Each ethnic group is destined to go its own path of formation, overcome difficult times or endure persecution. But even without a single degree, no era can ever do without well-being. The history of Bashkortostan is no exception. There were grief and joy, victories and defeats, glory and shame on the way of this people. What is described by numerous epics, which tells about batyrs and other significant personalities of the past. Of course, modern Bashkiria is a quite successful republic, which is included on the rights of autonomy in the Russian Federation (Ural Economic Region). But this was far from always. Monuments of the Republic of Bashkortostan "tell" about its centuries-old traditions.
Historical reference
Bashkirs as an ethnic group were formed in the 1st millennium BC. e., and from the 10th century Islam began to spread in their territory, which was later destined to play a crucial role. It was religion that largely contributed to the preservation of the identity of the people, prevented assimilation, especially given the fact that the Bashkirs were constantly extremely lucky to live in the neighborhood of the Golden Horde, Khazar and Turkic Khaganates, the Bulgarian Khanate. This negatively influenced the political associations of individual Bashkir tribes. The latter were constantly at enmity between themselves and neighboring nationalities.
However, the time has come, and the time of strife has ended. From the middle of the XVI century the history of Bashkortostan flowed in a different direction - the population passed into Russian citizenship, under the tutelage of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. On the one hand, this made it possible to stop civil strife and develop relatively normally. However, other peoples began to actively move to the lands of the Bashkirs, including Tatars, Mari, Chuvashs, Udmurts, Mordovians. Of course, the Russians and Ukrainians themselves, as well as other inhabitants of the vast country themselves, also began to develop new territory.
The Bashkirs were actively noted in the wake of that very senseless and merciless Russian revolt of 1773-1775. This was reflected not only in the richest folklore, but also presented its national hero - Salavat Yulaev, who is considered one of the associates of the leader of the peasant uprising Emelyan Pugachev.
Later there was the Autonomous Soviet Bashkir Republic (since 1920). It has become one of the most important industrial centers (chemical and petrochemical industries) in the USSR. With the collapse of the latter, it gradually transformed into the Republic of Bashkortostan with its Kurultai, i.e., a bicameral parliament, and the president. The capital is the city of Ufa, founded in 1574 on the site of a more ancient settlement of the indigenous ethnic group. The map of Bashkortostan includes 54 administrative districts. Among them, 21 cities and 4434 rural settlements. The population exceeded 4 million people, with a third of all living in Bashkiria concentrated in Ufa and the Ufa region.
Various monuments of history and culture of Bashkortostan
Of course, such a long and difficult path of formation could not but affect the sculptures and testimonies of past eras. Today, in Bashkortostan, under the state protection there are about two thousand different kinds of monuments of architecture, art, culture, archeology.
The most famous monuments of Bashkortostan (list):
- The first cathedral mosque.
- Monuments to Salavat Yulaev and Alexander Matrosov.
- Aksakovsky people's house.
- The mausoleum (tomb) of Bendebike.
- Shulgan-tash cave.
- Cathedral Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin.
National parks and reserves are known far beyond the borders of the republic and invariably attract new visitors.
Silent cultural monuments of Bashkortostan, which displayed certain processes taking place within society, can often tell much more than even archival documents. And their value is undeniable from any point of view. This fully applies to religious buildings that reflect the spirit of the ethnic group. This is especially true for such a multiconfessional and multinational association, which is the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Cathedral Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin
This Ufa temple, built in 1903-1909, was originally a brick building with a three-tier bell tower and a single-domed dome made of iron-studded wood. This church was destined to survive the difficult post-revolutionary years, but in the end it was still closed, and the room was transferred to aviation workshops. Subsequently, a cinema was opened there, disfiguring the room beyond recognition. Only at sunset of the era of the USSR, in 1991, the temple was returned to the diocese. The reconstruction of the Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral lasted for 15 years, but the sky-blue building with gold domes and beautiful painting became the most capacious Orthodox church in the capital of the republic.
First Cathedral Mosque
The culture of Bashkortostan bears a bright imprint of the East. An example of this is the First Cathedral Mosque built in 1830, which was originally a stone building with one minaret. In the future, it was rebuilt several times. This mosque was one of the largest in pre-revolutionary Russia, and its parish totaled almost a thousand people. In addition, a madrassah and a Russian-Bashkir two-class school operated under her. For 30 years (1960-1991), only this mosque did not stop its activity in Ufa.
Bendebike Mausoleum
The historical monuments of Bashkortostan include the tomb, in which the earthly path of the great woman, Bandebike, was supposedly completed. She, thanks to her exceptional wisdom and intelligence, managed to put an end to the strife between the Bashkirs and the Kazakhs. This building is made in the form of an octahedron with a dome made of bricks of two colors - the main one is gray, and red Christmas-tree ornament is made.
It is noteworthy that Bendebike was not a Khansha or ruler. She is simply an influential wise woman of a noble family, to whose advice all the leaders of the tribes listened. Her name was honored not only by the Bashkirs, but also by neighboring nationalities, since the fame of her wisdom was great. Several legends and legends are composed about her and her husband.
Aksakovsky people's house
The monuments of history and culture of Bashkortostan are also represented by one of the most interesting buildings from the point of view of architecture, built in 1909-1920. As the name itself already shows, the people's house was dedicated to the memory of the outstanding literary figure Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, and a competition for Russia was even announced for the construction project. Money was collected throughout Ufa. The construction took more than 10 years, although the result was worth it - even after almost a century, the Aksakovsky house attracts attention with its unique architecture. Several styles intertwined in it: Russian classicism, Baroque and East Asian, with elongated window slots. This building is quite worthy of personifying the image of a multinational Republic, in which both Russians and Bashkirs peacefully coexist. Since the late 30s, the opera and ballet theater has been located here, but the main thing is that a few years ago the Aksakovsky house regained its old name.
