Population of Bashkiria: size, national composition, religion. The Bashkirs are closer to the Khanty and Proto-Hungarians, the Tatars are closer to the Europeans

2) The origin of the Bashkir people.

3) First information about the Bashkirs.

4) Sakas, Scythians, Sarmatians.

5) Ancient Turks.

6) Polovtsy.

7) Genghis Khan.

8) Bashkortostan as part of the Golden Horde.

10) Ivan the Terrible.

11) Accession of the Bashkirs to the Russian state.

12) Bashkir uprisings.

13) Bashkir tribes.

14) Belief of the ancient Bashkirs.

16) Acceptance of Islam.

17) Writing among the Bashkirs and the first schools.

17) The emergence of Bashkir villages.

18) The emergence of cities.

19) Hunting and fishing.

20) Agriculture.

21) Beekeeping.

22) Influence Civil War on the economic and social life of Bashkiria

1) Origin of the Bashkir people. The formation and formation of a people does not occur immediately, but gradually. In the eighth century BC, Ananyin tribes lived in the Southern Urals, who gradually settled in other territories. Scientists believe that the Ananyin tribes are the direct ancestors of the Komi-Permyaks, Udmurts, Mari, and the descendants of the Ananyin people took part in the origin of the Chuvash, Volga Tatars, Bashkirs and other peoples of the Urals and Volga region.
The Bashkirs as a people did not migrate from anywhere, but were formed as a result of a very complex and long-term historical development on the ground of indigenous tribes, in the process of contacts and crossing them with alien tribes of Turkic origin. These are the Sauromatians, Huns, ancient Turks, Pechenegs, Cumans and Mongolian tribes.
The process of formation of the Bashkir people was completed completely at the end of the 15th - in the first half of the 16th century.

2) First information about the Bashkirs.

The first written evidence about the Bashkirs dates back to the 9th - 10th centuries. The testimony of the Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan is especially important. According to his description, the embassy traveled for a long time through the country of the Oguz-Kypchaks (the Aral Sea steppes), and then, in the area of ​​​​the present city of Uralsk, it crossed the Yaik River and immediately entered the “country of the Bashkirs from among the Turks.”
In it, the Arabs crossed rivers such as Kinel, Tok, Sarai, and beyond the Bolshoi Cheremshan River the borders of the state of Volga Bulgaria began.
The closest neighbors of the Bashkirs in the west were the Bulgars, and in the south and east were the formidable nomadic tribes of the Guz and Kipchaks. The Bashkirs conducted active trade with China, with the states of Southern Siberia, Central Asia and Iran. They sold their furs, iron products, livestock and honey to merchants. In exchange they received silks, silver and gold jewelry, and dishes. Merchants and diplomats passing through the country of the Bashkirs left stories about it. These stories mention that the cities of the Bashkirs consisted of above-ground log houses. Bulgar neighbors staged frequent raids on Bashkir settlements. But the warlike Bashkirs tried to meet their enemies at the border and did not let them close to their villages.

3) Sakas, Scythians, Sarmatians.

2800 - 2900 years ago, a strong, powerful people appeared in the Southern Urals - the Saki. Their main wealth was horses. The famous Saka cavalry with swift rushes captured fertile pastures for their numerous herds. Gradually, the steppes of Eastern Europe from the Southern Urals to the shores of the Caspian and Aral seas and southern Kazakhstan became Saki.
Among the Sakas there were especially wealthy families, who had several thousand horses in their herds. Rich families subjugated their poor relatives and elected a king. This is how the Saka state arose.

All Sakas were considered slaves of the king, and all their wealth was his property. It was believed that even after death, he became the King, but only in another world. Kings were buried in large, deep graves. Log cabins - houses - were lowered into the pits; weapons, dishes with food, expensive clothes and other things were placed inside. Everything was made of gold and silver, so that in the underworld no one would doubt the royal origin of the person buried.
For a whole millennium, the Sakas and their descendants dominated the wide expanses of the steppe. They then split into several separate groups of tribes and began to live separately.

The Scythians were a nomadic people of the steppes, vast grasslands that stretched across Asia from Manchuria to Russia. The Scythians lived by raising animals (sheep, cattle and horses) and partly engaged in hunting. The Chinese and Greeks described the Scythians as ferocious warriors who were one with their fleet-footed, short horses. Armed with bows and arrows, the Scythians fought on horseback. According to one description, they scalped their enemies and kept them as trophies.
The rich Scythians were covered with elaborate tattoos. A tattoo was evidence that a person belonged to a noble family, and its absence was a sign of a commoner. A person with patterns applied to his body turned into a “walking” work of art.
When a leader died, his wife and servants were killed and buried with him. His horses were also buried along with the leader. Many very beautiful gold items found in burials speak of the wealth of the Scythians.

Wandering along the borders of the Trans-Ural forest-steppe, the Sakas came into contact with the semi-nomadic tribes who lived there. According to many modern researchers, these were Finno-Ugric tribes - the ancestors of the Mari, Udmurts, Komi-Permyaks and, possibly, the Hungarian-Magyars. The interaction between the Sakas and Ugrians ended in the 4th century BC with the appearance of the Sarmatians on the historical arena.
In the second century BC, the Sarmatians conquered Scythia and devastated it. Some of the Scythians were exterminated or captured, others were subjugated and merged with the Sakas.
The famous historian N.M. Karamzin wrote about the Sarmatians. “Rome was not ashamed to buy the friendship of the Sarmatians with gold.”
The Scythians, Saks and Sarmatians spoke Iranian. The Bashkir language has the most ancient Iranianisms, that is, words that entered the vocabulary of the Bashkirs from the Iranian language: kyyar (cucumber), kamyr (dough), takta (board), byala (glass), bakta (wool - shedding), hike (bunks) , shishme (spring, stream).

4) Ancient Turks.

In the 6th - 7th centuries, new hordes of nomads gradually moved west from the steppes of Central Asia. The Turks created a huge empire from Pacific Ocean in the east to northern Caucasus in the west, from the forest-steppe regions of Siberia in the north to the borders of China and Central Asia in the south. In 558, the Southern Urals were already part of the Turkic state.

The supreme deity of the Turks was the Sun (according to other versions - the sky). He was called Tengre. Tengra was subject to the gods of water, wind, forests, mountains and other deities. Fire, as the ancient Turks believed, cleansed a person from all sins and bad thoughts. Fires burned around the Khan's yurt both day and night. No one dared to approach the khan until he passed through the fiery corridor.
The Turks left a deep mark on the history of the peoples of the Southern Urals. Under their influence, new tribal unions were formed, which gradually moved to a sedentary lifestyle.

5) In the second half of the 9th century, a new wave of Turkic-speaking nomads - the Pechenegs - passed through the steppes of the Southern Urals and Trans-Volga region. They were forced out of Central Asia and the Aral region after being defeated in the wars for the possession of the oases of the Syr Darya and the Northern Aral region. At the end of the 9th century, the Pechenegs and related tribes became the de facto masters of the steppes of Eastern Europe. The Pechenegs who lived in the steppes of the Volga and Southern Urals also included Bashkir tribes. Being an organic part of the Trans-Volga Pechenegs, the Bashkirs of the 9th - 11th centuries apparently did not differ from the Pechenegs in either their way of life or culture.

The Polovtsians are nomadic Turks who appeared in the mid-11th century in the steppes of the Urals and Volga. The Polovtsians themselves called themselves Kipchaks. They approached the borders of Rus'. Over the course of their domination, the steppe began to be called Deshti-Kypchak, Polovtsian steppe. There are sculptures about the times of the domination of the Polovtsians - stone “women” standing on steppe mounds. Although these statues are called “women,” they are dominated by images of warrior-heroes - the ancestors of the Polovtsian tribes.
The Polovtsians acted as allies of Byzantium against the Pechenegs and expelled them from the Black Sea region. The Polovtsians were both allies and enemies of the Russian tribes. Many of the Polovtsians became relatives of Russian princes. So, Andrei Bogolyubsky was the son of a Polovtsian woman, the daughter of Khan Aepa. Prince Igor, the hero of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” before his 1185 campaign against the Polovtsians, he himself invited the Polovtsians to take part in military raids on Rus'.
In the XIII - XIV centuries, the territory of the Urals and Trans-Urals was inhabited by Kipchaks. They entered into family ties with other tribes inhabiting the area.

6) Genghis Khan was the son of the leader of a small Mongol tribe. At the age of eight he was left an orphan. When Genghis Khan's father saw a large birthmark, he considered this a sign that his son would become a great warrior.
Genghis Khan's real name is Temujin. His merit was that he united nomadic tribes with few connections with each other into one intertribal union. He devoted his entire life to creating an empire. War was the instrument of this construction. There were no foot soldiers in the Mongol army: each had two horses, one for himself, the other for luggage. They lived by feeding off the conquered population.

