Bashkortostan
[key], constituent republic, 55,444 sq mi (143,600 sq km), E European
Russia, in the S Urals, occupying the Belaya River basin. Ufa is the capital; other important cities
are Sterlitamak,
Beloretsk, and
Ishimbay. The
Trans-Siberian and South Siberian railroads cross the republic.
Bashkortostan forms the eastern part of the Volga-Ural petroleum region and
also has natural gas, coal, salt, iron, gold, copper, zinc, bauxite, and
manganese deposits. The drilling, refining, and processing of oil is the
predominant economic activity. About 40% of the land is forested, and
sawmilling and the production of plywood and paper are important. Grains
(especially wheat, rye, and oats) are the chief agricultural products. The
republic's population is made up of Bashkirs (about 21%), Russians (about
40%), and Tatars (about 25%). The Bashkirs, a mixture of Finno-Ugric,
Turkic, and Mongolian tribes, are a Muslim people who speak a Turkic
language very close to Tatar. Historically, the Bashkirs were controlled by
the Volga Bulgars and the Golden Horde, and later by the khanates of Kazan,
Nogai, and Siberia. In 1557, during the reign of Ivan IV, they came under
Muscovite rule. The Russians founded Ufa in 1574 and began colonization,
dispossessing the Bashkirs, who revolted numerous times during the next two
centuries (notably under Pugachev in 1773–75). In 1917 a Bashkir
national government was formed, but the region experienced heavy fighting
between the Red and White armies in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.
In 1919, the region was made the first autonomous Soviet republic. In 1990
the republic passed a declaration of sovereignty, and in 1991 it declared
itself independent, although this declaration was not recognized by any
other government. It was a signatory, under the name Republic of
Bashkortostan, to the Mar. 31, 1992, treaty that created the Russian
Federation (see Russia).
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