Samara

Samara, city, Russia

Samara (səmä`rə), formerly Kuybyshev, city (1989 pop. 1,254,000), capital of its region, E central European Russia, on the left bank of the Volga and at the mouth of the Samara River. It is a major river port and rail center (Moscow-Siberian line) and has important industries producing automobiles, aircraft, locomotives, machinery, ball bearings, synthetic rubber, chemicals, textiles, and petroleum products. Grain and livestock are the chief exports. The gigantic Kuybyshev reservoir and hydroelectric plant is a few miles upstream from the city. Industrial and residential satellite cities surround the main metropolis. Founded in 1586 as a Muscovite stronghold for the defense of the Volga trade route and of Russia's eastern frontier, Samara was attacked by the Nogai Tatars (1615) and the Kalmyks (1644) and opened its gates to the Cossack rebels under Stenka Razin in 1670. It grew to be the chief grain center on the Volga and was the seat of immensely rich grain merchants. Its industrial expansion dates from the early 20th cent., when railroads to Siberia and central Asia were built. Samara was (1918) the seat of the anti-Bolshevik provisional government and constituent assembly of Russia. During World War II the central government of the USSR was transferred to Kuybyshev (1941–43) from Moscow. As a result, the population increased tremendously, and the city limits were greatly expanded. The city was named Kuybyshev from 1935 to 1991.

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Samara, river, Russia

Samara (səmä`rə), river, c.360 mi (580 km) long, rising in the foothills of the S Urals, European Russia. It flows generally northwest, and joins the Volga River at Samara.

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Samara

 formerly (1935–91) Kuybyshev

City (pop., 2002: 1,158,100) and river port, western Russia. Located on the left bank of the Volga River at its confluence with the Samara River, 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. Samara 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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Samara

a port in SW Russia, on the River Volga: centre of an important industrial complex; oil refining. Pop.: 1 168 000 (1999 est.)

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samara [sə′mar·ə]

(botany)

A dry, indehiscent, winged fruit usually containing a single seed, such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum).

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Samara 

a one-seeded fruit with a flat leathery or membranous winglike appendage that is dispersed by air currents. Samaras are borne by the birch, elm, ash, and maple (two-winged fruit).

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Samara 

(also Samarka), a river in Orenburg and Kuibyshev oblasts, RSFSR; a left tributary of the Volga. The Samara is 594 km long and drains an area of 46,500 sq km. It originates on the Obshchii Syrt upland and empties into the Saratov Reservoir. It is fed primarily by snow. The mean flow rate 236 km from the mouth is 47.2 cu m per sec. High water occurs in April and early May. The Samara freezes in November or early December, and the ice breaks up in April. The Bol’shoi Kinel’, a right tributary, is the main tributary. The cities of Sorochinsk and Buzuluk are on the Samara, and the city of Kuibyshev is at its mouth. There are petroleum deposits in the basin of the Samara.

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Samara 

(also Samar’), a river in the Ukrainian SSR, a left tributary of the Dnieper. The Samara is 320 km long and drains an area of 22,600 sq km. It originates in the western spurs of the Donets Ridge and empties into the Lake Lenin reservoir. It is fed primarily by snow. The mean flow rate measured 48 km from the mouth is approximately 17 cu m per sec. The upper Samara is usually dry from late July to early November; it sometimes freezes completely to the bottom in the winter. The Samara freezes between November and January, and the ice breaks up in the second half of March or early April. The Samara is navigable from the city of Novomoskovsk.