital Bolghar . Legend has it that Alexius, Metropolitan of Kiev , later patron saint of Samara, visited the site of the city in 1357 and predicted that a great town would be erected there, and that the town would never be ravaged. The Volga port of Samara appears on Italian maps of

5945-772: The Moja Ulitsa (in English: My Street ) urban redevelopment program or the Residency renovation one. By its territorial expansion on 1 July 2012, southwest into the Moscow Oblast the area of the capital more than doubled, going from 1,091 to 2,511 square kilometers (421 to 970 sq mi), resulting in Moscow becoming the largest city on the European continent by area; it also gained an additional population of 233,000 people. The annexed territory

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6090-533: The Moskva and Neglinnaya and be filled with water from Neglinnaya. Known as the Alevizov moat and with a length of 541 metres (1,775 feet), width of 36 metres (118 feet), and depth of 9.5 to 13 metres (31–43 feet) was lined with limestone and, in 1533, fenced on both sides with low, four-metre-thick (13-foot) cogged-brick walls. In the 16th and 17th centuries, three circular defenses were built: Kitay-gorod ,

6235-537: The Republic of Crimea . The areas operate in what is referred to in international standards as Moscow Standard Time (MSK, МСК ) , which is 3 hours ahead of UTC , or UTC+3 . Daylight saving time is no longer observed. According to the geographical longitude the average solar noon in Moscow occurs at 12:30. Moscow has a humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfb ) with long, cold (although average by Russian standards) winters usually lasting from mid-November to

6380-715: The Soviet Union during the Cold War . Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a number of them continue to exist in the post-Soviet states , especially in Russia . In modern Russia, such places are officially known as "closed administrative-territorial formations" ( Russian : закрытые административно-территориальные образования [ЗАТО] , romanized :  zakrytye administrativno-territorial'nye obrazovaniya [ZATO] ). Closed cities are sometimes represented only on classified maps that are not available to

6525-652: The Tsardom of Russia was proclaimed, Moscow remained the political and economic center for most of its history. Under the reign of Peter the Great , the Russian capital was moved to the newly founded city of Saint Petersburg in 1712, decreasing Moscow's influence. Following the Russian Revolution and the establishment of the Russian SFSR , the capital was moved back to Moscow in 1918, where it later became

6670-677: The Wehrmacht and 650,000-1,280,000 for the Red Army. During the postwar years, there was a housing crisis, solved by the invention of high-rise apartments . There are over 11,000 of these standardised and prefabricated apartment blocks, housing most of Moscow's population, making it by far the city with the most high-rise buildings. Apartments were built and partly furnished in the factory, before being raised and stacked into tall columns. The popular Soviet-era comic film Irony of Fate parodies this construction method. The city of Zelenograd

6815-455: The period of communist rule in Albania, the towns of Çorovodë and Qyteti Stalin (now Kuçovë ) were closed cities with a military airport, military industry and other critical war infrastructure. The Frontier Closed Area (FCA) is a restricted zone along the northern border of Hong Kong, serving as a buffer between the closed border and the rest of the territory. Access to this area requires

6960-573: The "White-Walled". The city's limits as marked by the ramparts, are now marked by the Garden Ring . Three square gates existed on the east side of the Kremlin wall, which in the 17th century, were known as Konstantino-Eleninsky, Spassky, Nikolsky (after the icons of Constantine and Helen, the Saviour and St. Nicholas that hung over them). The last two were directly opposite the Red Square, while

7105-508: The 14th century. Before 1586, the Samara Bend was a pirate nest. Lookouts would spot an oncoming boat and quickly cross to the other side of the peninsula so that the pirates could organize an attack. Officially, Samara started with a fortress built in 1586 at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers . This fortress was a frontier post protecting the then easternmost boundaries of Russia from forays of nomads . A local customs office

7250-418: The 15th century, but it was developed into a prestigious area during the 18th century. It was destroyed in the fire of 1812 and was rebuilt completely in the early 19th century. Moscow State University was established in 1755. Its main building was reconstructed after the 1812 fire by Domenico Giliardi . The Moskovskiye Vedomosti newspaper appeared from 1756, originally in weekly intervals, and from 1859 as

7395-399: The 17th century, the settlements merged into a single whole. In 1688, the settlement received the status of a city, which required the development of the first boundary plan. It is known that by the beginning of the 18th century the city stretched in a narrow strip along the Volga slope. From 1703 to 1706, a new earthen, diamond-shaped form was built to the east of the old fortress. The layout

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7540-466: The 1950s, during the construction process, the local architectural school was able to form outstanding architectural ensembles that connected the workers' settlements into a single urban system. These are the buildings of Revolution Square, Kuibyshev, Samarskaya, Chapaev, Agriculture, Kirov, Pobeda Street, Kirov, Metallurgists, Yunykh Pioneers, Kuibyshev, Novo-Sadovaya, Maslennikov, the Soviet Army and