It is difficult to imagine a nation that would not honor its heroes and did not seek to preserve expensive names for centuries. And there were always a great many batyrs in the territory of modern Belarus. Therefore, the monuments of history and culture of Bashkortostan are also a reminder of national heroes, which it is not possible to forget about.
Salavat Yulaev
Where else is his monument located, if not in the highest place, as if protecting the inhabitants from all misfortunes? The monument to Salavat Yulaev is not just a unique and largest equestrian statue in the Russian Federation, but also a national treasure, something that the Republic of Bashkortostan is proud of.
It took the sculptor Soslanbek Tavasiev three decades to recreate the appearance of a hero who went against the will of Catherine the Great. And instead of fighting on the side of the government, he joined the rebel Pugachev.
Cast from bronze cast iron, Salavat Yulaev was captured at the crucial moment of the decision to move to Pugachev. It is as if he was calling to go after himself, thereby silently telling new generations of Bashkortostan residents about the strength of the human spirit and the importance of freedom of choice.
Alexander Matrosov
The memory of the heroes lives in the people. This is what millions of people remember Alexander Matrosov - a 19-year-old ordinary soldier of the 2nd separate rifle battalion, who on a cold February day overshadowed the German machine gun with his body. According to one version, he was originally from Bashkiria. That's why they installed a bronze monument in Ufa on the 6th anniversary of the Victory, depicting Matrosov in a raincoat tent with a machine gun, on a pedestal of pink marble - as a warning to posterity.
Monument to Nagoy Mikhail Mikhailovich
The monument to the founder of Ufa is a relatively young monument. It was installed just 7 years ago. He portrays the governor, to whom they attribute the beginning of the construction of the city. Today there is a monument in the village of Eighth of March, on the outskirts of the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan. However, it is hoped that over time this monument will take its place along with other national heroes.
Friendship Monument
The friendship between the Russian and Bashkir people is more than 450 years old, and Ivan the Terrible started it back in 1557. He took under his wing those suffering from civil strife and the Golden Horde tyranny of the Bashkirs. And to this day they are part of the Russian Federation. Thus began a new era and culture of Bashkortostan. Four centuries later, in 1957, they decided to perpetuate the memory of this event by creating the Friendship Monument. The monument was made in the form of a blade without a hilt (35 meters high). Two women with laurel wreaths in their hands, located on both sides of the blade, personify the Bashkir and Russian peoples, and the laurel "speaks" of eternal and indestructible friendship between them.
Monument to the heroes of the October Revolution and the Civil War
The tragedy of any military operations within the country lies in the fact that not only yesterday’s friends but also blood relatives rebel against each other. For Russia, the years of the Civil War and the Great October Revolution became the most woeful in this regard.
Almost 40 years ago, a monument dedicated to the participants of these events was erected in Bashkiria in memory of national heroism. On the pedestal are several figures: a Red Army soldier with a gun, a blacksmith with a hammer, an ordinary peasant, in whose hands, instead of his usual agricultural tool, his gun was frozen. These characters, which are intended to symbolize certain groups of the population, covered themselves with a mortally wounded middle-aged soldier, as if children were covering their father. This underlines the unity of the people in the struggle for their rights.
Memorial "Mourning Mother"
The peculiarity of this monument is that it is dedicated to all the soldiers who died taking part in numerous local conflicts from 1951 to 2003. The monument is a bronze figure of a mother who covers her face with her hands, as if deeply mourning the loss of her children. Nearby are two steles of black granite, on which the names of the fallen are carved.
Inherited from nature
Monuments of history and culture of Bashkortostan would not have created such a holistic picture if they had not been supplemented by the gifts of Mother Earth. In total, there are more than one and a half hundred diverse natural attractions in the territory of the republic.
Bashkir State Nature Reserve
The uniqueness of this zone lies in the fact that it is expressively divided into two halves: one in the massif of South Krak, composed of heavy deep rocks with a high metal content, the other - Ural-Tau - consists of softer ones. The reserve is a unique natural complex, which is famous not only for the incredible mixture of different species of flora, but also for relics that have managed to survive here for millennia.
National Park "Bashkiria"
Its territory occupies about 82 thousand hectares, on which you can find various species of rare animals and plants. Some of them are listed in the Red Book. In addition, natural monuments of Bashkortostan, such as karst bridges, Medvezhya Polyana, and the Kutuk-Sumgan tract, are located here.
State Nature Reserve "Shulgan-Tash"
Natural monuments of Bashkortostan include a protected zone located in the interfluve of the Belaya and Yuryuzani rivers. In addition to rare species of plants, animals, birds and fish, it attracts to itself a cave Shulgan-Tash (Kapova cave). This is an archaeological monument of world significance, which at one time was a parking lot of ancient people, as evidenced by preserved cave paintings and ornaments.
The Muradymov Gorge Nature Park is notable for the fact that caves have been preserved here, in which the first inhabitants of the Urals lived millennia ago . In total, more than forty objects are located on the territory of this natural zone, including the caves Bolshaya Labyrintovaya, Ledovaya, Novo- and Staromuradymovskie. The site of our ancestors was discovered in the Pigeon Grotto.
Modern Bashkiria is a completely charming region that has preserved a unique, relict nature, diluted with national color. This is a place that is impossible not to fall in love with from the first visit, time itself is not dominant over it. Nature lovers are advised to travel around the republic and enjoy the many beautiful places that abound on the map of Bashkortostan.