Bashkortostan
Republic of Bashkortostan (English)
Республика Башкортостан (Russian)
Башҡортостан Республикаһы (Bashkir)
Coordinates: n/a
Coat of Arms
Flag
Coat of arms of
Bashkortostan
Flag of Bashkortostan
Anthem: National Anthem of the Republic of
Bashkortostan
Capital
Ufa
Established
March 23, 1919
Political status
Republic
Federal District
Volga[1]
Economic region
Urals[2]
Code
ISO 3166-2:RU
02
RU-BA
Area
Area[3]
143,600 km²
(55,444.3 sq mi)
- Rank within Russia
27th
Population (as of the 2002 Census)
Population[4]
4,104,336 inhabitants
- Rank within Russia
7th
- Density
28.6/km² (74.1/sq mi)
- Urban[4]
64.0%
- Rural[4]
36.0%
Official
language(s)
Russian, Bashkir[5]
Government (as of October 2008)
President[6]
Murtaza Rakhimov[7]
Legislative body
State
Assembly—Kurultai[6]
Constitution
Constitution of the
Republic of
Bashkortostan
Official website
http://www.bashkortostan.ru
The Republic of Bashkortostan (Russian:
Респу́блика
Башкортоста́н;
Bashkir:
Башҡортостан Республикаһы) or Bashkiria
(Башки́рия) is a federal subject of Russia (a
republic). It is located between the Volga
River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is
Ufa.
Terminology
The direct romanization of the republic’s
name in Russian is Respublika Bashkortostan
or Bashkiriya, and the romanization of the re-
public’s name in Bashkir is Bašqortostan
Respublikahy.
History
First settlements on the territory of modern
Bashkortostan were set up in early paleolith-
ic period. But it was the bronze age which
served as a spur to populate this territory.
When people of Abashevo culture started set-
tling here, they possessed high skills in man-
ufacturing bronze tools, weapons, and decor-
ations. They were the first to establish per-
manent settlements in the Southern Urals.
The ethnonym Bashkirs first became known
in the 9th century.
In the 10th century, Islam started to
spread among Bashkirs, and in the 14th cen-
tury it became a dominant religion. Up to the
16th century
the
territory of modern
Bashkortostan was divided between Kazan
and Siberia Khanates an