"Bashkortostan" Ufa by kris-t

Ufa is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. Population: 1,036,026

Ufa is one of the industrial centres in the Western Urals area, and is situated at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers. Industries include electrical and mining equipment, oil refining, petrochemicals, synthetic rubber, and processed foods.

The city began as a fortress built on the orders of Ivan IV in 1574, and originally bore the name of the hill it stood on, Tura-Tau. The city began to be called Ufa, meaning "small" in Turkic, by locals and the name stuck. In 1802, Ufa became the principal city of Bashkiria.