Bashkirs are an ancient people living in the south of the Urals for at least 12 centuries. Their history is extremely interesting, and it is surprising that, despite being surrounded by strong neighbors, the Bashkirs have retained their uniqueness and traditions to this day, although, of course, ethnic assimilation is doing its job. The population of Bashkiria in 2016 is about 4 million people. Not all residents of the region are native speakers of the language and ancient culture, but the spirit of the ethnic group is preserved here.
Geographic location
Bashkortostan is located on the border of Europe and Asia. The territory of the republic is just over 143 thousand square meters. km and covers part of the East European Plain, the mountain system of the Southern Urals and the uplands of the Trans-Urals. The capital of the region - Ufa - is the largest settlement of the republic, the rest of the cities of Bashkiria in terms of populationthe population and size of the territory are much inferior to it.
The relief of Bashkortostan is extremely diverse. The highest point in the region is the Zigalga Ridge (1427 m). Plains and highlands are well suited for agriculture, so the population of Bashkiria has long been engaged in cattle breeding and crop production. The republic is rich in water resources, the basins of such rivers as the Volga, Ural and Ob are located here. 12 thousand rivers of various sizes flow through the territory of Bashkiria, 2700 lakes are located here, mainly of spring origin. Also, 440 artificial reservoirs have been created here.
The region has large reserves of minerals. So, deposits of oil, gold, iron ore, copper, natural gas, and zinc have been discovered here. Bashkiria is located in the temperate zone, on its territory there are many mixed forests, forest-steppes and steppes. There are three large reserves and several nature reserves. Bashkortostan borders on such subjects of the Federation as the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Orenburg regions, on Udmurtia and Tatarstan.
History of the Bashkir people
The first people on the territory of modern Bashkiria lived 50-40 thousand years ago. Archaeologists have found traces of ancient settlements in the Imanay cave. In the era of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic, tribes of hunters and gatherers lived here, they mastered local territories, tamed animals, left drawings on the walls of caves. The genes of these first settlers became the basis for the formation of the Bashkir people.
First mentionsabout the Bashkirs, you can read the works of Arab geographers. They say that in the 9th-11th centuries, a people called "Bashkort" lived on both sides of the Ural Mountains. In the 10th-12th centuries, the Bashkirs were part of the Volga Bulgaria state. From the beginning of the 13th century, they fought furiously with the Mongols who wanted to take over their lands. As a result, a partnership agreement was concluded, and for the 13th-14th centuries the Bashkir people were part of the Golden Horde on special terms. The Bashkirs were not a people subject to tribute. They maintained their own social structure and were in the military service of the kagan. After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Bashkirs were part of the Kazan and Siberian Hordes.
In the 16th century, strong pressure began on the independence of the Bashkirs from the Russian kingdom. In the 1550s, Ivan the Terrible called on the people to voluntarily join his state. Negotiations were held for a long time, and in 1556 an agreement was concluded on the entry of the Bashkirs into the Russian kingdom on special terms. The people retained their rights to religion, administration, the army, but paid the Russian Tsar a tax, for which they received help in repelling external aggression.
Until the 17th century, the terms of the agreement were respected, but with the coming to power of the Romanovs, encroachments on the sovereign rights of the Bashkirs began. This led to a series of uprisings in the 17th and 18th centuries. The people suffered huge losses in the struggle for their rights and independence, but were able to defend their autonomy within the Russian Empire, although they still had to make certain concessions.
In the 18-19th centuries, Bashkiria was subjected to administrative reform more than once, but in generalretained the right to reside within historical boundaries. The population of Bashkiria throughout its history has been excellent warriors. The Bashkirs actively participated in all the battles fought by Russia: in the war of 1812, the First and Second World Wars. The losses of the people were great, but the victories were glorious. There are many true warrior heroes among the Bashkirs.
