Bashkiria

Just four million people live in Bashkiria (also known as the Republic of Bashkortostan), which lies at the southern end of the Ural mountains. Of these, just 22% are Bashkir by nationality (30% are Tatar and 40% Russian) About two-thirds of the population lives in cities, many of which, especially the capital of Ufa, are heavily polluted from local industry.

The ethnic origin of the Bashkir people is disputed. Some assert they are a Turkic people, others aver they have Ugrian (i.e. kin to the Huns or Magyars) roots. In any event, modern Bashkirs have very strong Tatar influences. In fact, the Bashkir language is quite similar to Tatar. Most Bashkirs are Sunni Moslems, while there is a small minority of Orthodox Christians.

There are daily flights between Moscow’s Domodedova airport and Ufa. It is a 24 hour train ride from Moscow to Ufa.