Раздел 2 Материалы о родном крае

Тема 1

Ufa-the capital of Bashkortostan

I live in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan which has a long history. It began as a settlement back in 1574. Historical and cultural monuments, literature, fine arts, folk art and music - all combine to give Ufa a rich and varied culture. The lives of many great artists are also connected in one way or another with Ufa. The Russian singer, Shalyapin lived in Ufa and gave his first performance there. The Russian ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev started his career in Ufa. The Russian painter, Nesterov lived in city and painted many of his works there. In fact, the city’s State Art Gallery is named after him. Similary, one of the streets Aksakov street, which is named after Aksakov, a famous Russian writer who grew up in the city. S. T. Aksakov was born in Ufa. Some years he lived with his grandfather in the settlement near Ufa, now it is Shaksha, the district of Ufa. “Aksakov’s Days” festival is held there every year. Aksakov’s lesson became a school tradition. Aksakov was inspired by the nature of Bashkortostan as he wrote one of his greatest works – the fairy tale called “Alenky Tsvetochek” I am proud of my native town and my republic.

Ufa is the capital of Bashkortostan, a sovereign Republic in the Russian Federation, which covers a territory of 143,000 sq. km., stretching over 550 km from North to South and 400 km from East to West.

Ufa is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in Russia. It was founded in 1574 and is situated on the banks of the Belaya River. Ufa is located in the Southeastern European part of Russia, south of the Ural mountains, on the border of the East and West. It has a well-developed transportation system, consisting of railway stations, an international airport, a bus station, and a number of roads. Bashkortostan is famous for its wonderful natural scenery and is sometimes called “The Second Switzerland” because of its high mountains and expansive steps, evergreen forests, 600 rivers, and 800 lakes. Many different kinds of tourism and sports are popular here, especially rafting and alpine skiing. The climate is continental and the average mean temperature is -14 C in winter (January) and is 20.5 C in Summer (June, July), and is frequently over 30 C.

Numerous religion faiths, including Islam, Orthodox, Catholic, and Judaism, are practiced in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Bashkortostan is multinational (Bashkirs, Russians, Tatars), but a major part of population is Muslim. Ufa is a well known center of Islam in Russia with six mosques, which are always ready to receive visitors. Kurban, Ramadan and other Islamic holidays are widely celebrated in Ufa.

Ufa is a well-known political, economical and cultural center. There are ten institutes of higher education, many museums and theaters, monuments, and sports complexes. It has a tradition of great ballet and vocal performances. The well-known singer Fedor Shalapin and ballet-dancer Rudolf Nuriev began their careers in our city.