Cities, if their population resisted, were mercilessly destroyed along with all their inhabitants. True, if they surrendered without a fight, mercy could await them. Genghis Khan and his army became so famous for their cruelty that many chose to surrender to him without a fight.
Genghis Khan's troops overcame the Great Wall of China and soon captured all of China. In 1215, Beijing was captured and all of China became part of the great Mongol empire.
In the 20s of the 13th century, Genghis Khan and his horde approached the outlying cities of Rus'. Although the Russian cities were well fortified, they could not withstand the onslaught of the Mongols. Having defeated the combined forces of the Russian and Cuman princes in 1223 at the Battle of Kalka, the Mongol army devastated the territory between the Don and Dnieper north of the Sea of ​​Azov.

In the thirteenth century, numerous troops of the formidable Genghis Khan approached the Southern Urals. The forces were unequal; in several battles the Bashkirs were defeated. As a sign of reconciliation at headquarters Mongol Khan The Bashkir leader Muitan Khan, the son of Tuksob Khan, arrived. He brought with him expensive gifts, including thousands of heads of cattle. Genghis Khan was pleased with the expensive gifts and awarded the khan a charter for the eternal possession of the lands through which the Belaya River flows for him and his descendants. The vast lands given under the rule of Muitan Khan completely coincide with the territory of settlement of the Bashkir tribes of the 9th - 12th centuries.

7) In the thirteenth century, numerous troops of the formidable Genghis Khan approached the Southern Urals. The forces were unequal; in several battles the Bashkirs were defeated. As a sign of reconciliation, the Bashkir leader Muitan Khan, the son of Tuksob Khan, arrived at the headquarters of the Mongol Khan. He brought with him expensive gifts, including thousands of heads of cattle. Genghis Khan was pleased with the expensive gifts and awarded the khan a charter for the eternal possession of the lands through which the Belaya River flows for him and his descendants. The vast lands given under the rule of Muitan Khan completely coincide with the territory of settlement of the Bashkir tribes of the 9th - 12th centuries.
But the broad masses of the Bashkirs did not reconcile themselves with the loss of independence and repeatedly went to war against the new masters. The theme of the struggle of the Bashkirs against the Mongols is most fully reflected in the legend “The Last of the Sartai Family,” which tells about tragic fate Bashkir Khan Jalyk, who lost his two sons and his entire family in the war against the Mongols, but remained unconquered to the end.

8) The formidable Tsar Timur left his mark on the history of Bashkortostan. Timur (sometimes called Tamerlane) was the ruler of a large state, and his capital was the beautiful city of Samarkand. He constantly waged wars against neighboring countries, capturing young men and women and stealing cattle.
In June 1391, near the Kundurcha River in Bashkortostan, Timur defeated the Mongol king Tokhtamysh. As winners, Timur's warriors began to plunder. They took clothes, weapons, horses from prisoners, ravaged and destroyed hundreds of Bashkir villages, dozens of cities in the Ural-Volga region. The robbery lasted 20 days.
Timur left a bad memory of himself. Here is one of the Bashkir legends, which explains the origin of the village of Uchaly: “Once upon a time a khan named Aksak Timur came to the Bashkir land. He came and asked the Bashkirs to marry their girl to him. They decided to give him a girl from their family. Khan paid generously for it and left. After some time, he came again to pick up his bride. But now the Bashkirs unexpectedly opposed his wishes. They didn't give up the girl. The khan became very angry. Taking revenge for his honor, he destroyed and burned out all the nomadic camps and yurts of the local Bashkir clans. The people suffered greatly from this devastation. For a long time they did not forget the cruel khan, they commemorated him with curses. Later these places began to be called Us aldy - he took revenge. They say that the name of the village of Uchaly comes from this word.”

9) On January 16, 1547, Metropolitan of All Rus' Macarius in the Assumption Cathedral for the first time in Russian history solemnly crowned Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich.
The king's head was crowned with the Monomakh Cap. After Ivan the Terrible, all Russian tsars will be crowned with the Monomakh cap. The boyars in those days flaunted tall fur hats in front of each other. It was believed that the higher the hat, the more noble the family. Ordinary people did not have the right to wear such luxurious hats. Needless to say: Senka’s hat too.
Under Ivan the Terrible, the territory of the Russian state increased significantly, but the state itself was on the brink of disaster. The time of his reign, on the one hand, was marked by successes, and on the other, by the king’s bloody war against his people. To fight the enemies who seemed to him at every step, Ivan the Terrible came up with the oprichnina. The name “oprichnina” comes from the Old Russian word “oprich” - besides, except. The guardsmen wore a special uniform. They looked everywhere for the king's enemies. Along with the person, all members of his family, servants, and often even peasants were captured. After brutal torture the unfortunate were executed, and the survivors were exiled.

10) In the middle of the 15th century, the Golden Horde collapsed. Smaller states arose on its territory: the Nogai Horde, the Kazan, Siberian and Astrakhan khanates. The Bashkirs found themselves under their domination. All this further worsened the situation of the Bashkirs.
In the middle of the 16th century, after liberation from Mongol yoke the power of the Russian state begins to grow rapidly. However, things were not yet calm in the East. The Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, with their constant raids, ravaged the Russian lands and took many into captivity. In Kazan alone in 1551, more than one hundred thousand Russian prisoners languished. The interests of the further development of the Russian state required decisive measures against Kazan. And Tsar Ivan the Terrible organized a military campaign. With the capture of Kazan on October 2, 1952, the existence of the Kazan Khanate ceased.
Ivan the Terrible addressed the peoples of the former Kazan Khanate with letters. In them, he called for voluntarily accepting Russian citizenship and paying yasak (tribute). He promised not to touch their lands, religion and customs, that is, to leave everything as it was before the Mongol invasion. In addition, he promised protection and patronage from all enemies.
The flexible diplomacy of the White Tsar, as the Bashkirs called the Terrible, yielded results: the Bashkirs greeted his proposal with approval. The first to accept Russian citizenship at the end of 1554 were the tribes of Western Bashkortostan, which were previously part of the Kazan Khanate. In the spring of 1557, the process of the majority of the Bashkirs joining the Russian state was completed.

During the legal formalization of the annexation, conditions were agreed upon: the Bashkirs were required to perform military service - guard the eastern borders, participate in military campaigns together with the Russians and pay tribute.
The annexation as a whole had a progressive meaning for the Bashkirs. The domination of the Nogai, Kazan and Siberian khanates was ended, with endless internecine wars. All this had a positive effect on the development of the region's economy. The Bashkirs began to adopt agricultural and craft skills from the Russian peasants, and the Russians from the Bashkirs began to adopt some methods of cattle breeding and beekeeping. Bashkirs, Russians and other peoples jointly developed the natural resources of the region.
The annexation to the Russian state was accompanied by the construction of fortresses and cities. Birsk was founded by the Bashkirs themselves back in 1555. In 1766, Sterlitamak was founded as a marina. In 1762, the construction of the Beloretsk plant began, in 1781 Belebey received the status of a city.

11) An important place in the history of Bashkortostan is occupied by the uprisings of indigenous people against the colonial oppression of tsarism. This oppression was expressed in the violent seizure of Bashkir lands, in the persecution national culture. The position of the Bashkirs was worsened by the fact that tsarist officials abused the collection of yasak, and the conditions for the accession of the Bashkirs to Rus' were violated.
The Bashkirs had nowhere to complain, so they expressed their protest with weapons in their hands. The Bashkirs organized 89 armed protests against the Russian colonialists.
Major armed uprisings of the Bashkirs: 1662 - 1664 (leaders Sarah Mergen and Ishmukhamet Davletbaev); 1681 - 1683 (Seit Sadir); 1704 - 1711 (Aldar Isyangildin and Kusum Tyulekeev); 1735 - 1740 (Kilmyak abyz Nurushev, Akay Kusyumov, Bepenya Trupberdin, Karasakal); 1755 (Batyrsha Aliyev); participation of the Bashkirs in the Peasant War of Emelyan Pugachev in 1773 - 1775 (Salavat Yulaev, Kinzya Arslanov, Bazargul Yunaev).
The people composed songs, kubairs, and legends about the defenders of the people, about the brave leaders of armed uprisings. Salavat Yulaev became the national hero of the Bashkir people. Salavat Yulaev combined the talent of a poet, the gift of a commander, and the fearlessness of a warrior. These qualities reflect the spiritual image of the Bashkirs. Bashkirs, Russians, Tatars, Mishars, Chuvashs, and Maris gathered under the banner of Pugachev. But the first place among them in terms of the number of participants belonged to the Bashkirs. The first of the Bashkir military leaders to appear in the rebel camp was Kinzya Arslanov. He brought a detachment of 500 people. Being a highly educated man, he was immediately accepted into the Pugachev headquarters.
The authorities decided to use the Bashkirs to fight the rebels; many armed Bashkirs gathered in the city of Sterlitamak by order of the governor of Orenburg. Among them was Salavat Yulaev. Salavat enjoyed great trust among his subordinates. Even then he was known as a poet-improviser. He gives a fiery speech to the soldiers, urging them to join Pugachev. Everyone unanimously supported Salavat. He becomes the leader of the entire Bashkir cavalry.
After Pugachev left Bashkortostan, the leadership of the uprising completely passed into the hands of Salavat. He continues the fight even when the traitorous Cossacks hand Pugachev over to the authorities.
But the forces were unequal, the uprising waned, Salavat’s troops were defeated. The batyr was captured on November 25, 1774. After lengthy interrogations and cruel torture, he and his father were sent to eternal hard labor in Rogerwick on October 3, 1775. Here, together with other rebels, Salavat and his father Yulai Aznalin worked on the construction of the Rogerwick port. It was grueling work, but they bravely endured all the hardships. History knows this fact. Once the Swedes attacked the garrison. They killed all the guards and began to rob everything. Then the convicts attacked them. They put the Swedes to flight and captured their ships. After everything that happened, the Pugachevites could go to the open sea. But they raised St. Andrew's flag and waited for the authorities. The convicts hoped that they would be pardoned for such a patriotic act. However, the authorities decided in their own way: everything remained unchanged. In 1797, Yulay died. On September 26, 1800, Salavat also passed away.