7685-529: The 1950s, the city was a conglomeration of scattered workers' settlements, located around the largest industrial enterprises. In such a system, two centers were key: the Old City (historical merchant) and the new Bezymyanka industrial district (social city). Bezymyanka was connected with the Old Town by a railway line and bus routes. This two-part structure of the city lasted until the end of the 20th century. In

7830-432: The 1990s to 2000s, its population rising from below nine to above ten million. Mason and Nigmatullina argue that Soviet-era urban-growth controls produced controlled and sustainable metropolitan development, typified by the greenbelt built in 1935. Since then, however, there has been a dramatic growth of low-density suburban sprawl, created by heavy demand for single-family dwellings as opposed to crowded apartments. In 1995–97

7975-727: The General Staff of the Red Army were located in Moscow. In 1941, 16 divisions of the national volunteers (more than 160,000 people), 25 battalions, and 4 engineering regiments were formed among the Muscovites. Between October 1941 and January 1942, the German Army Group Centre was stopped at the outskirts of the city, then driven off in the Battle of Moscow . Many factories were evacuated, together with much of

8120-479: The Great Patriotic War prevented the full implementation of the plan. In the 1940s, large defense factories were evacuated to Kuibyshev, in connection with which the area of the city during the war and the first post-war years increased by 50%, amounting to 6651.3 hectares by the end of the 40s. Factories and factories were located along the railway, east of the old city, in empty areas. Between them and

8265-409: The Konstantino-Elenensky gate was located behind Saint Basil's Cathedral. The Russian famine of 1601–03 killed perhaps 100,000 in Moscow. Between 1610 and 1612, troops of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied Moscow, as its ruler Sigismund III tried to take the Russian throne. In 1612, Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities led by prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin rose against

8410-419: The MKAD ring road was widened from the initial four to ten lanes. In December 2002 Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo became the first Moscow Metro station that opened beyond the limits of MKAD. The Third Ring Road , intermediate between the early 19th-century Garden Ring and the Soviet-era outer ring road, was completed in 2004. The greenbelt is becoming more and more fragmented, and satellite cities are appearing at

8555-429: The Mongols under Batu Khan burned the city to the ground and killed its inhabitants. The timber fort na Moskvě "on the Moscow River" was inherited by Daniel , the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky , in the 1260s. Daniel was still a child at the time, and the big fort was governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by Daniel's paternal uncle, Yaroslav of Tver . Daniel came of age in the 1270s and became involved in

8700-405: The Polish occupants, besieged the Kremlin, and expelled them . In 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Michael Romanov tsar, establishing the Romanov dynasty . The 17th century saw several risings, such as the liberation of Moscow from the Polish–Lithuanian invaders (1612), the Salt Riot (1648), the Copper Riot (1662), and the Moscow Uprising of 1682 . During the first half of the 17th century,

8845-422: The Russia Chocolate Factory; Rodnik vodka; Vektor vodka; Zhiguli beer; food processing and light industrial products. Samara has an opera and ballet theater, a philharmonic orchestra hall, and five drama theaters. There is a museum of natural history and local history studies, a city art museum, and a number of movie theaters. As a dedication to the city's contribution to the development of aerospace industry, there

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8990-411: The Samara Arena stadium. On July 2, 2020, the title " City of Labor Valor " was awarded to Samara. On December 10, 2021, the Memorial Complex was installed on the Alley of Labor Glory on the Young Pioneers Avenue. The central element of the memorial complex was a glass and metal stele about 26 meters high. The development of the territory of modern Samara began in the 16th century with the foundation of

9135-817: The Samara branch of Jehovah's Witnesses as an extremist organization and to ban its activities." Samara is a leading industrial center in the Volga region and is among the top ten Russian cities in terms of national income and industrial production volume. Samara is known for the production of aerospace launch vehicles, satellites and various space services ( Progress State Research and Production Rocket Space Center ), engines ( Kuznetsov Design Bureau ) and cables (Volgacable, Samara Cable Company), aircraft ( Aviakor ) and rolled aluminum, block-module power stations; refining, chemical and cryogenic products; gas-pumping units; bearings of different sizes, drilling bits; automated electrical equipment; airfield equipment (Start plant); truck-mounted cranes; construction materials; chocolates made by

9280-442: The Samara fortress. Prior to the founding of the fortress, this area was home to piers for Volga ships. The official date of foundation of the settlement was the decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich of 1586. The location of the town was predetermined by several factors: strategic placement in order to ensure security from the raids of nomadic tribes; expansion of the Russian state in the Middle and Lower Volga regions; convenient location in

9425-476: The Soviet nuclear power plants and nuclear weapon facilities, while Paldiski was home to a Soviet Navy nuclear submarine training centre. Sillamäe was closed until Estonia regained its independence in 1991; Paldiski remained closed until 1994, when the last Russian warship left. Tartu , home to Raadi Airfield , was partially closed. Foreign academics could visit the University of Tartu , but had to sleep elsewhere. Moldova has one partially closed city:

