BASHKORTOSTAN (Bashkortostan) is the territory in the Southern Urals and in Cis-Urals, named under its native people - Bashkirs (bashkort). The Russian (Slavonic) name of the country — Bashkiriya — formed at the end of the XVI century. Originally it was used in the form «Bashkir’», «Bashkirda», «Bashkir horde». The first writing mentions about Bashkir tribes were in compositions of Gerodot (V century B.C.). Valuable information is contained in works by Sallam Tardzheman (IX cent.) and Ibn-Fadlan (X cent.); Al-Balkhi (X cent.) wrote about Bashkirs as about people, divided into two groups, one of which inhabited the Southern Urals, another one - lived near Danube river , close to the boundaries of Byzantium.
His contemporary Ibn-Ruste marked that Bashkirs were «people independent, occupying territories on both sides of the Ural mountain ridge between Volga, Kama, Tobol and upstream of Yaik river».
The state system of bashkirs ascends to the IX — beginning of XIII centuries — formation of bashkir tribes union relates to this time. Since the X century Islam spreads among Bashkirs, becoming in the XIV century their dominating religion. In 1219-1220, lands of Bashkortostan were included into the empire of Genghis Khan.
In the second half of the XVI and up to the beginning of XIX centuries Bashkirs occupied the territory from the left bank of Volga on the south-west to the riverheads of Tobol in the east, from the river of Sylva in the north, to the middle stream of Yaik in the south, i.e. they lived in Middle and Southern Urals, in Cis-Urals, including Volga territory and Trans-Urals.
In the middle of XVI century Bashkirs voluntarily joined the Russian state. Till this time they lived as a part of the Nogayskaya horde, Kazan, Siberian, and partly, Astrakhan khanates. The process of joining Russia was not a single stage event; it took several decades and affected a natural habitat, far exceeding the territory of the present Bashkortostan. Charters of Ivan the Terrible to Bashkir tribes became the basis of their contractual relationships with tsar’s government. In spite of the fact that primary documents have not been found yet and, possibly, not saved, they were mentioned in shezhere (family trees) of Bashkirs; both sides referred on them during long period.
These agreements were not an exception; they anticipated other agreements, which were concluded in the future, while decision of national-territorial issues. The matter concerns the proclamation of Bashkiria autonomy by Bashkir regional shuro in November 1917. The Third All-Bashkirs Kurultai ratified this decision, declaring Bashkir territory of the Orenburg, Ufa, Samara and Perm provinces as the autonomous part of the Russian republic, in December 1917. Also on the contractual relationship — on the basis of Agreement of Central Soviet government with the Bashkir government about Soviet Autonomy of Bashkiria — in March of 1919, the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet republic was formed - it was the first national autonomy in Russia. The republic was created within the limits of the so-called Small Bashkiria and included southern, southern-east and north-eastern parts of its modern territory. In 1922 Ufa, Birsk, Belebey regions, and also the main Bashkir volosts of Zlatoust district of the abolished Ufa province also were included in its composition.
Bashkortostan since the XVI century belongs to the number of those regions, which were not mislaid in space and time, and they are distinguishable in each of the last centuries. Its past and present are inseparably connected with the fate of the Russian multinational state.
During the years of the Soviet system, the republic developed very successfully, attaining serious results in most different spheres - industry, agriculture, science, education, culture.
During the Great Patriotic war 700 thousand habitants of the republic went to the front from Bashkortostan, every third of them perished. More than 200 thousand warriors from our republic were awarded with orders and medals for courage and bravery, 278 natives of Bashkortostan were awarded with high rank of the Hero of the Soviet Union, 35 warriors became the complete companion of the order of Glory.
1300 workers of home front were also marked. Bashkortostan brought a significant economic contribution to the Victory. In post-war years, the republic differed by high dynamism of its development; it was included in the number of the most industrially developed regions of our country. Disintegration of the USSR created the real disintegration threat and for the Russian Federation. In those difficult conditions, a constructive, considered position of Bashkortostan had quite important value for saving and renovation of the Russian federal state.
The modern strategy of Bashkortostan was defined by Murtaza Rakhimov, who headed the republic in 1990, at first — as the Chairman of Supreme Soviet, and since December 12, 1993 — as the President of Bashkortostan Republic. A trust and support of this strategy was confirmed by presidential elections of 1998 and 2003 years. In October 2006, on proposal of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, the State Assembly — Kurultay RB conferred on Murtaza Rakhimov the powers of the President of Bashkortostan Republic.
After proclamation of Declaration about state sovereignty of Bashkortostan Republic (1990), a Federal Agreement was signed with Appendix to it from Bashkortostan Republic (1992); the Constitution of Bashkortostan Republic (1993 was accepted, its new release was ratified in 2002; the Agreement was signed about differentiating of objects of competence and mutual delegation of powers between the Russian Federation authorities and Bashkortostan Republic authorities (1994).
In the conditions of political and economic systems changing, Bashkortostan conducted quite independent course, which answered native interests of not only our country and our republic but also traditions of people. All this brought visible achievements, allowed passing from tactic of survival to strategy of social and economical growth. In XXI century, the republic demonstrates social and political stability, creative spirit, organic unity of traditions and contemporaneity.