12) Each Bashkir tribe included several clans. The number of clans in the tribes varied. At the head of the clan was the biy - the clan leader. In the 9th - 12th centuries, the power of the biys became hereditary. Biy relied on the people's assembly (yiyyn) and the council of elders (koroltai). Issues of war and peace, clarification of borders were resolved during public assemblies. Public meetings ended with festivities: horse races were held, storytellers competed in poetic skill, kuraists and singers performed.
Each tribe had four distinctive feature: brand (tamga), tree, bird and cry (oran). For example, among the Burzyans, the mark was an arrow, the tree was an oak, the bird was an eagle, and the cry was baysungar.
The name of the Bashkir people is Bashkort. What does this word mean? There are more than thirty explanations in science. The most common are the following: The word “bashkort” is made up of two words “bash” means “head, chief”, and “kort” means “wolf”. This explanation is associated with the ancient beliefs of the Bashkirs. The wolf was one of the totems of the Bashkirs. A totem is an animal, less often a natural phenomenon, a plant, which ancient people worshiped as a god, considering it the Founder of the tribe. The Bashkirs have legends about the wolf-savior, the wolf-guide, the wolf-progenitor. The word “bashkort”, according to another explanation, also consists of two words “bash” means “head, chief”, and “kort” means “bee”. The Bashkirs have long been engaged in beekeeping and then beekeeping. It is quite possible that the bee was a totem of the Bashkirs, and over time it became their name.

13) Religion among ancient people was born in an attempt to explain the world around them. No one could explain why cold or hunger suddenly sets in, or an unsuccessful hunt occurs.
Natural forces: the sun, rain, thunder and lightning, and so on, aroused special respect among people. All peoples in their early development worshiped the forces of nature and the idols that represented them. For example, the main god of the ancient Greeks and Slavs was the Thunderer, who struck those who disobeyed him with lightning. The Greeks called him Zeus, the Slavs - Perun. And the ancient Bashkirs especially revered the sun and the moon. They represented the sun in the form of a woman, the moon in the form of a man. In the myth of the heavenly bodies, the sun appears in the form of a red water maiden emerging from the sea, with long white hair. She takes out stars with her hands and decorates her hair with them. The moon is drawn in the form of a handsome horseman, looking cheerfully or sadly from the sky at people.
The earth, the ancient Bashkirs thought, rests on a huge bull and a large pike, and their body movements cause earthquakes. The ancient Bashkirs believed that trees and stones, earth and water, like humans, experience pain, resentment, anger and can take revenge for themselves and their neighbors, cause harm or, on the contrary, help a person. Birds and animals were also endowed with intelligence. The ancient Bashkirs believed that birds and animals could talk to each other, and towards a person they behave as he deserves. And the fire, by popular ideas, was the source of two principles - evil in the form of ubyr and good - as a force for cleansing from evil spirits and as a source of heat.
Therefore, the Bashkirs behaved carefully in relation to the world around them, so as not to provoke anger and discontent from nature.

About 1,400 years ago, a new prophet appeared on the Arabian Peninsula. Mohammed (Mohamed) was born in 570 BC. At the age of six, he was left an orphan and was raised by foster parents.
In those days, the Arabs worshiped many gods. Like other peoples at an early stage of development, they worshiped various idols. The tribes of Arab nomads lived very poorly and in constant hostility with each other. In order to unite, a common faith was needed. Islam became such a faith.
Islam was a new religion, but at the same time it borrowed a lot from Judaism and Christianity. Mohammed declared himself a prophet of Allah, who, through the Archangel Gabriel (Jabrail), revealed to him the truths of the new faith, later collected in the Koran.
The word “Islam” in Arabic means “submission”. “Muslim” means “one who submits.” The new faith proclaimed Allah the only god who is kind to people, but, however, takes revenge on those who are not devoted to Islam. It should be said that the Koran contains many legends about prophets who are mentioned in the sacred Jewish and Christian books. According to the Quran, Moses (Musa), Jesus (Isa) and many others are prophets.
Mohammed, preaching in the name of Allah, forced the warring tribes to unite into a single people, which subsequently led to the creation of the Arab empire. Mohammed and his followers created a new Islamic society that combined strict religious injunctions with the commandment to protect the weak - women, orphans and slaves. Europeans often believe that Islam is a militant religion. But that's not true. Jews, Christians and Buddhists have lived side by side with Muslims for centuries.
The conquests of the Arabs led to the spread of Islam throughout the world. Islam has played a very important role in the development of mankind. The new religion contributed to the development of science, architecture, crafts, and trade. For example, having decided to conquer the countries with which they were separated by the sea, the Arabs became excellent sailors. Today, more than 840 million people are Muslims.

15) Acceptance of Islam.

Islam began to penetrate Bashkir society in the 10th-11th centuries through Bulgarian and Central Asian merchants, as well as preachers. The Arab traveler Ibn Fadlan met one of the Bashkirs who professed Islam back in 922.
Already in the 14th century, Islam became the dominant religion in Bashkiria, as evidenced by mausoleums and Muslim burials.
The spread of the Muslim religion was accompanied everywhere by the construction of prayer buildings and mausoleums over the “graves of saints,” which are currently examples of ancient Bashkir architectural architecture. These monuments of art are called “keshene” by the Bashkirs. On the modern territory of the republic there are three mausoleums built in the 13th - 14th centuries, of which two are in the Chishminsky district, and the third is in the Kugarchinsky district.
One of them, the mausoleum-keshene of Khusain-bek, is located on the left bank of the Dema River, on the outskirts of Chishmy station. Kashene was built over the grave of Husain Bey, one of the active Muslim preachers.
The building has not survived to this day in its original form. The base of the keshene is built from large unhewn stones, and specially processed and well-fitted stones were used to build the dome.
The entire appearance of the building resembles the shape of a “tirme”, representing architectural image, at that time dominant in the steppes of Bashkortostan.

16) The Bashkirs, like many Turkic peoples, used runic writing before the adoption of Islam. The ancient runes resembled Bashkir tribal tamgas. In ancient times, the material for writing among the Bashkirs was stone, sometimes birch bark.
With the adoption of Islam, the Arabic script began to be used. Poems and poems, appeals of batyrs, genealogies, letters, and tombstones were written using the letters of the Arabic alphabet.
Since 1927, the Bashkirs switched to Latin, and in 1940 - to Russian graphics.
The modern alphabet of the Bashkir language consists of 42 letters. In addition to the 33 letters common to the Russian language, 9 more letters are adopted to denote specific sounds of the Bashkir language.
The first schools in Bashkiria appeared in the second half of the 16th century. They copied the traditional religious school of Islam - the madrasah (from the Arabic “Madras” - “the place where they teach”).
In the madrasah, the main attention was paid to the religious and moral education of children. Students also received some knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, and classical Arabic literature.
Since the end of the 18th century, the network of mektebs (primary schools) and madrassas in Bashkiria has been rapidly expanding. And in the first half of the 19th century, Bashkiria turned into one of the centers of education in the Russian east. Particularly famous were the madrassas in the village of Sterlibash (Sterlitamak district), Seitov Posad (Orenburg district), Troitsk (Troitsky district).
The madrasah was founded by wealthy entrepreneurs who perfectly understood how important education was for the people. In 1889, the Khusainiya madrasah was opened, which was supported by the Khusainov brothers. Other famous Ufa madrassas: “Humaniya” (1887, now school building No. 14), “Gali” (1906).

17) Many Bashkir villages have a beautiful and convenient location. The Baddkirs were very careful in choosing a place for wintering (kyshlau) and summering (yaylau).
Bashkir auls grew and developed from wintering grounds. When the economic basis of life was nomadic cattle breeding, the choice of place for wintering was determined primarily by the availability of a sufficient amount of feed to support livestock. All the requirements of the Bashkirs were met by the river valleys. Their wide floodplains, abundantly irrigated during the spring flood, were covered with tall, lush grass over the summer and became beautiful winter pastures, subsequently hayfields. The surrounding mountains protected the pools from the winds, and their slopes were used as pastures.
The location of wintering quarters near the water was also convenient because rivers and lakes served as a source of auxiliary, and for part of the population, the main activity - fishing.
Bashkir villages mostly bear the names of their founders: Umitbay, Aznam, Yanybay and others.