9570-491: The US and other Western countries due to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. In 1991 Moscow was the scene of a coup attempt by conservative communists opposed to the liberal reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev . When the USSR was dissolved in 1991, Moscow remained the capital of the Russian Federation . Since then, a market economy has emerged, producing an explosion of Western-style retailing, services, architecture, and lifestyles. The city continued to grow during

9715-431: The Volga embankment. Samara experiences a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb , borders on Dfa ). Samara's humidity levels are higher in the summer than many Russian cities thanks to the precipitation levels and the close proximity to the Volga. The humidity levels usually range from 29% to 98% humidity over the period of a year. There was a record high of +40.4 °C (104.7 °F) during

9860-438: The White City and the Earthen City. However, in 1547, fires destroyed much of the town, and in 1571 the Crimean Tatars captured Moscow , burning everything except the Kremlin. The annals record that only 30,000 of 200,000 inhabitants survived. The Crimean Tatars attacked again in 1591, but were held back by new walls, built between 1584 and 1591 by a craftsman named Fyodor Kon . In 1592, an outer earth rampart with 50 towers

10005-448: The actual 20th anniversary of the victory in World War II, Moscow was awarded a title of the Hero City . The Moscow Ring Road (MKAD) was opened in 1961. It had four lanes running 109 kilometres (68 miles) along the city borders. The MKAD marked the administrative boundaries of the city until the 1980s, when outlying suburbs beyond the ring road were incorporated. In 1980, Moscow hosted the Summer Olympic Games , which were boycotted by

10150-507: The ancient " Novgorod Chronicle " and made it a propaganda vehicle for his regime. The original Moscow Kremlin was built in the 14th century. It was reconstructed by Ivan, who in the 1480s invited architects from Renaissance Italy , such as Petrus Antonius Solarius , who designed the new Kremlin wall and its towers, and Marco Ruffo who designed the new palace for the prince. The Kremlin walls as they now appear are those designed by Solarius, completed in 1495. The Kremlin's Great Bell Tower

10295-424: The anti-Soviet uprising behind the lines of the Eastern Front. International festivals, scientific congresses and other social events are held on the territory of Samara. Among them are: Architecture of Samara dates back to 15th and 16th centuries. The city had numerous wooden buildings with elaborate decor and more than 2000 cultural heritage objects. However, after the 1990s many unique ensembles were destroyed by

10440-441: The city and −30 °C (−22 °F) in the suburbs to above 5 °C (41 °F) in the winter, and from 10 to 35 °C (50 to 95 °F) in the summer. Typical high temperatures in the warm months of June, July, and August are around a comfortable 20 to 26 °C (68 to 79 °F), but during heat waves (which can occur between May and September), daytime high temperatures often exceed 30 °C (86 °F), sometimes for

10585-569: The city proceeded at an intensive pace: the Kirovsky district, the village of Kryazh, the mouth of the Dry Samarka were built up. Landscaping work was underway, the reconstruction of squares (Kuibyshev and Chapaev squares), the laying of the TsPKiO. A new urban framework was formed by community centers and main highways connecting remote areas with the historical center. However, until the end of

10730-448: The city was subject to a complete redevelopment: all buildings were liquidated, with the exception of several churches, houses and a fortress. In 1796, a second reconstruction plan was drawn up, identical to the first. As a result of its implementation, by 1804 the territory of Samara had increased to 70.4 hectares. The basis for the planning of the northern part of the city was a rectangular quarter measuring 130 × 260 m. The southern part of

10875-502: The city. The plague epidemics ravaged Moscow in 1570–1571, 1592 and 1654–1656. The plague killed upwards of 80% of the people in 1654–55. Fires burned out much of the wooden city in 1626 and 1648. In 1712 Peter the Great moved his government to the newly built Saint Petersburg on the Baltic coast. After losing the status as capital, the population at first decreased, from 200,000 in the 17th century to 130,000 in 1750. But after 1750,

11020-440: The city. This decision was reversed in the summer of 1943. A dugout for Joseph Stalin known as " Stalin's Bunker " was constructed but never used. To mark its role as wartime national capital a special Revolution Day parade was held at the city's Kuybyshev Square on November 7, 1941, and since 2011 has been remembered in an annual military parade organised by the city government. As a leading industrial centre, Kuybyshev played

11165-502: The closure of cities originated as a strictly temporary measure that was to be normalized under more favorable conditions, in practice the closed cities took on a life of their own and became a notable institutional feature of the Soviet system. Any movement to and from closed areas was tightly controlled. Foreigners were prohibited from entering them and local citizens were under stringent restrictions. They had to have special permission to travel there or leave, and anyone seeking residency

11310-575: The course of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) . These new outskirts became known as the Meshchanskaya sloboda , after Ruthenian meshchane "town people". The term meshchane acquired pejorative connotations in 18th-century Russia and today means "petty bourgeois" or "narrow-minded philistine". The entire city of the late 17th century are contained within what is today Moscow's Central Administrative Okrug . Numerous disasters befell