During the coup of 1917, Bashkiria was at first on the side of the resistance of the Red Army, the Bashkir army was created, which defended the idea of independence of this people. However, for a number of reasons, in 1919 the Bashkir government came under the control of the Soviet government. Within the framework of the Soviet Union, Bashkiria wanted to form a union republic. But Stalin declared that Tatarstan and Bashkortostan could not be union republics, as they were Russian enclaves, so the Bashkir Autonomous Republic was created.
In Soviet times, the region had to endure the difficulties and processes characteristic of the entire USSR. Collectivization and industrialization took place here. During the war years, many industrial and other enterprises were evacuated to Bashkiria, which formed the basis of post-war industrialization and reconstruction. During the years of perestroika, in 1992, the Republic of Bashkortostan was proclaimed with its own Constitution. Today, Bashkiria is actively engaged in the revival of national identity and primordial traditions.
The total population of Bashkiria. Dynamics of indicators
The first census of the population of Bashkiria was conducted in 1926year, then 2 million 665 thousand people lived on the territory of the republic. Later, estimates of the number of inhabitants of the region were carried out at different intervals, and only from the end of the 20th century did such data begin to be collected annually.
Until the beginning of the 21st century, the population dynamics was positive. The largest increase in the number of inhabitants occurred in the early 50s. In other periods, the region steadily increased by an average of 100 thousand people. A slight slowdown in growth was recorded in the early 1990s.
And only since 2001, the negative dynamics of the population was revealed. Every year the number of inhabitants decreased by several thousand people. By the end of the 2000s, the situation improved slightly, but in 2010 the number of inhabitants began to decrease again.
Today the population in Bashkiria (2016) has stabilized, the number is 4 million 41 thousand people. So far, demographic and economic indicators do not allow us to expect an improvement in the situation. But the leadership of Bashkortostan makes it its top priority to reduce mortality and increase the birth rate in the region, which should have a positive impact on the number of its inhabitants.
Administrative division of Bashkortostan
Starting from the middle of the 16th century, Bashkiria, as part of the Russian Empire, united around Ufa. At first it was the Ufa district, then the Ufa province and the Ufa province. In Soviet times, the region experienced several territorial and administrative reforms, connected either with consolidation or with division into districts. In 2009, today's division was adoptedBashkortostan into territorial units. According to the republican legislation, 54 districts, 21 cities are allocated in the region, 8 of them are of republican subordination, 4532 rural settlements. Today, the population of the cities of Bashkiria is gradually growing mainly due to internal migration.
Population distribution
Russia is predominantly an agrarian country, about 51% of Russians live in rural areas. If we evaluate the population of the cities of Bashkiria (2016), we can see that about 48% of the population lives in them, i.e. 1.9 million people out of a total of 4 million. That is, the region fits into the all-Russian trend. The list of cities in Bashkiria by population is as follows: the largest settlement is Ufa (1 million 112 thousand people), the rest of the settlements are much smaller in size, the top five also include Sterlitamak (279 thousand people), Salavat (154 thousand), Neftekamsk (137 thousand) and Oktyabrsky (114 thousand). Other cities are small, their population does not exceed 70 thousand people.
Age and sex composition of the population of Bashkiria
The all-Russian ratio of women to men is approximately 1.1. Moreover, at an early age, the number of boys exceeds the number of girls, but with age the picture changes to the opposite. Considering the population of Bashkiria, one can see that this trend continues here. On average, there are 1,139 women for every 1,000 men.
The distribution of the population by age in the Republic of Bashkiria is as follows: youngerable-bodied - 750 thousand people, older than able-bodied - 830 thousand people, working age - 2.4 million people. Thus, there are about 600 young and old people per 1,000 people of working age. On average, this corresponds to the general Russian trends. The gender and age model of Bashkiria makes it possible to attribute the region to an aging type, which indicates the future complication of the demographic and economic situation in the region.
Ethnic composition of the population
Since 1926, the national composition of the inhabitants of the Bashkir Republic has been monitored. During this time, the following trends have been identified: the number of the Russian population is gradually decreasing, from 39.95% to 35.1%. And the number of Bashkirs is increasing, from 23.48% to 29%. And the ethnic Bashkir population of Bashkiria in 2016 is 1.2 million people. The remaining national groups are represented by the following figures: Tatars - 24%, Chuvash - 2.6%, Mari - 2.5%. Other nationalities are represented by groups of less than 1% of the total population.