18) UFA
The division of labor is one of man's greatest achievements. How was labor divided? It’s very simple: some were skilled in making dishes and other utensils from clay, some had a passion for blacksmithing, and some loved cultivating the land most of all. This is how the first artisans appeared.
The potter, blacksmith and farmer had to exchange or sell what they produced. And we also had to defend ourselves from enemies. This is how the first human settlements appeared, which grew over time and became the center of trade and civilization.
The first cities about which there is information were built by the Sumerians about five and a half thousand years ago. The land of the Sumerians was located on the territory of modern Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It was called Mesopotamia, which translated from Greek means “country between rivers.”
The first cities appeared in the Southern Urals about 3 thousand years ago. One of these cities - Arkaim - is located 60 kilometers from the city of Sibay. The fort was surrounded by three rows of powerful walls made of mud brick, wood and turf. Semi-dugout houses measuring 4x12 meters were planned in such a way that the walls served as walls for two other neighboring dwellings. Each house had two exits - to the courtyard and to the street. The city had a common sewer system for water drainage. Such fortress-fortifications are the oldest in Russia. Merchants from distant countries stopped here, bought metals and products made from them, and traded the goods they brought. But the main task of such fortified cities was to protect the mines from capture and destruction by their hostile neighbors. About a thousand years ago BC, man learned to make tools from iron. With the discovery of iron, both culture and the structure of society changed. In the Southern Urals at this time, two ways of life developed - nomadic cattle breeding in the steppe part and sedentary pastoralism and agriculture in the forest-steppe part. A major event in the history of the Bashkirs was the founding of the city of Ufa. The city received its name from the name of the Ufa River, but what the name of the river itself means and what its origin is, neither the Slavic, nor the Turkic, nor the Finno-Ugric languages ​​give us an answer. In 1574 the Ufa fortress was founded. The fortress allowed the Bashkirs to facilitate the observance of the burdensome obligation to hand over yasak, since since the annexation of their region to the Russian state, they were forced to carry yasak to distant Kazan, which was unsafe. But the Moscow tsars, agreeing to the construction of the fortress, thought not only about the convenience of the indigenous population of the region, but also about their own benefit. The Ufa fortress was for them a stronghold from which a favorable opportunity was created to extend the rule of the Moscow sovereigns further and further to the southeast.
For many years the fortress lived a wary, but, in general, relatively quiet and peaceful life. There were few inhabitants: to early XVII century there are only 230 people. But the number of residents grew year by year. Within 30 - 40 years, the city's population reached 700 - 800 people.
In the second half of the 17th century, the Ufa fortress wrote its page in the history of the great Peasant War under the leadership of Emelyan Pugachev. Bashkiria was the area of ​​the most active rebel operations. From the first days, the Pugachev freemen tried to take possession of Ufa, but random raids by the rebel Cossack detachments and the Bashkirs who joined them did not reach their goal. After the terrible events peasant war its significance as a defensive fortification is finally fading away. The government order ordered “the cast iron cannons to be sold and the copper ones to be sent to Orenburg.”
Modern Ufa consists of several isolated massifs, stretches from southwest to northeast for more than 50 kilometers and occupies an area of ​​468.4 square kilometers. This is a city of more than a million people.

Beloretsk

In the picturesque valley of the Belaya River, surrounded by the mountains of the Southern Urals, the city of Beloretsk grew up - the oldest in the Urals and the only center of ferrous metallurgy in Bashkiria. Beloretsk is located in the central part of the Southern Urals, in the mountainous forest region of Bashkiria, rich in iron ore, refractory clays, magnesites, dolomites, crystalline shales, limestones, including marble-like ones, which can be used as facing stones. The mountain ranges surrounding the city were in the past covered with dense coniferous forests, mainly pine. All this created the conditions for the construction of a metallurgical plant, when cast iron was smelted using charcoal. The emergence of Beloretsk dates back to the mid-eighteenth century. In 1747, with the help of local Bashkir residents, the famous Magnitnaya Mountain was discovered. But there was no forest in the area of ​​this mountain and the plant was built at a considerable distance from it, on the Belaya River. It was the Beloretsk iron and iron foundry plant. The Tverdyshev brothers founded the plant on a plot of land of 200 thousand dessiatines, for which they paid the Bashkirs only 300 rubles. In 1923, Beloretsk received city status. Externally, Beloretsk has much in common with the old mining settlements of the Urals: in its center there is a vast pond with a dam across the Belaya River and a metallurgical plant with blast furnaces, cowers and smoking chimneys jutting out against the sky. The Belaya River and its tributary divide the city into three parts. The lower village on the right bank is the historical center of the city. An iron foundry and ironworks, and later a steel wire and mechanical plant, were built here. The streets of the lower village stretch along the shore of the pond and the Belaya River and perpendicular to them. The old quarters are built up with small one-story buildings with white shutters typical of Ural mountain towns.

Sterlitamak

Sterlitamak is the second largest city in Bashkortostan. It is located 140 kilometers south of Ufa, at the confluence of the Belaya and Ashkadar rivers, at the mouth of the Sterli River. The city was founded in 1766 as a pier for alloying Iletsk salt, which was delivered to the pier on carts. Then it was loaded onto barges and floated down the Belaya, Kama and Volga rivers to Nizhny Novgorod and other Russian cities. Since 1781, Sterlitamak became a city and a district center. The city was given a coat of arms: three silver swans on an unfurled banner. Until 1917, it was home to 20 thousand inhabitants, 5 small sawmills, 4 mills, a distillery and several tanneries. No matter from which side you approach the city, a chain of single mountains called shihans appears in front of you. The mountains give the landscape a unique rugged beauty.
The subsoil near Sterlitamak is rich in minerals: oil, limestone, marls, rock salt, clay. Sterlitamak is now a modern industrial and Cultural Center. The city is being built and continues to develop. He has great prospects. All of it is in the future.

19) Rich steppes and forests made it possible to catch and shoot plenty of game and animals, keep birds of prey, and fish with various tackles. The roundup hunt on horseback was organized for the most part in autumn time. Groups of people, covering wide spaces, looked for wolves, foxes and hares, shot them with a bow, or, catching up on horseback, killed them with clubs and flails.
Collective hunting played a big role in teaching young people the art of war - archery, spear and flail skills, and horse riding.
Hunting catch was a great help for the Bashkirs. The skins were used to make clothing. Furs were exchanged for other food products and also used to pay taxes. The squirrel skin was a monetary unit that gave the name to the kopeck in the Bashkir language. The coat of arms of Ufa depicts a marten, and the wolf was one of the totem animals. Fishing was not as common as hunting. However, in forested and mountainous areas, fishing played a significant role. In dry years, as well as during periods of military devastation, and in the steppe zone, the population resorted to fishing.

20) No one can say exactly when people started farming, but it is reliably known that 9 thousand years ago people grew wheat, barley, peas and lentils.
Agriculture initially developed in the Middle East, in the territory modern Iran, Iraq and Turkey. About 6 thousand years ago, the Egyptians plowed the land with a sharpened piece of hard wood. It was pulled by bulls or slaves. The ancient Greeks and Romans attached a metal tip to the cutting part of the plow - a ploughshare. The plow, made entirely of iron, appeared around 1800.
Like most Eurasian nomads, the Bashkirs sowed small fields with millet and barley. Areas free from forest were used for crops. In forested areas, the forest chosen for arable land was cut down and burned. The ash of burnt trees served as fertilizer for the soil. This method of farming was used by neighboring Finno-Ugric tribes, as well as the Slavs. Until the 20th century, in Bashkiria and throughout the Russian Empire, during the harvest, crops were harvested using iron sickles and scythes. The ears of corn in the field were tied into sheaves and taken to the threshing floor or threshing floor, where the sheaves were threshed with wooden chains to separate the grain from the straw. They also thrashed horses, driving them in circles over bread evenly spread on the floor. The Bashkirs' crops were insignificant, since their demand for bread was satisfied by exchanging other products with their neighbors. But respectful attitude Bashkirs to bread and the work of the farmer are reflected in folk proverbs and sayings. Here are some of them: “If you don’t sing in the field, you will groan in the throes”, “Even when you go on the run, plant seeds - there will be food when you return”, “Earth to those who know its value; whoever doesn’t know is his grave.”