11455-906: The destruction during the French occupation, a Commission for the Construction of the City of Moscow was established. It launched a great program of rebuilding, including a partial replanning of the centre. Among many buildings constructed, or reconstructed, was the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Kremlin Armoury , the Moscow University , the Moscow Manege (Riding School), and the Bolshoi Theatre . The Arbat Street had been in existence since at least

11600-415: The duma. The next election will be in 2025. The population of Samara was 1,173,393 in 2021, up from 1,164,685 in 2010. In the 2021 Census, the following ethnic groups were listed: Samara is a multi-confessional city with various religious groups, including an Orthodox Christian majority and minorities of Armenian Apostolic Christians , Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Jews. However, since 2009,

11745-463: The end of March, and warm summers. More extreme continental climates at the same latitude – such as parts of Eastern Canada or Siberia – have much colder winters than Moscow, suggesting that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean despite the fact that Moscow is far from the sea. Weather can fluctuate widely, with temperatures ranging from −25 °C (−13 °F) in

11890-489: The end of the 18th century it occupied 61.2 hectares of territory, compactly stretching along the banks of the Volga. In 1763, Empress Catherine II signed an order "On the making of all cities, their buildings and streets of special plans for each province especially." In the 70s, extensive activities were launched by the “Commission on the Stone Buildings of St. Petersburg and Moscow” to rebuild provincial cities. At

12035-571: The end of the 1920s. A new anti-religious campaign, launched in 1929, coincided with the collectivization of peasants; the destruction of churches in the cities peaked around 1932. In 1937 letters were written to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to rename Moscow to "Stalindar" or "Stalinodar". Stalin rejected this suggestion. During World War II, the Soviet State Committee of Defence and

12180-471: The end of the 19th century, Samara was a single planning space with a regular plan (with the exception of the Zasamarskaya settlement, which arose no later than the end of the 18th century). The rapid growth of Kuybyshev required the development of a new master plan "Big Kuibyshev" in 1937, which was designed for the future, until 1956. It provided for a significant expansion of the city, turning it into

12325-494: The expanding city in the later 19th century and was developed into a public municipal park in 1878. The suburban Savyolovsky Rail Terminal was built in 1902. In January 1905, the institution of the City Governor, or Mayor , was officially introduced, and Alexander Adrianov became Moscow's first official mayor. When Catherine II came to power in 1762, the city's filth and the smell of sewage were depicted by observers as

12470-410: The expense of adjacent agricultural land. As a major trading center, with a railroad, Samara in 1851 received the status of a provincial city. The general plan of 1853 regulated only building within the city limits, however, the settlement began to grow chaotically, numerous industrial facilities appeared: tanneries, oil mills, brick factories and mills. The development of navigation along the Volga led to

12615-528: The fact that piers, warehouses, sawmills and other factories occupied the entire Volga coast of the city. From 1875 to 1877, a private railway to Orenburg was built through Samara, laid along the banks of the Samara River. The residential part of the city was cut off from the banks of the industrial rivers, with the exception of a small section of the Strukovsky Garden, overlooking the Volga. By

12760-500: The first category of closed cities were chosen for their geographical characteristics. They were often established in remote places deep in the Urals and Siberia , out of reach of enemy bombers. They were built close to rivers and lakes that were used to provide the large amounts of water needed for heavy industry and nuclear technology. Existing civilian settlements in the vicinity were often used as sources of construction labour. Although

12905-520: The fringe. Summer dachas are being converted into year-round residences, and with the proliferation of automobiles there is heavy traffic congestion. Multiple old churches and other examples of architectural heritage that had been demolished during the Stalin era have been restored, such as the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour . In 2010s Moscow's Administration has launched some long duration projects like

13050-410: The general public. In some cases, there may be no road signs or directions to closed cities, and they are usually omitted from railroad timetables and bus routes. Sometimes, closed cities are indicated obliquely as a nearby insignificant village, with the name of the stop serving the closed city made equivocal or misleading. For mail delivery, a closed city is usually named as the nearest large city and

13195-546: The government, and from 20 October the city was declared to be in a siege. Its remaining inhabitants built and manned antitank defenses, while the city was bombarded from the air. On 1 May 1944, a medal "For the defence of Moscow" and in 1947 another medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow" was instituted. German and Soviet casualties during the battle have been debated, as sources provide different estimates. Total casualties between 30 September 1941, and 7 January 1942, are estimated to be between 248,000 and 400,000 for

13340-785: The greenest cities in the world. The city's name is thought to be derived from the Moskva River . Theories of the origin of the name of the river have been proposed. The most linguistically well-grounded and widely accepted is from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root * mŭzg -/ muzg - from the Proto-Indo-European * meu - "wet", so the name Moskva might signify a river at a wetland or marsh. Its cognates include Russian : музга , muzga "pool, puddle", Lithuanian : mazgoti and Latvian : mazgāt "to wash", Sanskrit : májjati "to drown", Latin : mergō "to dip, immerse". In many Slavic countries Moskov

