Population:
The population of Bashkortostan is nearly 4 million and one third of them is Bashkir. A great number of Bashkirs live in other parts of the Russian Federation.

Ethnic Diversity:
Russians, Chuvash, Udmurts, Mari and others inhabit 40% of the territory.

Languages:
The Bashkir language is the second language in the Republic and belongs to the Turkic group of languages., while Russian remains the official language. Beside Turkic tribes, the Bashkir ethnicity includes Mongol and Finno-Ugric-Hungarian elements.

Political system:
Parliament of the Republic is the highest representative body of Bashkortostan, which is a two- chamber parliament.

Economy:
Woodexport and domestic demand for timber. Bashkortostan is one of the largest agricultural regions in Russian. The industrial potential is second in the Ural economic region after the province of Yekaterinburg. The main natural resources are oil, gas, copper, iron, chromium and manganese. More than one third of the territory is covered by forest.

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Brief History:
1921 Bashkortostan was forced to become an official Autonomous Soviet Republic as a part of the Russian Federation. 1937 Bashkortostan accepted the constitution of the USSR, in which the republic was declared a state. This status was a formality due to the absent of sovereign rights. A new constitution was adopted, which reduced the political-legal position of the republic. 1980 A movement for improving the political-legal status for an autonomous Bashkortostan was formed. 1990 Bashkortostan declared its state sovereignty. A treaty of accord was signed between Republic of Bashkortostan and the Russian Federation. Under this treaty, the sovereignty of Bashkortostan was partially recognised by Russia. 1995 Parliament of the Republic of Bashkortostan was elected. 1996 Bashkortostan became a member of UNPO, represented by the Government and Parliament of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

For more information: http://unpo.org/member/bashkort/bashkort.html