House of Zoya's Standing to Become Tourist Attraction in Samara

In Samara, land with the house where the legendary Standing of Zoya occurred will be transferred to municipal ownership. This involves the plot at 84 Chkalov Street. The Samara Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church has made this request to the regional minister of urban development policy.

According to urban legend, in the 1950s, a girl named Zoya visited the house at 84 Chkalov Street for a New Year or Christmas celebration. Left without a dance partner, she took an icon of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker and started dancing with it, but she petrified and stood in that state for many days and nights.

Currently, the area bounded by Chkalov, Pushkin, and Artsybushevskaya Streets is divided into several land plots with different owners. On one plot of 133 square meters where the house was located, the owner planned to build an apartment building.

In 2022, the management of the development company transferred this territory to the Samara Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and agreed on the creation of a museum complex. Sketches were already prepared, and they wanted to implement the project by the end of 2024. But this did not happen.

As stated by the Ministry of Urban Development, they have several options for further development.

«We understand how to proceed. And this is tied to Samara»s general plan, which we are currently working on. From the perspective of creating a unique place, a place of tourist attraction — 133 square meters is not enough. It is necessary to analyze what is with the resettled houses nearby, what status they have. Our approach is not just to preserve a plot of land, but to make the public space beautiful, meaningful, and filled with special significance,« said the head of the department, Andrei Grachev.