21) In forest and mountainous forest regions, beekeeping was of great importance in the economy of the Bashkirs, apparently adopted from the Bulgars and Finno-Ugric population of the region. Beekeeping existed among the Bashkirs in two forms. The first was that the beekeeper looked for a hollow tree in the forest in which wild bees had settled, carved his ancestral or family tamga on it, widened the hole leading into the hollow and inserted blocks into it to collect honey. The side tree became his property. Another form is associated with the manufacture of artificial beads. To do this, a straight tree with a thickness of at least 60 centimeters was selected from the forest and a voluminous hollow with holes for the bees to enter was hollowed out at a height of 6-8 meters. During the first half of the summer, enterprising beekeepers tried to make as many bees as possible in places attractive to bees. In mid-summer, during swarming, new families of bees moved into almost all the sides. The practice of making artificial borders made it possible to regulate the settlement of bee colonies and concentrate the bean holdings of individuals and clan communities in limited areas that were most favorable for collecting honey and ensuring the protection of the borders from bears.

22) The imperialist and Civil wars caused enormous material damage to the industry and agriculture of Bashkortostan. As a result of military operations, requisitions of food, horses, carts, and livestock carried out by the “whites” and “reds,” punitive expeditions, and the actions of various gangs, the peasantry of the Ufa province and Lesser Bashkiria found themselves in dire straits. In three cantons of Little Bashkiria alone (Tabynsky, Tamyan-Kataysky and Yurmatynsky) 650 villages were destroyed and 7 thousand peasant farms were ruined. In Malaya Bashkiria, more than 157 thousand people found themselves homeless, hungry and shoeless. In the Belebeevsky district of the Ufa province alone, more than 1 thousand farms were destroyed and burned, 10 thousand heads of horses and cattle were taken from the population, etc.
The productive forces of agriculture fell into complete decline. According to the 1920 census, in the Ufa province the sown area decreased by 43% compared to the pre-war period, in Malaya Bashkiria - by 51%.
The industry suffered greatly. Equipment, raw materials and vehicles were removed from many factories and plants, mines were destroyed and flooded. In 1920, 1,055 large, medium and small enterprises were inactive in Malaya Bashkiria and Ufa province. Cotton production was thrown back to the level of the mid-19th century, metallurgy - even further. Plants and factories were depopulated. Some of the skilled workers and engineering and technical workers left with the “whites”; others left, fleeing hunger, terror, and banditry.
During the hostilities, bridges, railway tracks, station and track facilities, rolling stock, and telegraph lines were destroyed. Large losses in transport were explained by the fact that the advance of troops was carried out mainly along railway lines. Many economic infrastructures and traditional economic ties were destroyed. The natural exchange of raw materials, food, and industrial products stopped.
After the end of the Civil War, an even more terrible disaster struck the residents of Bashkortostan - famine. The first reason that gave rise to malt was the destruction of productive forces as a result of the World War and Civil War, in addition to the drought of 1921. The second reason for the famine was the food policy of the Bolshevik government. In 1920 there was a shortage of crops. Despite this, the grain allocation was set at 16.8 million poods. It was decided to carry it out at any cost. They took away the entire harvest by force, not even leaving it for seeds. By the beginning of February 1921, 13 million pounds of bread and grain fodder, 12 thousand pounds of butter, 12 million eggs and other products were requisitioned in the province. In Little Bashkiria, 2.2 million pounds of bread, 6.2 thousand pounds of butter, 121 thousand heads of livestock, 2.2 thousand pounds of chalk, etc. were taken away. As a result, the peasants were left without seeds and food supplies. The third reason for the famine was the underestimation of the scale of the disaster by central Soviet institutions and the sluggishness of local authorities.
As a result of the famine, the population of the Bashkir Republic and Ufa province decreased by 650 thousand people (22%). At the same time, the number of Bashkirs and Tatars decreased by 29, Russians - by 16%. It was a famine unprecedented in the history of the region, which remained in the memory of the people as the Great Famine (Zur aslyk). Only during the famine of 1891-1892. There was a population decline of 0.5% percent, and in the remaining famine years there was only a decrease in population growth. In two years, 82.9 thousand peasant farms disappeared from the face of the earth (16.5% of total number), the number of working horses decreased by 53%, cows - by 37.7, sheep - by 59.5%. Cultivated areas decreased by 917.3 thousand dess. (by 51.6%). The consequences of this famine were felt for many years to come.
The industry suffered greatly. By the beginning of 1923, the share of operating enterprises in the factory industry was only 39%, workers - 46.4% of the pre-war level. Due to shortages of labor, raw materials and fuel, some enterprises suspended operations indefinitely, while others operated at partial capacity.
In these difficult conditions, later than in other regions of the country, the revival of the national economy of the republic began. It took place on the basis of the new economic policy adopted by the X Congress of the RCP (b) in March 1921.

Bashkirs and Tatars are two closely related Turkic peoples who have long lived in the neighborhood. Both are Sunni Muslims, their languages ​​are so close that they understand each other without a translator. And yet there are differences between them. So, let’s look in detail at how the Bashkirs differ from the Tatars. Let's start with an excursion into history.

Historical past of the Bashkirs and Tatars

Turkic peoples (more precisely, then they were not peoples, but rather tribes) have long roamed throughout the entire Great Steppe - from Transbaikalia to the Danube. In the first centuries of our era, they displaced or assimilated the nomads known to us from ancient sources - the Iranian-speaking Scythians and Sarmatians, and since then they have reigned supreme in this territory, alternately robbing their neighbors or fighting with each other. And up to late Middle Ages(14-15 centuries) it is impossible to talk about the existence of Bashkirs or Tatars as ethnic groups - national identity in the modern sense it developed later. The “Tatars” of Russian chronicles are not exactly the Tatars we know today. At that time, numerous Turks were divided into clans or tribes. They were called differently, and “Tatars” are just one of these tribes, which later gave the name to the modern people.

The ethnonym “Tatars” phonetically echoes the Greek name for the underworld – “Tartarus”. The nomads who invaded Europe with Batu in the early 1240s, with their fearlessness, all-crushing power and cruelty, reminded experts of Greek mythology of people from hell, so the name of the people, following Russia, was fixed in European languages. The difference between the Bashkirs and the Tatars is that their ethnonym was formed earlier - around the middle of the 9th century AD, when they first appeared under their own name in the notes of one of the Muslim travelers. The Bashkirs are considered an autochthonous population of the Southern Urals and adjacent territories, and, despite many years of proximity to closely related Tatars, assimilation did not occur. Rather, there was interaction and cultural exchange.

The Tatars, in whose ethnogenesis the Bulgars took a large part - an ancient Turkic people, whose state (Volga Bulgaria) arose in the last centuries of the first millennium AD - quite quickly moved from nomadism to a settled life. And the Bashkirs remained predominantly nomads until the 19th century. At the first contact with the Mongols, the Bashkirs put up fierce resistance, and the war lasted for 14 years - from 1220 to 1234. Eventually the Bashkirs entered the Mongol Empire with the right of autonomy, but with the obligation of military service. In the “Secret History of the Mongols” they are mentioned as one of the peoples who offered the strongest resistance.

Comparison

Modern Bashkir and Tatar languages differ very little. Both of them belong to the Volga-Kipchak subgroup of Turkic languages. The degree of understanding is free, even greater than that of a Russian with a Ukrainian or Belarusian. And the cultures of the peoples have a lot in common - from cuisine to wedding customs. However, mutual assimilation does not occur, since both the Tatars and the Bashkirs are established peoples with a stable national identity and a centuries-old history.

Before the October Revolution, both Bashkirs and Tatars used the Arabic alphabet, and later, in the 20s of the last century, an attempt was made to introduce Latin script, but it was abandoned at the end of the 30s. And now these peoples use graphics based on Cyrillic writing. Both the Bashkir and Tatar languages ​​have several dialects, and the settlement and population of peoples vary quite greatly. Bashkirs mainly live in the Republic of Bashkortostan and adjacent regions, but Tatars are scattered throughout the country. There are diasporas of Tatars and Bashkirs outside the former USSR, and the number of Tatars is several times greater than the number of Bashkirs (see table).

Table

To summarize, what is the difference between the Bashkirs and Tatars, we can add that, despite the similarity of cultures and origins, these peoples also have anthropological differences. Tatars are predominantly Caucasian with a small number of Mongolian features (remember popular actor Tatar Marat Basharov); this is due to the fact that the Tatars actively mixed with the Slavs and Finno-Ugrians. But the Bashkirs are mostly Mongoloids, and European features among the representatives of a given people are much less common. The table below summarizes what the difference is between the two.

The Russian Federative Republic is a multinational state; representatives of many nations live, work and honor their traditions here, one of which is the Bashkirs living in the Republic of Bashkortostan (capital Ufa) on the territory of the Volga Federal District. It must be said that the Bashkirs live not only in this territory, they can be found everywhere in all corners of the Russian Federation, as well as in Ukraine, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The Bashkirs, or as they call themselves the Bashkorts, are the indigenous Turkic population of Bashkiria; according to statistics, about 1.6 million people of this nationality live on the territory of the autonomous republic; a significant number of Bashkirs live in the territory of Chelyabinsk (166 thousand), Orenburg (52.8 thousand) , about 100 thousand representatives of this nationality are located in the Perm Territory, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk and Kurgan regions. Their religion is Islamic Sunnism. Bashkir traditions, their way of life and customs are very interesting and differ from other traditions of the peoples of Turkic nationality.

