Bashkortostan Geography

Overview of geography and history

        Bashkortostan geography located between the Ural mountains and Volga River, it is on the border of Europe and Asia and the region is part of Volga federal district. The capital city of Bashkortostan is called Ufa and its population is around 4071000 (2015) and its area cover almost 142,947 sq. km.

        Bashkiria is the other name for Bashkortostan and it is named after the Bashkir people. It is also the federal subject of Russia and known as the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. The 1st people who came into the territory was at the beginning of the Paleolothic followed by constructing the 1st settlement at the southern part of the Ural mountain, founded by people of Abashevo culture.

        The word Bashkir was 1st mention in the 9th century and followed by the spreading of Islam in the 10th century. Islam has grown rapidly in the region until it become the dominant religion in the 14th century when it was also during the Golden Horde Empire( Mongol and later the turkicized khanate).

        in 1552, the fall of  Kazan lead the european part of Bashkiria to voluntarily joined Russia, by the middle of 17th century, after the collapse of Siberian Khanate , territory of historical settlement of Bashkirs become part of Russia. Ufa guberniya was also formed as the part of Russia in 1865. In 1980, Ufa's population exceed one million people.

October 11, 1990, the supreme council of the republic proclaim a declaration on the State Sovereignty while in 1992 the region receive a new name - the Republic of Bashkortostan.