Kuybyshev Square is the vast Soviet-era centrepiece of Samara's historic district — a monumental open space flanked by a neoclassical opera house, a large Soviet-era administrative building, and the Academic Drama Theatre. The square's scale is striking even by Soviet standards; parades here were designed to be seen from the air as much as from the ground.
The Drama Theatre faces the square with the Chapaev Monument in front of it — a bronze sculpture of the Red Army commander Vasily Chapaev that became one of the most parodied statues in Russian pop culture (Chapaev jokes were a Soviet comedy staple). The opera house runs a full season of opera, ballet, and concert performances.