General Information

The city of Ufa is located in the East of Europe. Encompassed from the three sides by the the Belaya, the Ufa and the Dyoma rivers, it lies on an elevated plateau at the foot of the Ural Mountains. Ufa is situated on the bank of the Belaya (White) River. The city stretches 50 kilometers (more than 30 miles) from south-west to north-east. The total area is 753.7 square kilometers. The city population today is over 1,100,000 people.

Ufa is the capital of multinational Bashkortostan - Republic which is one of the regions of the Russian Federation. The state languages in the Bashkortostan Republic are Russian and Bashkirian. The bulk of the population are Bashkirs, Russians, Tatars, Chuvash and Maris. The largest ethnical groups include Russians (55,5%), Bashkirians (10,7%) and Tatars (27,9%). The two major confessions in the city are Islam and Orthodox Christianity.

City telephone code: 3472

Distance from Moscow: 1300 km

Time: Moscow time + 2 hours

Climate

The climate in Bashkortostan is continental. Winters are normally snowy and cold (the average temperature in January is -15 C) and summers are hot (average temperature in June is + 20C).

This is a land of the unique beauty. Steppes alternate with wild forests. There are many rivers and lakes. Different kinds of wild animals and birds inhabit the region, so both vegetation and wildlife are extremely rich and diverse.

History

When the Kazan Khanate collapsed in the XV century, Bashkiria voluntarily joined the Moscovite Russian State and Bashkirs approached Tsar Ivan the Terrible with a request to construct a fortress to protect the land. The Tsar agreed and the fortress of Ufa was founded in 1574.

‘Ufa’ is likely to be derived from ancient Turkish ‘ufak’, meaning ‘small’. However, as time went on, Ufa, initially a small fortress, was turning into important political, administrative and business centre of the area.

In 1586 Ufa acquired the status of a city and in 1802 it became the principal town in the province. In the XVIII century Ufa became one of a major administrative, trading, manufacturing and cultural centers of Russia.

On June 14, 1922 Ufa became the capital of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

In 1932 the first oil fountain burst forth. The discovery of oil in Bashkiriya made Ufa one of the centers of oil extracting and oil refining in the USSR. In 1941-42 more than 40 industrial enterprises were shifted to Ufa. During the war Ufa became one of the major cities with a multi-industrial economy.

By its 300th anniversary the city streets numbered 43. The best of them were Tsentralnaya (Lenin Street at present), Uspenskaya (Kommunisticheskaya) and Aleksandrovskaya (Karl Marx Street). Also, there were 143 blocks of buildings, three parks, two boulevards and lots of privately owned gardens.

The City Today

Today the city numbers over 1,000 streets totaling about 1,000 kilometers, 22 bridges and overpasses, 6 river ferries.

The capital boasts six theatres, Bashkir State Philharmonic Society, Bashkir State Puppet Theatre, museums, a circus, cinemas, planetarium and two centralized library networks.

Ufa is proud of the Akhmet-Zaki Validi National Library which houses about 2 million volumes in various languages, 200 manuscripts of the XV and XVI centuries and editions of Russian classic writers printed during their lifetime. Address of the library is Lenina str. 4. Phone: +7 3472 220489. URL: http://220489.3472.ru (only in Russian).
Ethnic culture festivals are often held in the Republic’s capital. The 1st World Kurultai (Congress) of Bashkirs, Tatars’ Congresses, Sobor (Assembly) of Russians and Kanash of Chuvashes have become the events of a global significance.

150 thousand students are enrolled in the city’s universities, institutes and colleges. The city has 11 national Sunday schools attended by over one thousand students. Ten scientific institutes have been created under the Ufa Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as Botanic Gardens, Museum of Archeology and Ethnography that comprises a unique collection of verbal poetic and musical folklore, exhibits in archeology, ethnography and anthropology. Address of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography is Aksakova str. 7.

Economy

Industry occupies the leading position in the structure of Ufa’s production output. In 2002 the industrial output reached 45.9 billion rubles. Industrial companies of Ufa produce 28.4% of the total industrial output of Bashkortostan Republic. Most prospective industries of the city that determine the growth of industrial output are engineering and metalworking industries, construction materials production, food and printing industries. Fuel, chemical and petrochemical industries are also developing.

Transportation

Ufa is the biggest transport junction: railways, pipelines, highways, air and river routes link Bashkortostan’s capital with other Russian regions.

Ufa is the largest river port in the Urals. Vessels sailing down the Belaya, the Kama and the Volga deliver cargoes to the remotest places of the country. Branch-lines of the Kuibyshevskaya Railway connect Ufa with all major Russian cities.

Highways link the city with Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Samara and Orenburg. Buses from the Northern and Southern bus stations of the city maintain passenger transportation to the regions of Bashkortostan Republic and its neighbors.

Ufa has the airport with international terminal. The airport capacity is 400 passengers an hour. Since 1938 Ufa airport carries out regular air flights. Railway thoroughfares that pass through Ufa connect Western and Central Russia with the Urals and Siberia.

Pipelines transport fuels and other products through the territory of Bashkortostan Republic.

Hotels

Agidel Hotel. Address: Lenina str. 14/16. Phone: +7 3472 225680.
Arena Hotel. Address: Zorge str. 72. Phone: +7 3472 357892.
Bashkortostan Hotel****. Address: Lenina str., 25/29. Phone: +7 3472 790000. Fax: +7 3472 790009.
President Hotel****. Address: Avrory str., 2. Phone: +7 3472 798008. Fax: +7 3472 549475.
Rossia Hotel***. Address: Prospect Oktiabria, 81. Phone: +7 3472 358907.
Tourist Hotel. Address: Zorge str. 17. Phone: +7 3472 254672. Fax: +7 3472 254672.
Ufa Hotel. Address: Karla Marksa str., 25. Phone: +7 3472 234607.

Evgeniya Stroganova