Early history The first settlements in the territory of modern Bashkortostan date from the early
Paleolithic period, but the
Bronze Age spurred an upsurge in the population of this territory. When people of the
Abashevo culture started settling here, they possessed high skills in manufacturing bronze tools, weapons and decorations. They were the first to establish permanent settlements in the Southern
Urals. In the 10th century,
Al-Balkhi wrote about Bashkirs as a people, divided into two groups, one of which inhabited the Southern Urals, while the other lived near the Danube River, close to the boundaries of Byzantium. His contemporary
Ibn-Ruste described the Bashkirs as "an independent people, occupying territories on both sides of the Ural mountain ridge between Volga, Kama, Tobol and upstream of Yaik River". File:Рисунки в Каповой пещере.jpg|
Cave paintings in the
Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve. File:Mausoleum of Turahan.jpg|Mausoleum of Turahan, 14th-century building. File:Башкиры в Гамбурге, 1814.jpg|Bashkirs near
Hamburg during the
Napoleonic Wars, c. 1813. File:Командиры БОКБ.jpg|A
Red Army cavalry unit made up of Bashkirs, likely taken between 1924 and 1927. After the early-feudal
Mongolian state had broken down in the 14th century, the territory of modern Bashkortostan became divided between the
Kazan, the
Siberia Khanates and the
Nogai Horde. The tribes that lived there were headed by
bi (tribal heads).
Within the Russian Tsardom and Empire After
Kazan fell to
Ivan the Terrible in 1554–1555, representatives of western and northwestern
Bashkir tribes approached the
Tsar with a request to voluntarily join
Muscovy. The
Bashkir rebellion of 1662–1664 and the
Bashkir rebellion of 1704–1711 were primarily caused by the Russian government's violations of the terms and conditions previously agreed between the Bashkirs and the Russian authorities. Bashkirs were also largely involved in the
Pugachev Rebellion (their leader
Salawat Yulayev, currently considered a national hero of the Bashkirs, was one of Pugachev's closest aides). , who led a rebellion against the
Russian Empire. Starting from the second half of the 16th century, Bashkiria's territory began taking shape as a part of the Russian state. In 1798, the Spiritual Assembly of Russian Muslims was established, an indication that the tsarist government recognized the rights of Bashkirs,
Tatars, and other Muslim nations to profess Islam and perform religious rituals.
Ufa Governorate (), with a center in
Ufa, was formed in 1865—another step toward territorial identification.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917 After the
Russian Revolution of 1917 were the All-Bashkir Qoroltays (conventions), which required a decision on the need to create a national federal republic within Russia. As a result, on 28 November 1917, the Bashkir Regional (Central) Shuro (Council) proclaimed the establishment of territorial and national autonomy in areas of Orenburg, Perm, Samara, and Ufa provinces with a predominantly Bashkir population. In December 1917, delegates to the All-Bashkir (constituent) Congress, representing the interests of the population edge of all nationalities, voted unanimously for the resolution (Farman #2) of the Bashkir regional Shuro for the proclamation of national-territorial autonomy (of the Republic) Bashkurdistan. The congress formed the government of Bashkurdistan, the Pre-parliament—Kese-Qoroltay and other bodies of power and administration, and decisions were made on how to proceed. In March 1919, based on the agreements of the Russian Government, the
Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. During the Soviet period, Bashkiria was granted broad autonomous rights, the first among other Russian regions. The administrative structure of the Bashkir ASSR was based on principles similar to those of other autonomous republics of Russia.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union On 11 October 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Republic adopted the
declaration on state sovereignty of the Bashkir ASSR. On 25 February 1992, the Bashkir ASSR was renamed the Republic of Bashkortostan. On 31 March 1992, a
Federative Compact "On separation of authorities and powers among federal organs of power of the Russian Federation and the organs of power of the Republic of Bashkortostan" was signed. On 3 August 1994, a Compact "On separation of authorities and mutual delegating of powers among the organs of power of the Russian Federation and the organs of power of the Republic of Bashkortostan" was signed, granting the republic autonomy. This agreement was unilaterally abolished on 7 July 2005. == Geography ==