ЛАДЬЯ (The Ladya)Nikolay Khizhnyak/SputnikShipping on the Volga River has always played an important role in the life of Samara. It's no surprise that one of its main symbols is the ancient Russian ship, the ‘Ladya’. РАКЕТА-НОСИТЕЛЬ «СОЮЗ» (‘Soyuz’ Launch Vehicle)Vitaly Timkiv/SputnikThe ‘Soyuz’ launch vehicle was designed to launch spacecraft and satellites into Earth’s orbit. It was developed in the 1950s in Kuibyshev, as Samara was then known. The ‘Space Samara’ museum is located nearby.