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.

Тема 2

Seven wonders of Bashkortostan

I live in Bashkortostan it is my Motherland. But not everyone knows that there are seven wonders of Russia in Bashkortostan. They are Shulgan-Tash (kapova cave), Salavat Yulayev monument, Baskir honey, the Shihany mountains, the Iremel mountain, the gold nugget called Iredyk bear, the border between Erope and Asia.

The natural monument Shylgan – Tash (kapova cave) is one of the largest Karst caves in the South Urals. It is situated on the right bank of the Belaya River.

Another wonder is the monument of Salavat Yulayev in Ufa. Salavat Yulayev is a national hero of Bashkir people. The sculpture is the biggest one in Russia (9,8 meters, 40 tones).

Bashkir honey is a visiting card of Bashkortostan. According to the scientific research Bashkir honey is the best in the world by its quality.

The Sheehany represent reef mass of the late Paleozoic era (about 20km along). Iremel mountain is in Beloretsky district of Bashkortostan and it is a natural monument to beauty (12km)

Gold nugget “Irendyk bear” weighing 4 kilograms and 788 grams was found in 1992. Now is is Kept in the National Bank of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

And the last wonder is border line of Europe and Asia. The boundary between 2 parts of the world runs through Bashkiria. I am proud of my native land and the republic welcomes guests friendly and hospitably.

Тема 3

Mustai Karim

He was born on October 20, 1919 and in the village of Klyashevo (now Chishminsky District Bashkortostan) in a peasant family, in ethnic Bashkirs.

In 1941 have graduated from Bashkir State University, Faculty of Language and Literature.

After graduation he joined the Red Army and was sent to Novocherkassk Higher Military Command School of Communications. In May 1942, with the rank of second lieutenant sent to the 17th Motor Rifle Brigade. In August 1942, seriously wounded, was about six months in hospitals.

After recovery, returned to the forefront as a correspondent for the front-line newspapers. He was a Member of the CPSU from 1944. Throughout the The Great Patriotic War Mustai Karim was at the front, and he was a correspondent for the front-line newspapers.

Mustai Karim began writing in the middle of the 1930s. In 1938 his first book of poems, "The detachment moved", was published. The second, "Voices of Spring", was published in 1941. After that, he published more than 100 poems and prose collections, and more than 10 dramatic works.

“Most famous works:”
collections of poetry and poems, "Black Water", "Return", "Europe-Asia", "Time" plays "The land of Aigul", "On the night of the lunar eclipse", "Salavat", “ Do not leave the fire, Prometheus!” Works of Mustai Karim were translated into dozens of languages, Russia and the world.

National poet of Bashkiria Mustai Karim died after two heart attacks on the 21^st of September 2005 being in the Republican Cardiological Center in Ufa. He was buried at Mohammedan Cemetery (Ufa)

Тема 4

Rudolf Nureyev

Russian dancer, choreographer and ballet director Rudolf Nureyev, was born in a train between Lake Baikal and Irkutsk in Siberia 17 March, 1938. He was one of the true superstars of 20th-century dance. Many compared him with legendary Nijinsky. He started his ballet training in Ufa at the age of 11 and after 6 years, moved to the Vaganov’s Leningrad ballet school, where he studied under A. Pushkin. In 1958 he became a soloist of the Kirov Ballet. In 1961 he went on a tour with the company, and defected in Paris, launching his carrier in the West. Nureyev’s first performances were with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas; in 1962 he appeared on the American television and danced with Chicago Opera Ballet. In the same year he signed a contract with the Royal Ballet, London as a permanent guest soloist. He never became a member of a Western company, preferring to collaborate with different troupes temporarily. Work with Eric Brun and partnership with Margot Fonteyn were great influences on his artistic development. He danced with her in «Giselle», in «Marguerite and Armand» by F. Ashton, in «Swan Lake» and in many other ballets. He created roles in numerous works by many different choreographers. In 1964 he began to choreograph. His first production was «Swan Lake» that he made for the Vienna Opera Ballet and where the role of Prince became dominant. In 1977 he created his version of «Romeo and Juliet» by S. Prokofiev for the London Festival Ballet; in 1979, «Manfred» for the Paris Opera Ballet; in 1980, «The Nutcracker» in Berlin. In 1962 Nureyev published his Autobiography. In 1973 he directed, together with R. Helpmann, a film-ballet» Don Quixote» where he also danced the role of Basile. He appeared in principal roles in films «Valentino» (1977) and «Exposed» (1983). From 1983 to 1989 he was director of the Paris Opera Ballet, where he created his versions of the great Russian classics, such as «Swan Lake», «The Sleeping Beauty», «La Bayadère» and also «Cinderella» and «Romeo and Juliet» by S. Prokofiev. All these productions are still in the Paris Opera Ballet repertoire. He died in Paris on 6 January 1993.