13485-447: The last quarter of the 19th century. The Ulyanov family rented a second floor apartment of the house of Samara merchant Ilya Rytikov in 1893. During this time Vladimir Ulyanov graduated from St. Petersburg University law school and started employment at the Samara Regional Court. The museum opened in 1940. The museum's second floor houses a permanent memorial/household exhibition "Ulyanov family’s apartment in Samara, 1890–1893", recreating

13630-440: The late 1980s and early 1990s. The adoption of a new constitution for the Russian Federation in 1993 prompted substantial reforms to the status of closed cities, which were subsequently renamed "closed administrative-territorial formations" (or ZATO, from the Russian acronym). Municipally , all such entities have the status of urban okrugs , as mandated by federal law. There are 44 publicly acknowledged closed cities in Russia with

13775-427: The latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва , Moskva , which is a result of morphological generalization with the numerous Slavic ā -stem nouns . The form Moskovĭ has left traces in other languages, including English: Moscow ; German : Moskau ; French : Moscou ; Portuguese : Moscou, Moscovo ; and Spanish : Moscú . Moscow has acquired epithets , such as The Third Rome . Moscow

13920-417: The leading Moscow weather station is situated, is 156 metres (512 feet). Teplostan Upland is the city's highest point at 255 metres (837 feet). The width of Moscow city (not limiting MKAD ) from west to east is 39.7 km (24.7 mi), and the length from north to south is 51.8 km (32.2 mi). Moscow serves as the reference point for the time zone used in most of European Russia , Belarus and

14065-538: The living conditions and household atmosphere of the Ulyanov family. The ground floor contains a specialised display area, including a fragment of an artistic reconstruction of Ilya Rytikov's merchant shop. Samara has a strong rock 'n' roll scene with indie bands and great festivals like Protoka, Metafest, and Volgafest. Another branch of the museum is the Exposition Museum of Art Nouveau opened in 2012. It

14210-463: The majority of Moscow's indigenous population. The first known reference to Moscow was in 1147, as a meeting place of Yuri Dolgorukiy and Sviatoslav Olgovich . At the time it was a minor town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. In 1156, Dolgorukiy fortified the town by creating a wooden wall; this structure became the Kremlin. In the course of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' ,

14355-523: The medieval Muscovy state). He began fighting the Tatars, enlarged the territory of Muscovy, and enriched his capital city. By 1500 it had a population of 100,000 and was one of the largest cities in the world. He conquered the far larger principality of Novgorod to the north, which had been allied to the hostile Lithuanians. Thus he enlarged the territory sevenfold, from 430,000 to 2,800,000 square kilometres (170,000 to 1,080,000 square miles). He took control of

14500-468: The metropolitan area covers over 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 sq mi). Moscow is among the world's largest cities , being the most populous city in its entirety in Europe, the largest urban and metropolitan area in Europe, and the largest city by land area on the European continent. First documented in 1147, Moscow grew to serve as the capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow . When

14645-508: The moat. Books were sold on this bridge and stone platforms were built nearby for guns – "raskats". The Tsar Cannon was located on the platform of the Lobnoye mesto . The road connecting Moscow with St. Petersburg, now the M10 highway , was completed in 1746, its Moscow end following the old Tver road, which had existed since the 16th century. It became known as Peterburskoye Schosse after it

14790-649: The most powerful cities in Russia. In 1380, prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo . Afterward, Moscow took the leading role in liberating Russia from Mongol domination. In 1480, Ivan III had finally broken the Russians free from Tatar control, and Moscow became the capital of an empire that would eventually encompass all of Russia and Siberia , and parts of many other lands. In 1462 Ivan III became Grand Prince of Moscow (then part of

14935-472: The name is reconstructed as * Москы , * Mosky , hence it was one of a few Slavic ū -stem nouns . As with other nouns of that declension, it had been undergoing a morphological transformation at the early stage of the development of the language, as a result, the first written references in the 12th century were Московь , Moskovĭ ( accusative case ), Москви , Moskvi ( locative case ), Москвe/Москвѣ , Moskve/Moskvě ( genitive case ). From

15080-675: The newly built Cosmos Arena stadium. The stadium's seating capacity is 45,000. During the World Cup, the city hosted the FIFA Fan Fest on the Kuibysheva Square. Up to 20,000 fans were able to participate in the event at a time. Three new training fields have been built in the city for the FIFA World Cup. Two major roads have been repaired before the championship: the airport road and Moskovskoye Highway. Samara

15225-427: The old city, new residential areas arose. New construction also unfolded in other immediate outskirts and further in the periphery. In 1949, a new general plan of Samara was adopted, according to which the transport system developed (the emergence of new highways), a new industrial and residential area of Bezymyanka was built, new territories were developed, new planning units appeared: microdistricts. The development of

