Chapayevsk is a town in Samara Oblast

Samara Oblast

Samara Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Samara. Population: In 1936–1990, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast , after the Soviet name of Samara .-Demographics:Population:...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, located 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) from the city of Samara

Samara, Russia

Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...

, on the right bank of the Chapayevka River

Chapayevka River

Chapayevka or the Mocha is a river in Samara Oblast, Russia, a left tributary of the Volga River. It origins at the slope of Siny Syrt and flows to the Saratov Reservoir, near Novokuybyshevsk, Samara agglomeration. It is 298 km long. The town of Chapayevsk stays alongside the river. The...

 (a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the Volga River

Volga River

The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...

). Population:

A settlement was founded in the area in 1909 by Nicholas II

Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...

's decree that a military plant be established there. In 1927, it was renamed Chapayevsk after the celebrated Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 commander Vasily Chapayev

Vasily Chapayev

Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev or Chapaev was a celebrated Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War.-Biography:...

. The town served as a base for secret military production, hosting four such factories until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Chapayevsk is known as the town of death, due to the high amount of toxins present in the environment. According to doctors, more than 80% of children suffer from chronic diseases. Since 1991, the birthrate in the city decreased by 40%. In the women's breast milk dioxin was found at 400 times above the normal level. In 1994, a special committee of the United Nations, after much research announced the town of Chapayevsk as an ecological disaster zone.