Surface Area: 143.600km2
Population: 3.944.000
Capital : Ufa

GeographicalPosition

Bashkiria Republicextends towards the western parts from the Southern Ural Mountains until the rivers ofBelaya and Kama. Towards the west and south ends from the Yamantau Mountain that is thehighest peak of the Southern Ural Mountains, the height decreases gradually. The mountainsthat are covered with forests are substituted with steppes decorated with greens from thetrees that generally shed leaves and the savannas through which the Belaya River flows.

History

After the collapse ofthe Kazan Khanate in 1552, both the Turkish tribes (Tatar-Bashkurd) rebelled against theRussians, but they had to get under the dominion of the Russians at the end of the 18thcentury. In this period that lasted for four centuries, Tatars and Bashkurds lived andcombined together as a union. As a matter of fact, there were not any kind of differencebetween the theological schools in Kazan city and the schools in the cities and towns suchas Orenburg, Kargah, Ufa, Troyskiy, Isterlibash, etc. in Baþkurd country in respect ofthe principles of education and training. There were several Bashkurds among theinstructors as well as the instructors from Kazan. There was not any kind ofdiscrimination or alienation.

Thus, Habibünneccar,Zeki Velidi Togan and Þeyhzade Babiç and the others who were among the famous authors,historians and poets of the last eras wrote their works of art in the written language ofKazan, not the dialect of Baþkurds. However, these works were translated into thesouthwestern Bashkurd dialect in an artificial manner pursuant to the Bolshevikrevolution. 9 years after the revolution, the first book written in Bashkurd language waspublished in 1926. When the project for the establishment of the Tatar-Bashkurd SovietRepublic fizzled out, a Bashkurd SSR was established that was connected to USSR on thedate of 23rd March 1919. In respect of the ethnical structure, Bashkurds resemble toTatars. According to the historical resources, the relations of Tatar-Bashkurd had startedapproximately ten thousand years ago. The mythology and the epics have a significant placein the lives of Bashkurd people. The epic of Ural-Batur can be considered among the mostimportant ones.

EthnicalStructure of the Population

The rates of thepopulation of Bashkiria that has a total population of approximately 4.000.000: Bashkurds:24 % Tatars: 21.3 % Russians: 36.7% Ukranians, White Russians and others: 18 %

AdministrativeStructure

The country is locatedin the region where the continents of Asia and Europe meet. Its capital is the city ofUfa. Bashkiria has been divided into 5 provinces (Ufa, Sterlitamak, Beloret, Ýþimbay,Sibay, Belebey) and 17 cities in respect of local administrations. Furthermore, there are53 sections pertaining to these cities (districts- small regions). Bashkurds have mostlysettled down in the rural areas rather than the cities. 68% of Bashkurds live in BashkiriaAutonomous Republic and the remaining 32% lives in the region of Ural. Apart fromBashkiria, Bashkurds still live in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and the other regions of the Russian Federation.

Economy

The economicalstructure of Bashkiria depends on agriculture, stockbreeding and industry. There are 647kolkhozes and 95 Sovkhozes in the country. The principal agricultural products are rye,oats, corn, linen, sugar beet, potato, and sunflower. There are important petroleum,natural gas and pipelines in Bashkiria. The refineries and the petrochemical plantsconstitute the main element of the economy. There are also coal, copper, bauxite, gold,manganese, and chromium in the country. 40 million tonnes of petroleum and 3.5 million m3of natural gas are produced annually. The manufacture industry is developed and thepetroleum, natural gas, iron-steel, coal, electricity, cement, sugar, timber, cotton andwoollen textile have a considerable importance in the economy. The other productions arethe manufacture of aeroplanes, fertilisers, leather, tobacco, ship construction, and theproduction of railway and road transportation vehicles. There are big power stations inUfa, Sterlitamak, Ýsinbay, Kumertau, and Karmavoua. The transportation is carried outthrough railways, road and airline transportations.

Education

Just like in theother Turkish Republics, the education level of Bashkiria is well developed. The educationis given in the languages of Russian and Bashkurd Turkish. There are many kindergartensand secondary schools for 10 years of education. There are 71 units of kindergartens with65.000 students, 3175 units of secondary schools with 563.00 students and 9 units ofUniversities with 54.000 students.