Culture and life of the Bashkir people

Until the end of the 19th century, the Bashkirs led a semi-nomadic lifestyle, but gradually became sedentary and mastered agriculture, the eastern Bashkirs for some time practiced going on summer nomads and in the summer they preferred to live in yurts, over time, and they began to live in wooden log houses or adobe huts, and then in more modern buildings.

Family life and the celebration of folk holidays of the Bashkirs almost until the end of the 19th century was subject to strict patriarchal foundations, which in addition included the customs of Muslim Sharia. The kinship system was influenced by Arab traditions, which implied a clear division of the line of kinship into maternal and paternal parts; this was subsequently necessary to determine the status of each family member in matters of inheritance. The right of minority was in effect (predominance of the rights of the youngest son), when the house and all the property in it, after the death of the father, passed to the youngest son, the older brothers had to receive their share of the inheritance during the life of the father, when they got married, and the daughters when they got married. Previously, the Bashkirs married their daughters quite early; the optimal age for this was considered to be 13-14 years (bride), 15-16 years (groom).

(Painting by F. Roubaud "Bashkirs hunting with falcons in the presence of Emperor Alexander II" 1880s)

The rich Bashkorts practiced polygamy, because Islam allows up to 4 wives at the same time, and there was a custom of conspiring with children while still in their cradles, the parents drank bata (kumis or diluted honey from one bowl) and thus entered into a wedding union. When marrying a bride, it was customary to give a bride price, which depended on the financial status of the newlyweds’ parents. It could be 2-3 horses, cows, several outfits, pairs of shoes, a painted scarf or robe; the mother of the bride was given a fox fur coat. In marriage relations, ancient traditions were respected; the rules of levirate (the younger brother must marry the wife of the elder) and sororate (the widower marries younger sister his late wife). Islam plays a huge role in all spheres public life, hence the special position of women in the family circle, in the process of marriage and divorce, as well as in inheritance relations.

Traditions and customs of the Bashkir people

The Bashkir people hold their main festivals in spring and summer. The people of Bashkortostan celebrate the Kargatuy “rook holiday” at the time when the rooks arrive in the spring, the meaning of the holiday is to celebrate the moment of nature’s awakening from winter sleep and also an occasion to turn to the forces of nature (by the way, the Bashkirs believe that it is the rooks that are closely connected with them) with a request about the well-being and fertility of the coming agricultural season. Previously, only women and the younger generation could participate in the festivities; now these restrictions have been lifted, and men can also dance in circles, eat ritual porridge and leave its remains on special boulders for rooks.

The plow festival Sabantuy is dedicated to the beginning of work in the fields; all residents of the village came to the open area and participated in various competitions, they wrestled, competed in running, raced horses and pulled each other on ropes. After the winners were determined and awarded, a common table was set with various dishes and treats, usually a traditional beshbarmak (a dish of crumbled boiled meat and noodles). Previously, this custom was carried out with the aim of appeasing the spirits of nature so that they would make the land fertile and it would give a good harvest, but over time it became common spring holiday, marking the beginning of heavy agricultural work. Residents of the Samara region have revived the traditions of both the Rook's holiday and Sabantuy, which they celebrate every year.

An important holiday for the Bashkirs is called Jiin (Yiyyn), residents of several villages took part in it, during it various trade operations were carried out, parents agreed on the marriage of their children, and fair sales took place.

Bashkirs also honor and celebrate all Muslim holidays, traditional for all adherents of Islam: these are Eid al-Fitr (the end of fasting), and Kurban Bayram (the holiday of the end of the Hajj, on which it is necessary to sacrifice a ram, a camel or a cow), and Maulid Bayram (famous for the Prophet Muhammad).

Bashkirs are a people inhabiting the Bashkortostan region. They are Turkic and are accustomed to the harsh climate of the Urals.

These people have enough interesting story and culture, and old traditions are still respected.

Story

The Bashkirs believe that their ancestors began to move to the territories occupied by the people today approximately a thousand years ago. The assumption is confirmed by Arab travelers who explored the local region in the 9th–13th centuries AD. Following their records, one can find mention of the people who occupied the Ural ridge. The land of the Bashkirs was divided according to occupation. For example, camel owners took the steppes for themselves, and mountain pastures went to cattle breeders. Hunters preferred to live in forests, where there were a lot of animals and game.
Since the time of the organization of society among the Bashkirs main role The Jiyin People's Assembly played. The princes had limited power; the most important role was played by the voice of the people. With the arrival of Khan Batu, the life of the Bashkirs did not change significantly. The Mongols saw fellow tribesmen in the Bashkirs, so they decided not to touch their settlements. Later, Islam began to spread in Bashkiria, replacing paganism. With the exception of yasak payment, the Mongols did not interfere in the life of the people in any way. The mountain Bashkirs remained completely independent.
The Bashkirs have always had trade relations with Russia. Novgorod merchants spoke flatteringly about the goods, especially wool. During the reign of Ivan the Third, soldiers sent to Belaya Voloshka ravaged the Tatars, but did not touch the Bashkirs. However, the Bashkirs themselves suffered from the Kirghiz-Kaisaks. These persecutions, combined with the growing power of the Moscow Tsar, prompted the Bashkirs to unite with the Russians.

The Bashkirs did not want to pay the Kazan tax and were still experiencing raids from their neighbors, so after accepting citizenship they decided to ask the king to build the city of Ufa. Later Samara and Chelyabinsk were built.
The Bashkir people began to be divided into volosts with fortified cities and large counties.
Due to the fact that the dominant religion in Rus' was Orthodoxy, the Bashkirs could not feel independence, which became the reason for the uprising, which was led by an adherent of Islam Seit. This uprising was suppressed, but literally half a century later a new one broke out. This aggravated relations with the Russian tsars, who ordered from one country not to oppress the people, and from the other in every possible way limited their right to own territories.
Gradually, the number of uprisings began to decrease, and the development of the region increased. Peter the Great personally pointed out the importance of developing the Bashkir region, which led to the creation of copper and iron factories. The population grew steadily, also thanks to newcomers. In the provisions of 1861, the rights of the rural population were assigned to the Bashkirs.
In the 20th century, education, culture and ethnic identity began to develop. The February Revolution allowed the people to gain statehood, but the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War greatly slowed down progress. Repression, drought and assimilation played a negative role. Currently, the region is called the Republic of Bashkortostan and is characterized by active urbanization.

Life

For a long time, the Bashkirs led a partially nomadic lifestyle, but gradually switched to sedentary life. Yurts, characteristic of nomads, were replaced by log houses and adobe huts. Adherence to Islam has always implied patriarchy, so the man remains in charge. The Bashkirs are also characterized by the following features of their way of life:

1. Kinship is clearly divided into maternal and paternal parts so that inheritance can be determined.
2. Property and house were inherited by younger sons.
3. The eldest sons and daughters received part of the inheritance upon marriage.
4. Guys got married at 16, and girls got married at 14.
5. Islam allowed several wives, although only the rich enjoyed this privilege.
6. To this day, a bride is given a bride price, which always depends on the status of the newlyweds’ parents. Previously, bride price was paid in cattle and horses, outfits, painted scarves, and fox fur coats.

Culture

Holidays

Bashkir holidays are celebrated magnificently and solemnly. Events are celebrated in spring and summer. One of the oldest holidays is the arrival of rooks, which symbolizes the arrival of spring. The Bashkirs ask for the fertility of the land, the harvest, and organize magnificent round dances and festivities. You definitely need to feed the rooks with ritual porridge.
A notable holiday is Sabantuy, which marks the beginning of work in the fields. During this holiday, residents competed with each other, held competitions in wrestling, running, horse racing, and played tug-of-war. The winners were awarded, and afterward the people held a magnificent feast. The main dish on the table was beshbarmak - soup with noodles and boiled meat. Initially, Sabantuy was a holiday where rituals were performed to belittle the gods of the harvest. Now the Bashkirs celebrate it as a tribute to tradition. A significant national holiday is Jiin, on which it is customary to hold fairs. This is a great day for profitable purchases and deals.
Bashkirs celebrate Muslim holidays and honor all traditions, following religion.

Folklore

The spread of Bashkir folklore affected many Russian regions. It is also represented in the Republics of Tatarstan, Sakha and some CIS countries. In many ways, Bashkir folklore is similar to Turkic folklore. But there are many distinctive features. For example, kubair epics, which may have a plot, although sometimes there is no plot as such. Kubairs with plots are usually called epic poems, and those without a plot - odes.
The youngest is the Bayit - it represents lyrical legends, epic songs. Munozhat are considered close in content to bayits - these are poems whose purpose is to glorify the afterlife.
Became especially revered by the Bashkirs folk tales. Often the main characters in them are animals, the stories take the form of legends, and are replete with fantastic meaning.
Characters Bashkir fairy tales encounter witches, pond spirits, brownies and other creatures. There are separate genres among fairy tales, for example, kulyamasy. There are many fables filled with clichés and local aphorisms.
Folklore affects family and everyday relationships, which we have already discussed above and will discuss in the sections “Character” and “Traditions”. Thus, as a phenomenon, folklore has absorbed pagan customs and the canons of Islam.

