Bashkortostan

The Republic of Bashkortostan is a sovereign republic within the Russian Federation. It is located along the South Urals. Its territory is 143.600 square kilometers. The population is over 4 million people. About a hundred nationalities inhabit¹ the Republic.

From the point of natural conditions² Bashkortostan can be divided into three parts: western, mountains and Bashkir Trans-Urals³. The climate is continental with moderately warm, sometimes hot summers and cold winter.

More than 600 rivers and 800 lakes trim⁴ the beauty of the Republic's nature. Many of the rivers, including the Ural and the Agidel, belong to the Caspian Sea basin⁵.

Bashkortostan is rich in forests. The Republic accounts⁶ nearly all lime-tree⁷ forests of Russians. It is the lime-tree that makes Bashkir honey world-famous.

The mineral riches of Bashkortostan include iron ore⁸, copper, gold, zinc, aluminum, chromium, brown coal, natural gas, salt, manganese⁹, gypsum, lime-stone¹⁰ and many other deposits.

Oil is the main mineral resource of the land. Oil-related industries¹¹ - power generation¹², oil refining, chemical, gas and petrochemical have become most prominent¹³. The convenient geographical location promotes the development of manufacturing and agribusiness. Bashkortostan ranks¹⁴ second among the Ural regions as regards¹⁵ its manufacturing potential.

The Republic of Bashkortostan offers extensive facilities for exports and import of raw materials, fuel and manufactured item, maintaining trade and business ties with both the West and the East.

The BAL (Bashkir Airlines) carrier connects Ufa with the largest cities in Russia, the post-Soviet republics and abroad.

Vocabulary

1) to inhabit – населять

2) from the point of natural conditions – c точки зрения природных условий

3) Bashkir Trans-Urals – Башкирское Зауралье

4) to trim – украшать

5) a basin – бассейн

6) to account – рассматривать (-ся), считать (-ся)

7) a lime-tree – липа

8) iron ore – железная руда

9) manganese – марганец

10) lime-stone – известняк

11) oil-related industries – относящиеся к нефти

12) power generation – энергетическая

13) prominent – известный, видный

14) rank – занимать какое-либо место

15) as regards – что касается, относительно

My native town sterlitamak

I live in Russia, in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Our Republic is located¹ along the South Urals, forming a natural border between Europe and Asia. There are over 20 cities and towns in the Republic. Sterlitamak is the second largest city of Bashkortostan after Ufa. It was founded in 1766. It stands on the banks of the rivers Sterlya, Belaya, Ashkadar. More than 260 thousand people live there.

Sterlitamak is the main industrial and cultural centre. It is the major centre of chemical industry not only of the Republic of Bashkortostan, but of the whole of Russia.

More than 50 thousand employees² engage at 500 industries and construction sites.

The largest factories are the "Soda" Joint-Stock Company³, the Petrochemical Plant Joint-Stock Company, the" Kaustik" Joint-Stock Company, the «Avangard» Joint-Stock Company, and the"Kauchuk" Joint-Stock Company.

Machine building⁴ also remains the main branch of industry. The "Machine-tool Building Factory" Joint-Stock Company produces not only machines, but quite a lot of consumer goods⁵.

The "Inmash" Concern is known as the "factory of the future". It produces industrial robots, woods-cutting machines⁶, shoe-making machines⁷, mini-motors and other machines.

There is also the Leather-Processing Plant⁸, the Foot - wear factory⁹, the Garment Factory¹⁰, the Food industry¹¹ companies.

Sterlitamak can be called a city of students. There are 9 industrial vocational schools¹², 8 secondary specialized educational institutions, the Pedagogical Institute, the branch of the Ufa State Oil Technical University, the Sterlitamak Law Department of the Bashkir State University, the branch of All-Russia Financial Institute.

Sterlitamak is a city of Sports. Sportsmen and sport fans can make use¹³ of 4 stadiums, 2 Physical Culture Houses with swimming pools, a ski-jump, gym halls, the city chess and draughts club¹⁴, physical-training and fitness centres, the city tourist centre, numerous sport grounds, three children's and teenager's sport schools. There is a Physical Training College.

Sterlitamak is a big cultural centre. There are some theaters there: the Russian Drama Theatre, the Bashkir Theatre, the Dance Theatre, the Bashkir-Tatar Philharmonic Society.

There are some museums, cinema-theatres, the Park of Culture and Recreation, three Culture Palaces, the Republican Culture College.

The city becomes cleaner and more beautiful and very attractive.

I like my native town very much.