ECONOMY

ECONOMY, a set of occupations, production tools and methods. Depending on the economy and culture, the key occupations of Bashkirs in the system of traditional E. were semi‑nomadic cattle breeding (in south. and south‑east. areas) and arable farming (west. and north.‑west.); they also engaged in hunting, wild‑honey farming, foraging, fishing, forestry, etc. Within the ancestral lands, hunting, fishing and other lands were divided between separate clans and families (ref. Bashkir tribal organization). Large households also hired employees, including shepherds. Bashkirs bred the horses, sheep and goats most adapted to long passages and year‑round grazing, in the smaller number — cattle, in the southern areas — camels. In spring, yurts were installed on pastures; pens and canopies were built for cattle (ref. Household structures). For the winter period, cattle was moved to the places protected from wind and snow drifts, where utars were arranged; later in their places auls were founded. Dwellings and household structures of each family in the villages were located within the area of the homestead. In the course of Bashkortostan’s accession to Russia and in connection with the ongoing land policy, the development of agricultural orientation of the E. accelerated; it developed more intensively with the north., north.‑west. and west. Bashkirs. With the south. and south‑east. Bashkirs, semi‑nomadic E. remained until the middle of the 19th century (cattle‑breeding with the auxiliary role of arable farming); summer nomadic migrations were correlated with the calendar of field works. The earliest farming systems were fallow, lea tillage (mainly in steppe areas) and slash‑and‑burn (in forest areas). In the 19th century, three‑field system became common. To cultivate land and to harvest crops, manual (fork, rake, spit – humps, gorbusha scythe, litovka scythe, spade, hoe, sickle, etc) and harness horse (harrow, plow, wooden plow, saban, etc) agricultural tools were used. The most cultivated grain crops included rye, barley, wheat, millet, spelt, buckwheat; technical crops — flax, hemp; also potatoes. With the transition to the sedentary lifestyle, haymaking and harvesting of fodder for the winter became common, the role of traditional crafts grew. Men were engaged in the manufacture of leather, wooden, birch implements, horse equipment (mainly in southern areas), forestry, hunting, fishing; since the 19th century — left for seasonal work; women — felt‑making, knitting (in southern areas), weaving, embroidery, sewing of the elements of Bashkir costume; men and women were engaged in farming. Changes in the traditional E. occurred after the Revolution of 1917 and in the course of collectivization.