Character

Bashkirs are distinguished by their love of freedom and sincere disposition. They always strive for justice, remain proud and stubborn. People treated newcomers with understanding, never imposed themselves and accepted people as they are. Without exaggeration, we can say that the Bashkirs are absolutely loyal to all people.
Hospitality is prescribed not only by ancient customs, but also by current Sharia norms. Each guest needs to be fed, and the one leaving must be given a gift. If guests come with a baby, it means that he needs to be given a gift. It is believed that this way the baby will be appeased and will not bring a curse on the owners’ house.
The Bashkirs have always had a reverent attitude towards women. Traditionally, the bride was chosen by the parents, who were also responsible for organizing the wedding. Previously, a girl could not communicate with her husband’s parents during the first year after marriage. However, from ancient times she was revered and respected in the family. The husband was strictly forbidden to raise a hand against his wife, to be greedy and stingy in relation to her. A woman had to remain faithful - betrayal was strictly punished.
Bashkirs are scrupulous towards children. At the birth of a child, a woman became like a queen. All this was necessary for the child to grow up healthy and happy.
Elders played the most important role in the life of the Bashkirs, so the custom of honoring elders has survived to this day. Many Bashkirs consult with elders and ask for blessings on transactions.

Traditions

Customs

It is obvious that the Bashkir people honor not only traditions, but also customs that are associated with past generations and the foundations of Islam. So, it is necessary to bury the dead before sunset. Washing is carried out three times, the deceased is necessarily wrapped in a shroud, prayers are read and the graves are arranged. According to Muslim rites, burial occurs without a coffin. Bashkir custom instructs that the prayer verse be recited.

The wedding traditions and customs that include a whole complex are amazing. Bashkirs believe that a man will not become respectable until he gets married. It is interesting that Bashkirs have been planning their children’s weddings since adolescence. This is due to the old tradition of marrying children early. Wedding gifts were given in a special way:

• A saddle horse, an ordinary boy, collected gifts from everyone who came to congratulate the newlyweds;
• Having collected money, scarves, threads and other gifts, he went to the groom;
• It was forbidden to touch gifts;
• The mother-in-law invited guests to the tea ceremony, mostly relatives and friends;
• During the wedding, there was always a struggle for the bride. They tried to kidnap the girl, and forced the groom to fight. Sometimes it got to the point of quite serious fights, and according to tradition, the groom had to cover all the damage.

In connection with marriage, many prohibitions were introduced. Thus, the husband had to be at least 3 years older than his wife, it was forbidden to take women from his own family as wives, only representatives of the 7th and 8th generations could marry.
Now weddings have become more modest, and newlyweds have become more pragmatic. The modern pace of urbanization has led to a different way of life, so it is preferable for Bashkirs to get a car, a computer, or other valuable property. Pompous rituals and payments of dowry are a thing of the past.
The custom of maintaining hygiene has appeared since ancient times. People washed their hands before sitting down to eat. It was imperative to wash your hands after eating meat. Rinsing your mouth was considered a good preparation for eating.
Mutual assistance among the Bashkirs is called kaz umakhe. The custom concerned the preparation of ducks and geese. Usually young girls were invited to it. At the same time, goose feathers were scattered, and the women asked for a bountiful offspring. Then the geese were eaten with pancakes, honey, and chak-chak.

Food

Bashkir cuisine offers the sophisticated gourmet simple dishes. The main thing for a Bashkir is to be well-fed, and delicacies come in second place. A distinctive feature of the cuisine is the absence of pork, and this is not due to Islamic canons, but purely to ancient dietary habits. There were no wild boars in these places, so they ate lamb, beef and horse meat. Bashkir dishes are hearty, nutritious and always prepared from fresh ingredients. Onions, herbs, spices and herbs are often added to the dish. It is the onion that is highly valued by the Bashkirs for its beneficial properties, because in its fresh form this product helps fight bacteria, allows you to obtain vitamin C and normalize blood pressure.
Meat can be eaten boiled, dried, or stewed. Horse meat is used to make kazy horse sausage. It is usually served with the fermented milk drink ayran.
The most important drink was kumys. For nomadic tribes, the drink was indispensable, because even on the hottest day it retained its properties. There are many ways to prepare kumiss, which the Bashkirs preserve and pass on from generation to generation. The positive properties of the drink are strengthening the immune system, improving the functioning of nervous system and maintaining skin elasticity.
Dairy dishes in Bashkir cuisine abound in variety. Bashkirs love baked milk, sour cream, cottage cheese with honey. An important product is karot, a cheese that was stored during the winter to obtain nutrients and fat. It was added to broths and even tea. Bashkir noodles are called salma and can have many forms. It is prepared in the form of balls, squares and shavings. Salma is always made by hand, so there are many options for execution.
Tea drinking is an important tradition, and tea, along with kumiss, is considered a national drink. Bashkirs drink tea with cheesecakes, boiled meat, chak-chak, berry marshmallow and pies. Pastila was prepared from exclusively natural berries, ground through a sieve. The puree was laid out on boards and dried in the sun. In 2–3 days, an exquisite and natural delicacy was obtained. Most often, tea is drunk with milk and currants.
Bashkir honey is a brand of Bashkiria. Many gourmets consider it a reference, because the recipe for making the first honey dates back one and a half thousand years. The people of Bashkiria carefully preserved traditions, so these days the wonderful delicacy turns out great. The storage of honey in ancient times is evidenced by rock paintings found in the Burzyan region. It is forbidden to counterfeit Bashkir honey. This brand produces exclusively national products. It is this that serves as the basis for preparing such a dessert as chak-chak.

Appearance

Cloth

A feature of Bashkir clothing is the use various types weaving arts. For example, the use of appliqués, knitting, embroidering patterns, decorating with coins and corals, applying ornaments to the skin. Often several craftsmen were involved in the creation of one costume. Their task was to create a coherent ensemble, united by a single artistic concept. Observance of traditions was certainly required in composing the costume. The formation of the costume took place under the influence of cattle breeding craft. For insulation, people used sheepskin coats and sheep's wool coats.
Homemade cloth was quite thick, while holiday cloth, on the contrary, was thin. To make the material as dense as possible, it was dumped and watered hot water.
Boots were made of leather. Leather could be combined with cloth or felt. To insulate clothes, they used wild animal fur. The squirrel, hare, wolf and lynx were especially in demand. Beaver and otter were used for festive fur coats and hats. Hemp threads, which have increased strength, played a significant role. Shirts were made from linen, decorating geometric pattern.
The design of the costume varied depending on the region of residence. For example, in the southeastern regions, red, blue and green were preferred colors. Northeastern, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan Bashkirs wore dresses with border embroidery.
The hem of the dress was decorated with ornaments, as were the sleeves. In the 13th century, new materials for clothing began to appear, including cloth of Flemish, Dutch and English origin. Bashkirs began to value fine wool, velvet and satin. Common feature The women's and men's suits were only pants and a shirt (women wore dresses).
Often Bashkirs had to wear a whole set of outerwear. Each was freer than the previous one, which made it possible to move comfortably and escape the cold. The same feature was retained for festive outfits. For example, Bashkirs could wear several robes at the same time, regardless of weather conditions.
In mountainous Bashkiria, men wore a cotton shirt, canvas pants, and a light robe. In winter, the time of cold weather came, and cloth clothing was replaced by cloth. It was made from camel wool. The shirt was not girded, but a belt with a knife was used to secure the robe. An ax served as an additional weapon for hunting or going into the forest.
The robes themselves served as everyday clothing. Many copies can be seen in museums located in Bashkiria. A striking example beauty women's clothing The Bashkirs serve as beshmet and elyan. They clearly demonstrate the craftsmen's ability to use embroidery, corals, beads and coins to decorate fabrics. To make the outfits as colorful as possible, the craftsmen used cloth of different colors. In combination with gold and silver braid, a unique range was obtained. The sun, stars, animals and anthropomorphic patterns were used as ornaments.
Corals made it possible to lay out triangles and beautiful rhombuses. Fringe was used for a stripe that was made at the waist. Various kinds of tassels, buttons, and decorative details made it possible to produce an even more striking effect.
Men wore fur clothing without fail, but for women it was considered rare. They made do with a quilted coat and used a shawl. With the onset of severe cold, a woman could cover herself with her husband’s fur coat. Fur coats for women began to appear quite late and were used exclusively for rituals.
Only rich Bashkirs could afford jewelry. The most common precious metal was silver, which they liked to combine with coral. Such decorations were used to decorate outerwear, shoes and hats.
The Bashkirs are a small people. There are just over one and a half million of them, but thanks to their careful attitude to traditions, this people was able to achieve prosperity, acquired a rich culture and became one of the most remarkable in the Russian Federation. Nowadays the region is strongly influenced by urbanization, more and more young people are flocking to cities in search of permanent job and housing. However, this does not prevent the Bashkirs from observing ancient customs and passing on recipes national dishes from generation to generation and live in peace with each other, as has been the custom from time immemorial.

