To the reader
The illustrated “Republic of Bashkortostan” encyclopedia in both Russian and English is a universal regional encyclopedia which presents a body of knowledge about Bashkortostan, its history, as well as its place and role in Russia and the world. The main attention in the publication is paid to the modern socio-political and socioeconomic situation of the Republic. The encyclopedia gives brief information reflecting the current level of knowledge, culture and values which have been achieved in Bashkortostan as well as information about the existing and potential brands of the Republic. The issue of encyclopedia is timed with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The book consists of two parts. The first part presents an overview of the history of the region, and the development of political, socio-economic and cultural life of Bashkortostan. The second part includes more than 1,800 conceptual and biographical articles which are arranged in alphabetical order. The encyclopedia contains articles on geographical objects (mountains, rivers, lakes, etc.), on administrative units of the Republic of Bashkortostan, its industries; its largest enterprises, its administrative and state institutions and organizations, its most important historical events, the main ethnic groups of the republic, etc. The information about the culture and life of the Bashkirs, the issues of education, health, literature, art, sports, etc., is also presented in it.
The biographical articles introduce a personified history of Bashkortostan. Included are articles about the historical figures who have made significant contributions or have left their mark on the history of Bashkortostan; about the most famous Heroes of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, the statesmen (ministers of the USSR , RSFSR and their deputies – laureates of the Lenin Award, State (Stalin) Award of the USSR , RSFSR awarded with orders during their work in Bashkortostan; first persons of the republic, etc.); business leaders (managers of large enterprises who have worked for many years and have been given high State awards), and various outstanding scientists, members of the RAS , Russian Academy of Education and the AS RB . Information is also given about cultural and art workers who have been awarded high honorary titles and are now famous around the world as well as the champions and prize-winners of the Olympics, Paralympic and Deaflympic Games, etc.
The articles in the encyclopedia are arranged sequentially: an article is given in Russian, and below, you can find its translation into English, for example:
ДВОРЕЦ СПОРТА. Находится в Уфе. Входит в структуру хоккейного клуба “Салават Юлаев”. Построен […].
PALACE OF SPORTS. Located in Ufa. Part of the Salavat Yulayev hockey club. Built in […].
The titles of articles in Russian and English are given in bold capital type, for example: АЛФАВИТ (ALPHABET). After the title of the article, synonyms may be indicated synonyms in lighter font color, e.g.: ALIFBA (primer). The name of the article, if repeated in the text, is denoted by its initials, for example: BUZDYAKSKY RAION will be mentioned again by the letters B.R. The names of periodicals, performances, music, literary works, etc., created in the Bashkir language are given in their translation into English followed with English transliteration of the Bashkir words.
The encyclopedia consists of thematically related articles which aim to complement each other. To facilitate their location, a system of links is used: the title of the article to which the link is given is indicated in bold italics. When showing dates of various events, the word “year” as well as “city” – to show where the event took place – are usually not used. After the name of awards, medals, titles, etc., the year of presentation of these is shown in parenthesis. In articles about persons who are known by their pseudonyms, their true legal name is shown after the title of the article. Names of institutions, administrative-territorial units, government entities, etc., are given as officially known at the time of their mention.
Maps (as of 2018) and illustrations are located, as a rule, with their corresponding articles or on relevant page spreads. The structure of the publication includes a preface, alphabetical lists of articles in Russian and English, a bibliography, and lists of acronyms and abbreviations.
In preparing the encyclopedia, various models of Russian and foreign encyclopedias, as well as the personal experience of the Scientific Institution “Bashkir Encyclopedia” team accumulated in the creating of the multivolume “Bashkortostan” encyclopedia and other reference books, were used.
The word list of the encyclopedia and its conceptual foundations have passed various public discussions to ensure accuracy of the materials.