15370-400: The outskirts of the city. The fortress occupied 3.6 hectares, divided into a residential zone, an administrative zone (offices, a prison, a storehouse), a public one (a court, a thought), a commercial, an industrial one (warehouses, piers, forges, barns). In 1804, a new plan for the reconstruction and expansion of Samara was drawn up, following the model of the previous ones. The old buildings in

15515-431: The political center of the Soviet Union . In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union , Moscow remained the capital city of the newly established Russian Federation. The northernmost and coldest megacity in the world, Moscow is governed as a federal city , where it serves as the political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe . As an alpha world city , Moscow has one of

15660-424: The population doubled from 100,000 to 200,000, and it expanded beyond its ramparts in the latter part of the century. In the middle of the 17th century, 20% of Moscow suburb's inhabitants were from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , being driven from their homeland by Muscovite invaders. By 1682, there were 692 households established north of the ramparts, by Ukrainians and Belarusians abducted from their hometowns in

15805-539: The population grew tenfold over the remaining duration of the Russian Empire, reaching 1.8 million by 1915. The 1770–1772 Russian plague killed up to 100,000 people in Moscow. By 1700, the building of cobbled roads had begun. In 1730, permanent street lights were introduced, and by 1867 many streets had a gaslight. In 1883, near the Prechistinskiye Gates, arc lamps were installed. In 1741 Moscow

15950-495: The power struggles of the principality with lasting success, siding with his brother Dmitry in his bid for the rule of Novgorod . From 1283 he acted as the ruler of an independent principality alongside Dmitry, who became Grand Duke of Vladimir . Daniel has been credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, dedicated to the Lord's Epiphany and to Saint Daniel. Daniel ruled Moscow as Grand Duke until 1303 and established it as

16095-467: The region with the original homeland (urheimat) of the Proto-Indo-European language . During Soviet times, the city of Samara was renamed to Kuybyshev in 1935 in honor of the Russian Bolshevik, Valerian Kuybyshev . The city reverted to its historical name of Samara on 25 January 1991 where it remains to this day. Samara, together with its northern neighbour Kazan , is at the centre of

16240-405: The same time, the development of the first master plan for Samara began. In 1764, the settlement changed its administrative status, becoming a settlement. In 1780 it again received the status of a county town. In 1765 and 1772 it was badly damaged by fires. Despite these obstacles, in 1782 Samara received the first master plan with a rectangular grid of streets. According to the plan, the territory of

16385-590: The sediments from which the specimen was taken to be Kimmeridgian , but, according to more recent studies, they were formed in the Tithonian age of the Jurassic period. Albian foraminifera and ammonites also known from the Moscow deposits. Fossils of various organisms are on display in Moscow museums, including the Orlov Museum of Paleontology and Vernadsky State Geological Museum . According to

16530-437: The settlement retained its irregular character. The main type of building of this period is a low-rise estate. The directions of the streets were determined by the direction of the channel, the so-called Samara break. The city was divided into functional zones: residential areas with trade facilities, administrative and religious buildings. Community centers were located around churches and at the ship's pier. Forges were located on

16675-593: The sole collector of taxes for the Mongol rulers, making Moscow the capital of Vladimir-Suzdal . By paying high tribute, Ivan won an important concession from the Khan . While the Khan of the Golden Horde initially attempted to limit Moscow's influence, when the growth of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania began to threaten all of Russia, the Khan strengthened Moscow to counterbalance Lithuania, allowing it to become one of

16820-409: The south of the city were demolished, and a regular layout appeared in its place. In 1839, the plan was almost completely implemented. The territory of Samara has increased by 3.5 times (246.4 ha). The city occupied the entire territory along the watershed of the Volga and Samara rivers, the banks of which were built up with marinas, grain barns, warehouses, and small-scale industries. The Samara fortress

16965-435: The steppe landscape, at the intersection of the Volga and Samarka rivers. The fortress was wooden with 11 towers, surrounded by a rampart and a moat, and occupied 5.2 hectares. Gradually, the population of the fortress increased, and the surrounding territories were developed. Simultaneously with the fortress in 1586, Boldyrskaya Sloboda arose on the Volga slope, and around 1645, upstream the Volga, Voznesenskaya Sloboda. During

17110-439: The suburbs it is about −8.3 °C (17.1 °F). The temperature difference between the centre of Moscow and nearby areas of Moscow Oblast can sometimes be more than 10 °C (18 °F) on frosty winter nights. Recent changes in Moscow's regional climate, since it is in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, are often cited by climate scientists as evidence of global warming , though by definition, climate change

17255-490: The times gone by", ethnographic – "Circle of life, reflected in traditions and rituals of the Volga region indigenous peoples", historical – "The Crossroads of Samara history", and other exhibition projects. The main branch of the Alabin Museum is the House-Museum of Vladimir Lenin in Samara is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance. It is located on the site of a former city merchant's mansion, dating to