Тема 5

Zaki Validi

Kind of activity: prominent statesman and public figure, specialist in Turkic philology, one of the organizers of the creation of the Bashkir Autonomous Republic and its first leader.

Years of life: December, 10, 1890 – July 28, 1970

Creative biography: he was born in the Bashkir village Kuzyan of Sterlitamak region, Ufa Province in the family of mulla and became one of the stateliest figures in the national movement of the first half of ХХ-th century.

His ideas about independence and unity of Muslim republics are in keeping with the state politics of nowadays Russia. In 19 years old, Validi taught Turkic history and history of Arabic Turkic literature at the Kazan Medresse “Kasymia”, studied Oriental languages at Kazan University. Then he published his first scientific work “History of Turks and Tatars”. Before the October revolution he worked in Petrograd for Office of Muslim faction in the 4th State Duma, he was a member of Temporary Central Commetee of Russian Muslims. He also became a member of constitutive meeting from the Bashkirs - federalists of Ufa Gubernia.

Since the middle of November he took part in the Bashkir revolutionary processes actively. He entered the Bashkir Government, headed a military department, commanded the Baskir troops, he was a military minister of temporary government. In 1924 year in Berlin he participated in the rebirth of Turkestan national association “Dzhamiat” simultaneously got into contact with orientalists of Europe. In 1925 he moved to Turkey and taught Turkic history at Istanbul University. At the same time he continued his academic education in Vienna and gave lectures at the University of Bonn and in Gottingen. In 1939 he came back to Turkey and in a year his work – the history of Turkestan was published in Kair.

In May 1944 Validi was arrested and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but after 17 month staying in prison he was released. After war he began to give lectures at the university again and took up the problems of history mythology using the ethnographic and folkloristic data and other disciplines. In 1951 under his chairmanship The 21st International Congress of Orientalists took place in Istanbul. 2 years later he founded the Institute of Islam research. He was an organizer and member of many scientific societies, Honourable doctor of the Manchester University.

Тема 6

Mazhit Gafuri

Mazhit Gafuri (Abdulmazhit Nurganeyevich Gafurov) was born on the 2^nd of July 1880 in the village of Zilim-Karan, Sterlitamak region. He studied at several Muslim schools. In his free time he worked at the golden mines. Later he worked as a teacher for some time, collected the samples of folk art, and got interested in Russian literature. This life experience was reflected in his works.

He worked in the genres of poetry, prose and play writing. His first books were based on the principles of realism. In his stories "A Year of Hunger" or "A Sold Girl", "Orphans", "The Poor" and some others the au­thor severely criticized class inequality and social injustice. He also showed the realistic life pictures, true characters, beautiful sceneries, allegories and sharp satire.

Realistic flow prevailed in his work. His stories "Blackfaced", "Gold Fields of a Poet" constituted the basis of Bashkir prose in the Soviet period.

The play "Red Star" is the first Bashkir play that created the images of peasants during the Civil War.

After the revolution Gafuri devoted himself to the reconstruction and development of Bashkir literature and its genres.

Тема 7

Sergey Aksakov

Sergey Timofeyevich Aksakov was a 19th-century Russian literary figure remembered for his semi-autobiographical tales of family life, as well as his books on hunting and fishing.

Sergey was born in Ufa and brought up in the family estate at Novo-Aksakovka in Orenburg guberniya, where he acquired a lifelong love of nature. He was also introduced to literature by his mother at an early age.

He was educated at the Kazan Gymnasium and then, in 1805 (in the first year after its founding), at Kazan University, though he himself said he was ill prepared for a university education (and some of the professors, brought from abroad, taught in foreign languages). He was also distracted by his obsessive interest in the theater.

He left the university in 1807, and the following year went to St. Petersburg to take up government service. He resigned from the civil service in 1811 and moved to Moscow, where he was active as an amateur in literary and theatrical life and published his first verse anonymously in 1812.

In 1816 he married Olga Semenovna Zaplatina, and the couple had six sons and eight daughters. He began publishing translations, reviews, and articles in the early 1820s, though his important work came much later. He retired from the civil service in 1838.

Around 1840, encouraged by Gogol, he began writing the book that would make him famous, «A Family Chronicle». While he was working on that, he published books about two of his favorite activities since his youth, «Notes on Fishing”(1847) and «Notes of a Hunter in Orenburg Province» (1852).

In 1843 Aksakov settled in the village of Abramtsevo, where he entertained writers including Gogol, Turgenev, and Tolstoy and which was also frequented by his Slavophile sons, Konstantin and Ivan. In the late 1850s he published his most enduring works, «The Family Chronicle».

Раздел 3

Разработки песен.