There is a big problem in the region for the preservation of small peoples. Thus, the Kryashen population has grown over the past 100 years, the Mishars are on the verge of extinction, and the Teptyars have completely disappeared. Therefore, the leadership of the region is trying to create special conditions for the preservation of the remaining small sub-ethnic groups.
Language and religion
In national regions, there is always the problem of preserving religion andlanguage, is no exception and Bashkiria. The religion of the population is an important part of national identity. For the Bashkirs, the primordial faith is Sunni Islam. In Soviet times, religion was under an unspoken ban, although the intra-family way of life was often still built according to Muslim traditions. In post-perestroika times, a revival of religious customs began in Bashkiria. Over 20 years, more than 1000 mosques were opened in the region (in Soviet times there were only 15), about 200 Orthodox churches and several places of worship of other faiths. And yet, Islam remains the dominant religion in the region, about 70% of all churches in the republic belong to this religion.
Language is an important part of national identity. There was no special language policy in Bashkiria in Soviet times. Therefore, part of the population began to lose their native speech. Since 1989, special work has been carried out in the republic to revive the national language. Teaching at school in the native language (Bashkir, Tatar) has been introduced. Today, 95% of the population speak Russian, 27% speak Bashkir, and 35% speak Tatar.
Economy of the region
Bashkortostan is one of the most economically stable regions of Russia. The bowels of Bashkiria are rich in minerals, for example, the republic ranks 9th in the country in oil production and 1st in its processing. The region's economy is well diversified and therefore well overcomes the difficulties of times of crisis. Several industries ensure the stability of the development of the republic, these are:
- petrochemical industry represented by largecombines: Bashneft, Sterlitamak petrochemical plant, Bashkir soda company;
- mechanical engineering and metallurgy, including the Trolleybus Plant, Neftemash, Kumertau Aviation Enterprise, Vityaz all-terrain vehicle manufacturing enterprise, Neftekamsk Automobile Plant;
- energy industry;
- manufacturing industry.
Agriculture is of great importance for the region's economy, Bashkir peasants are successfully engaged in animal husbandry and growing plants.
The region has well-developed trade and service sectors, which are negatively affected by the decline in incomes of the population (2016) in Bashkiria, but still the situation in the republic is much better than in the subsidized regions of the country.
Employment of the population
In general, the population of Bashkiria is in better economic conditions than the inhabitants of many other regions. However, in 2016, an increase in unemployment was recorded here; in six months, the figure increased by 11% compared to last year. There is also a decrease in trade and consumption of services, a reduction in wages and real incomes of the population. All this leads to another round of unemployment. First of all, young professionals and university graduates without work experience are hit. This leads to the fact that the outflow of young people and qualified employees from the region begins.
Infrastructure of the region
For any region, social infrastructure is important, which allows residents to experience satisfaction from living in one or anothersome other place. The population of Bashkiria in 2016 highly appreciates the living conditions in their region. In Bashkortostan, a lot of efforts and funds are invested in the repair and construction of roads, bridges, and he althcare facilities. Transport and tourism infrastructure is developing in the republic. However, of course, there are also problems, in particular with the provision of the population with educational and cultural institutions. The region has obvious problems with the environment, numerous industrial enterprises negatively affect the purity of water and air in the area of large cities. However, the urban infrastructure is much better developed than the rural one, which leads to the outflow of the rural population to the cities.
Population demographics
In terms of demographic indicators, Bashkortostan compares favorably with many regions of the country. So, the birth rate in the republic is small, but has been growing for the last 10 years (the only exception was 2011, when there was a decrease by 0.3%). But, unfortunately, the death rate has also been growing in recent years, although at a slower pace than the birth rate. Therefore, the population of Bashkiria shows a small natural increase, which is not typical for the country as a whole.