The history of the Bashkir people is also of interest to other peoples of the republic, because Based on theses about the “indigeneity” of the Bashkir people in this territory, unconstitutional attempts are made to “justify” the separation lion's share budget for the development of the language and culture of this people.

However, as it turns out, not everything is so simple with the history of the origin and residence of the Bashkirs on the territory of modern Bashkiria. We bring to your attention another version of the origin of the Bashkir people.

“Bashkirs of the Negroid type can be found in our Abzelilovsky district in almost every village.” This is not a joke... It's all serious there...

"Zigat Sultanov writes that one of the other peoples called the Bashkirs Astecs. I also support the above authors and claim that the American Indians (Astec) are one of the former ancient Bashkir peoples. And not only the Aztecs, but also the Mayan peoples have the same philosophies about the Universe with the ancient worldviews of some Bashkir peoples. The Mayan peoples lived in Peru, Mexico, and a small part in Guatemala, it is called the Quiche Maya (Spanish scientist Alberto Rus).

The word "quiche" sounds like "kese". And today, the descendants of these American Indians, like us, have many words in common, for example: keshe-man, bakalar-frogs. ABOUT life together in the Urals of today's American Indians with the Bashkirs is noted in the scientific-historical article by M. Bagumanova in the republican newspaper of Bashkortostan "Yashlek" on page seven dated January 16, 1997.

The same opinion is also shared by Moscow scientists, such as the compiler of the first Russian “Archaeological Dictionary”, the famous archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences Gerald Matyushin, which contains almost seven hundred scientific articles by scientists from different countries.

The discovery of an Early Paleolithic site on Lake Karabalykty (the territory again of our Abzelilovsky district - approx. Al Fatih.) has great importance for science. It says not only that the history of the population of the Urals dates back to very ancient times, but also allows us to take a different look at some other problems of science, for example, the problem of settling Siberia and even America, since there is still no found such an ancient site as in the Urals. Previously, it was believed that Siberia was first populated from somewhere in the depths of Asia, from China. And only then these people moved from Siberia to America. But it is known that in China and in the depths of Asia people of the Mongoloid race live, and America was settled by Indians of a mixed Caucasian-Mongoloid race. Indians with large aquiline noses are repeatedly glorified in fiction (especially in the novels of Mine Reed and Fenimore Cooper). The discovery of an Early Paleolithic site on Lake Karabalykty allows us to suggest that the settlement of Siberia, and then America, also came from the Urals.

By the way, during excavations near the city of Davlekanovo in Bashkiria in 1966, we discovered the burial of a primitive man. The reconstruction of M. M. Gerasimov (a famous anthropologist and archaeologist) showed that this man was very similar to the American Indians. On Lake Sabakty (Abzelilovsky district) back in 1962, during excavations of a settlement of the late Stone Age - Neolithic - we discovered a small head made of baked clay. She, like the Davlekan man, had a large, large nose and straight hair. Thus, even later the population of the Southern Urals retained similarities with the population of America. (“Monuments of the Stone Age in the Bashkir Trans-Urals”, G. N. Matyushin, city newspaper “Magnitogorsk Worker” dated February 22, 1996.

In ancient times, in addition to the American Indians, Greeks also lived with one of the Bashkir peoples in the Urals. This is evidenced by a sculptural portrait of a nomad, seized by archaeologists from an ancient burial ground near the village of Murakaevo, Abzelilovsky district. The sculpture of the head of a Greek man is installed in the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography in the capital of Bashkortostan.

That is why, it turns out, the ornaments of ancient Greek Athens and the Romans coincide with today’s and Bashkir ornaments. To this should also be added the similarity of today's Bashkir and Greek ornaments with cuneiform ornaments and inscriptions on ancient clay pots found by archaeologists in the Urals, which are more than four thousand years old. On the bottom of some of these ancient pots is an ancient Bashkir swastika in the form of a cross. And according to UNESCO international rights, ancient things found by archaeologists and other researchers are the spiritual heritage of the indigenous population on whose territory they were found.

This also applies to Arkaim, but at the same time, let’s not forget about universal human values. And without this, one constantly hears or reads that their people - Uran, Gaina or Yurmat - are the most ancient Bashkir people. The Burzyan or Usergan people are the most purebred Bashkirs. Tamyans or Katayans are the most numerous of the most ancient Bashkirs etc. All this is inherent in every person of any nation, even an aborigine from Australia. Because every person has his own invincible internal psychological dignity - “I”. But animals do not have this dignity.

When you know that the first civilized people left the Ural Mountains, there will be no sensations if archaeologists even find an Australian boomerang in the Urals.

The racial kinship of the Bashkirs with other peoples is also evidenced by a stand in the Republican Museum of Bashkortostan "Archaeology and Ethnography" entitled "Racial Types of the Bashkirs." The director of the museum is a Bashkir scientist, professor, doctor of historical sciences, member of the Council of the President of Bashkortostan, Rail Kuzeev.

The presence of several anthropological types among the Bashkirs speaks of the complexity of ethnogenesis and the formation of the anthropological composition of the people. The largest groups of the Bashkir population form the Subural, light Caucasian, South Siberian, and Pontic racial types. Each of them has its own historical age and specific history of origin in the Urals.

The most ancient types of Bashkirs are Subural, Pontic, light Caucasoid, and the South Siberian type is more recent. The Pamir-Fergana and Trans-Caspian racial types, also present among the Bashkirs, are associated with the Indo-Iranian and Turkic nomads of Eurasia.

But for some reason, Bashkir anthropology scientists forgot about the Bashkirs living today with signs of the Negroid race (Dravidian race - approx. Aryslan). Bashkirs of the Negroid type can be found in our Abzelilovsky district in almost every village.

The kinship of the Bashkir peoples with other peoples of the world is also indicated by the scientific article “We are a Euro-Asian-speaking ancient people” by historian, candidate of philological sciences Shamil Nafikov in the republican magazine “Vatandash” No. 1 for 1996, edited by professor, academician of the Russian Federation, doctor Philological Sciences Gaisa Khusainov. In addition to Bashkir philologists, foreign language teachers are also successfully working in this direction, discovering the preserved family ties of the Bashkir languages ​​with other peoples from ancient times. For example, among the majority of Bashkir peoples and all Turkic peoples the word "apa" means aunt, and among other Bashkir peoples uncle. And among the Kurds, uncle is called "apo". As above
wrote, a man sounds “man” in German, and “men” in English. The Bashkirs also have this sound in the form of a male deity.

Kurds, Germans, and English belong to the same Indo-European family, which includes the peoples of India. Scientists all over the world have been looking for ancient Bashkirs since the Middle Ages, but they could not be found, because until today, Bashkir scientists have not been able to express themselves since the time of the yoke of the Golden Horde.

We read the seventy-eighth page of the book “Archaeological Dictionary” by G. N. Matyushin: “... For more than four hundred years, scientists have been searching for the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans. Why are their languages ​​so close, why does the culture of these peoples have much in common? Apparently, they descended from some ancient people, scientists believed. Where did these people live? Some thought that the homeland of the Indo-Europeans was India, other scientists found it in the Himalayas, and still others in Mesopotamia. However, the majority considered Europe, or more precisely the Balkans, to be their ancestral home, although there was no material evidence. After all, if the Indo-Europeans moved from somewhere, then there should be material traces of such migration, the remains of cultures. However, archaeologists did not find any tools, dwellings, etc. common to all these peoples.

The only thing that united all Indo-Europeans in ancient times was the microliths and later, in the Neolithic, agriculture. Only they appeared in the Stone Age wherever Indo-Europeans still live. They are found in Iran, and in India, and in Central Asia, and in the forest-steppe and steppes of Eastern Europe, and in England, and in France. More precisely, they are everywhere where Indo-European peoples live, but they are not there for us, where these peoples do not exist.

Although today some Bashkir peoples have lost their Indo-European dialect, we also have them everywhere, even more. This is confirmed by the same book by Matyushin on page 69, where the photograph shows ancient stone sickles from the Urals. And the first ancient bread of man, Talkan, still lives among some Bashkir peoples. In addition, bronze sickles and pestles can be found in the museum of the regional center of the Abzelilovsky district. A lot can be said about livestock farming, also not forgetting that the first horses were domesticated several thousand years ago in the Urals. And in terms of the number of microliths found by archaeologists, the Urals are not inferior to anyone.

As you can see, and archeology scientifically confirms the ancient family ties of the Indo-European peoples with Bashkir peoples. And Mount Balkan is located with its caves in the Southern Urals in the European part of Bashkortostan in the Davlekansky district near Lake Asylykul. In ancient times, even in the Bashkir Balkans, microliths were in short supply, since these Balkan mountains are located three hundred kilometers away from the Ural jasper belt. Some of the people who came to Western Europe in ancient times from the Urals called the nameless mountains the Balkans, duplicating, according to the unwritten law of toponymy, Mount Balkantau, from where they left.