| St. Louis | Samara | |
| Founded | 1764 | 1586 |
| Population | The largest city in Missouri with a 2010 population 2,779,939 in the Greater St. Louis area | One of the largest cities in Russia with a 2010 population of 1,164,900 |
| Geography and Climate | Located in the middle of the country at the intersection of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, St. Louis lies in the transitional zone between humid continental and subtropical. With no mountains or large bodies of water to moderate its temperature it is subject to both cold Canadian arctic air and tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. Average Precipitation: 38.75 inches (980 mm) Average high: July 90F (32 C); average low: January 21 F (-6 C). | Samara resides at the confluence of Europe’s largest river, the Volga, and the Samara River in the southeastern part of European Russia. This region has a continental climate distinguished by cold winters and warm summers. Average high: July 79 F (26 C); average low: January 3 F (-16 C). |
| Primary industries | Greater St. Louis is an academic and corporate center for biomedical sciences and home to some of the leading research institutions and largest public corporations in the country, including: Anheuser-Busch, Boeing Defense, Purina, Monsanto, Wells Fargo | Samara is a leading industrial center of the Volga and is among the top ten Russian cities in terms of national income and industrial volume. Samara’s industries include aerospace, aircraft, and light industrial products. |
| Educational Institutions | St. Louis boasts 26 institutions of high learning, of which the most well-known includes Washington University and its top-ranked medical school, St. Louis University, Webster University and Concordia Seminary | Some of Samara's well-known institutions include Samara State Aerospace University, Samara State University, Samara State Technical University Samara is known as a leading educational and scientific center of the Volga Area. The educational institutions in Samara are known for thier significant contribution in the areas of medicine and engineering, especially its contributions to the Russian space program. |
| Points of Interest | Gateway Arch, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Union Station, Daniel Boone Home, Frank Lloyd Wright House, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, Scott Joplin House and Historic Site | Samara Arch, Aleksey Tolstoy Museum, Opera and Ballet Theatre, Samara Art Museum |
| Sports | Known as one of North America’s Best Sports Cities it is home to the 10 time World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals, the National Football League St. Louis Rams, and the National Hockey League franchise St. Louis Blues. | Samara is the home to the FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, a soccer club in the Russian Premier League. Samara was also the home to the world women's basketball club VBM-SGAU. The men's basketball team BC Krasnye Krylya. Samara teams compete in the Russian Basketball Super League. Samara will also be one of the cities to host 2018 FIFA World Cup. |
Pictured left from top to bottom: St. Louis Riverfront and Arch; a view of the Arch from Kiener Plaza Fountain; Mills Fountain at St. Louis Union Station; Ladya Buildings Samara; Samara International Train Station; Iversky Woman's Monastery, Samara