Molodetsky Kurgan

Molodetsky Kurgan is one of the best-known peaks of the Zhiguli Mountains, 242.8 metres above sea level, in Samara Oblast, Russia. It stands in the western part of the range, at the confluence of the Usa and Volga rivers, opposite the city of Tolyatti. The hill draws both tourists and scientists: it lies within Samarskaya Luka National Park, one of Russia's first national parks, established in 1984.

Folk legends of the area often mention the Volga river Cossacks and their atamans. One version holds that the hill's name comes from "dobrye molodtsy" ("fine young men") — fugitives and outlaws who once hid here; according to legend, the ataman Stepan Razin buried a treasure on it, two buckets of gold guarded by an enchanted crowbar.

About 200 plant species grow on the slopes of Molodetsky Kurgan, including rare and relict ones; it holds Europe's largest population of Schivereckia podolica, a plant listed in Russia's Red Data Book. Animals here include the white-tailed eagle, the steppe bush-cricket Saga pedo (also in the Red Data Book), and the Apollo and swallowtail butterflies.

In spring, Molodetsky Kurgan hosts a regional mountaineering championship, and on the second weekend of June the Zakharovsky Festival brings together bards, hikers and athletes.

From May 2008 to June 2009 the hill was closed to visitors for land reclamation and landscape restoration. It is now open to tourists, who climb it for views of the Volga, the Kuibyshev Reservoir (known locally as the Zhiguli Sea) and the neighbouring Lepyoshka Hill.