17400-565: The village of Cobasna ( Rîbnița District ), which is under the control of the unrecognized state of Transnistria internationally recognized as part of Moldova. The village, on the left bank of the Dniester river, contains a large Soviet-era ammunition depot guarded by Russian troops. Only the Transnistrian and Russian authorities have detailed information about this depot. Ukraine had eighteen closed cities, including: During

17545-615: The wake of Russia's failures in the Crimean War in 1855–56, confidence in the ability of the state to maintain order in the slums eroded, and demands for improved public health put it back on the agenda. In 1903 the Moskvoretskaya water supply was completed. In November 1917, upon learning of the uprising in Petrograd , Moscow's Bolsheviks began their uprising . On 2 November (15), 1917, after heavy fighting, Soviet power

17690-523: The war the defence industry developed rapidly in Kuybyshev; existing facilities changed their profile and new factories were built, leading to Kuybyshev becoming a closed city . In 1960, Kuybyshev became the missile shield centre for the country. The launch vehicle Vostok , which delivered the first crewed spaceship to orbit, was built at the Samara Progress Plant . Yuri Gagarin , the first man to travel in space on April 12, 1961, took

17835-545: The whole nation could be considered closed. Between 1957 and 1962, approximately one-third of the United States was closed to Soviet citizens. Only eight states were accessible in their entirety: Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, North Carolina, Arkansas, Vermont, Missouri, and Mississippi. The 2020 film Tenet prominently features a fictional Soviet-era closed city in Siberia called Stalsk-12. Moscow Moscow

17980-401: The world's largest urban economies . The city is one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations and is one of Europe's most visited cities . Moscow has the sixth-highest number of billionaires of any city. The Moscow International Business Center is one of the largest financial centers in the world and features the majority of Europe's tallest skyscrapers . Moscow was the host city of

18125-462: Was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) at the VVC weather station and 39.0 °C (102.2 °F) in the center of Moscow and Domodedovo airport on 29 July 2010, during the unusual 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves . Record high and average temperatures were recorded for January, March, April, May, June, July, August, November, and December in 2007–2022. The average July temperature from 1991 to 2020

18270-522: Was built in 1505–08 and augmented to its present height in 1600. A trading settlement, or posad , grew up to the east of the Kremlin, in the area known as Zaradye . In the time of Ivan III, the Red Square , originally named the Hollow Field appeared. In 1508–1516, the Italian architect Aleviz Fryazin (Novy) arranged for the construction of a moat in front of the eastern wall, which would connect

18415-507: Was built in 1958 at 37 kilometres (23 miles) from the city centre to the north-west, along with the Leningradskoye Shosse , and incorporated as one of Moscow's administrative okrugs . Moscow State University moved to its campus on Sparrow Hills in 1953. In 1959 Nikita Khrushchev launched his anti-religious campaign . Of Moscow's fifty churches operating in 1959, thirty were closed and six demolished. On 8 May 1965, due to

18560-473: Was buried in the cemetery of the St. Daniel Monastery. Moscow was stable and prosperous for many years and attracted refugees from across Russia. The Rurikids maintained large landholdings by practicing primogeniture , whereby all land was passed to the eldest sons. By 1304, Yury of Moscow contested with Mikhail of Tver for the throne of the principality of Vladimir . Ivan I eventually defeated Tver to become

18705-577: Was erected around the city, including an area on the right bank of the Moscow River. As an outermost line of defense, a chain of strongly fortified monasteries was established beyond the ramparts to the south and east, principally the Novodevichy Convent and Donskoy , Danilov , Simonov , Novospasskiy , and Andronikov monasteries, most of which now house museums. From its ramparts, the city became poetically known as Bielokamennaya ,

18850-451: Was established in 1600. As more and more ships pulled into Samara's port, the town turned into a centre for diplomatic and economic links between Russia and the East. Samara also opened its gates to peasant war rebels headed by Stepan Razin and Yemelyan Pugachyov , welcoming them with traditional bread and salt . The town was visited by Peter the Great and later Tsars . In 1780, Samara

18995-421: Was established in Moscow. Vladimir Lenin , fearing invasion, moved the capital back to Moscow on 12 March 1918. The Kremlin once again became the seat of power, political centre of the new state. With the change in values imposed by communist ideology , the tradition of preserving cultural heritage was broken. Independent preservation societies, even those that defended only secular landmarks, were disbanded by

19140-483: Was given back to the city. Samara is one of the major industrial cities of Russia and has a multiethnic population. The city retains its leading positions in the region, mainly due to a number of oil and petrochemical enterprises. In September 2016, Samara was awarded the title "City of Labor and Combat Glory". In 2018, Samara became one of the host cities of the FIFA World Cup , the matches of which were held at

19285-580: Was officially named Новая Москва (New Moscow). Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River , which flows for just over 500 km (311 mi) through the East European Plain in central Russia, not far from the natural border of the forest and forest- steppe zone. 49 bridges span the river and its canals within the city's limits. The elevation of Moscow at the All-Russia Exhibition Center (VVC), where

19430-495: Was often compensated by better housing conditions and a better choice of goods in retail trade than elsewhere in the country. Also, in the Soviet Union, people working with classified information received a salary bonus . Closed cities were established in the Soviet Union from the late 1940s onwards under the euphemistic name of "post boxes", referring to the practice of addressing post to them via mailboxes in other cities. They fell into two distinct categories. The locations of

19575-603: Was outside of the Pale of Settlement and as such did not have any significant Jewish population until the late 19th century. In 1877, during the Russian-Turkish War , a mission from the Samara City Duma led by Petr Alabin , as a symbol of spiritual solidarity, brought a banner tailored in Samara pierced with bullets and saturated with the blood of both Russians and Bulgarians, to Bulgaria, which has become

19720-613: Was paved in the 1780s. Petrovsky Palace was built in 1776–1780 by Matvey Kazakov . Between 1781 and 1804 the Mytischinskiy water pipe (the first in Russia) was built. When Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, the Moscovites were evacuated. The Moscow fire was principally the effect of Russian sabotage. Napoleon's Grande Armée was forced to retreat and nearly annihilated by the devastating Russian winter. In 1813, following

19865-481: Was required for them to visit. To relocate to a closed city, one would need security clearance by the organization running it, such as the KGB in Soviet closed cities. Closed cities were sometimes guarded by a security perimeter with barbed wire and towers . The very fact of such a city's existence was often classified, and residents were expected not to divulge their place of residence to outsiders. This lack of freedom

20010-449: Was required to undergo vetting by the NKVD and its successor agencies. Access to some closed cities was physically enforced by surrounding them with barbed wire fences monitored by armed guards. "Mailbox" ( Russian : Почтовый ящик , romanized :  Pochtovyy yashchik ) was the unofficial name of a secret Soviet facility much like the closed city, but smaller, usually the size of

20155-865: Was restricted without exception in the northern cities of Norilsk , Talnakh , Kayerkan , Dudinka , and Igarka . Russian and Belarusian citizens visiting these cities are not required to have permits; however, local courts have been known to deport Belarusian citizens. The number of closed cities in Russia is defined by government decree. The reasons for restrictions vary. These cities include: Altai Krai Amur Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast Astrakhan Oblast Republic of Bashkortostan Chelyabinsk Oblast Kamchatka Krai Kirov Oblast Krasnoyarsk Krai Moscow Oblast Murmansk Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Orenburg Oblast Penza Oblast Perm Krai Primorsky Krai Pskov Oblast Saratov Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast Tver Oblast Vladimir Oblast Zabaykalsky Krai There

20300-472: Was shot down in 1943 over Karelia, but the heavily wounded pilot, K. Kotlyarovsky, managed to crash-land the plane near Lake Oriyarvi. The aircraft was returned to Kuybyshev in 1975, and was placed on display at the intersection of two major roads as a symbol of the deeds of home front servicemen and air-force pilots during the Great Patriotic War . In January 1991, the historical name of Samara

20445-414: Was still preserved, but had already lost its significance. In 1840, a new development plan was approved, according to which the territory of the city expanded further along the watershed, while maintaining the planning structure. The new plan reflected the nature of the prevailing wooden buildings (stone houses accounted for only 10% of the total). The size of the quarters remained the same, the city grew at

20590-634: Was surrounded by a barricade 40 kilometres (25 mi) long, the Kamer-Kollezhskiy barrier, with 16 gates at which customs tolls were collected. Its line is traced today by several streets called val ("ramparts"). In the early 19th century, the Arch of Konstantino-Elenensky gate was paved with bricks, but the Spassky Gate was the main front gate of the Kremlin and used for royal entrances. From this gate, wooden and stone bridges stretched across

20735-479: Was the mansion of Alexandra Kurlina, a merchant's wife and philanthropist. The original façade and interior survive to this day, representing the works of European and Russian art nouveau masters. The museum is an exhibition space, which hosts major Russian museums’ projects (The Pushkin Museum, Abramtsevo Museum-Reserve, Moscow Multimedia Art Museum), and organises exhibitions of its own collections. The final branch

20880-403: Was turned into an uyezd town of Simbirsk Governorate overseen by the local Governor-General, and Uyezd and Zemstvo Courts of Justice and a Board of Treasury were established. On January 1, 1851, Samara became the centre of Samara Governorate with an estimated population of 20,000. This gave a stimulus to the development of the economic, political and cultural life of the community. Samara

21025-453: Was unsystematic, with small blocks of bizarre shapes. Almost the entire territory was occupied by residential buildings and administrative, commercial and military buildings were concentrated only in the fortress. The territories along the banks of the Volga and Samarka were occupied by marinas and barns. By 1717, there were 210 philistine houses and 17 houses of yasak peasants in Samara. The settlement grew slowly due to its border position and by

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