ADMINISTRATIVE AND TERRITORIAL SYSTEM
ADMINISTRATIVE AND TERRITORIAL SYSTEM, the division of a state into terri‑ torial units, where by the system of state authorities is built and functioning. Tribal organization of the Bashkirs and the traditional systems of land tenure and use formed the basis of Bashkortostan’s A.a.t.s. until the 19th century. After the fall of the Golden Horde, the territory of Bashkortostan became part of the Kazan and the Sib. Khanates, and Nogay Horde.
With the accession of Bashkortostan to Russia, the main territory of Bashkorto‑ stan became part of Kazansky Uyezd (U.). In the last third of the 16th century, the territory was acknowledged as Ufimsky U. divided into Dorogas and Volosts, and ruled by a Voivode. General administration in Bashkortostan until the beginning of the 18th century was performed based on the orders of the Kazan and the Sib. Khanates. In 1708, the Ufimsky U. became part of Kazan Gub., while the Trans‑Ural territory of Bashkortostan became part of Sib. Gub.
In 1719 (according to other data, in the period between 1712—15), Ufa, with the exception of fortresses of the Zakamskaya Military Line and Osa, was transformed into Ufa Province, which, until 1728 and in the period between 1734—40, was under the authority of the Kazan Governor (in the period between 1728—34 it was under the authority of the Senate). The Province was under the authority of both the Voivode (between 1740—44 Vice‑governor) and (since 1735) the Commission of the Bashkir Affairs and the Orenburg Commission. In 1737, Isetskaya province was formed as part of the Sib. Gub. It included the North Eastern and Eastern Bashkortostan. In 1744, Orenburg Gub. was constituted with Ufa, Isyetskaya, Orenburg and Stavropol provinces being parts of it. In 1781, Orenburg Gub. was transformed into Ufa Namestnichestvo (district), comprising Ufa (incl. Belebeyevsky, Birsky, Bugulminsky, Buguruslansky, Menzelinsky, Sterlitamaksky, Ufimsky, and Chelyabinsky U.) and Orenburg (incl. Buzuluksky, Verkhneuralsky, Orenburgsky, Sarapulsky U.), Saratov (Volsk, Khvalynsy, and Khotinsk U.) Gub., since 1851 — in Samara Gub. (Bugulminsk, Buguruslansk, and Buzuluksk U.). In 1798, the canton system was introduced in Bashkortostan. The territory of Bashkortostan was divided into cantons. Along with the Canton and Yurt system, there were also the Uyezd and Volost systems. By decrees of May 31 and July 2, 1865, Orenburg Gub. was divided into Ufa Gub. and Orenburg Guberniya. The A.a.t.s. of Bashkortostan, approved of in 1865, along with its main constituent parts — guberniyas, uyezds, and volosts, existed until December 1917 (ref. the map). Following the Revolution of 1917, the system of Gub. Institutions was maintained, while the Governors were replaced by the Commissars of the Provisional Government and since October 1917 — by the Gub. Executive Committees. In this period, the Bashkir Central Shuro, Bashkir Government, the Provisional Revolutionary Council of Bashkortostan, etc. functioned on the territory of Ufa and Orenburg guberniyas. By the decision of the 3rd All-Bashkir Kurultay (Congress) in December 1917, the territory of the autonomous Bashkortostan was divided into 9 cantons and 73 volosts (by the beginning of 1919 there were 13 cantons and 151 volosts). Following the Agreement of the Central Soviet power with the Bashkir Government on the Soviet Autonomous Bashkiria the Autonomous Soviet Bashkir Republic (ASBR) included volosts of Verkhneuralsky, Orenburgsky, Orsky, Troitsky, and Chelyabinsky uyezds of Orenburg Gub.; Zlatoustovsky, Sterlitamaksky and Ufimsky uyezds of Ufa Gub.; Yekaterinburgsky, Krasnoufimsky, and Shadrinsky uyezds of Yekaterinburg Gub.; Yumran-Tabynskaya Volost of Buzuluksky U. of Samara Guberniya. The territory of the Republic was divided into 13 cantons and 134 volosts, by the beginning of 1921 — into 12. Selo Temyasovo of Burzyan-Tangaurovsky Canton was declared the capital, since August 21, 1919, the capital was moved to Sterlitamak, which on August 12, 1919 was included into the ASBR. The Bashrevkom (Bashkir Revolutionary Committee) became the highest state authority. Revolutionary and Executive Committees were created in the cantons and volosts. At the 1st All-Bashkortostan Congress of the Councils of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies (July 1920) the state authority system of the Republic was introduced. The main state authorized bodies were the AllBashkortostan Congress of Councils, the Bashkir Central Executive Committee (since 1938 — the Supreme Council of the BASSR and the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the BASSR), and the Council of People’s Commissars (since June 1946 — the Council of Ministers). In 1922, following the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Decree On the expansion of borders of the Bolshaya Bashkiriya) became part of the Basrepublic (ref. Malaya Bashkiriya). The BASSR territory was divided into 8 cantons, 296 volosts and 3698 selo councils, while the capital was moved from Sterlitamak to Ufa.
As a result of administrative transformations in the 1920s and early 1930s, the Republic’s boundaries with Chelyabinsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg guberniyas, Kyrgyz ASSR and Ural Obl. were defined. Cantons, volosts, and selo councils remained the main territory and administrative units before the reform of 1930. On June 14th 1926, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Decree On the Approval of the Basic Principles of the Administrative and Territorial System of the BASSR was issued. The Resolution of the Presidium of the Bashkir Central Executive Committee, on August 20th 1930, introduced the BASSR division into administrative raions (districts) along with the liquidation of cantons and volosts (ref. the Table below).
48 raions and 1,297 selo councils were formed out of the 8 cantons, consisting of 111 volosts (ref. the Diagram). Ufa was allocated into an independent administrative unit with immediate subordination to the Bashkir Central Executive Committee. Belebey, Beloretsk, Birsk, Sterlitamak reported to the corresponding raions authorities. Between the 1930—50s, the Republic was divided into more raions. By the early 1950s, there were 63 raions. According to the Decree of the Presidium of the Armed Forces of the USSR of May 29th 1952, the BASSR territory was divided into Sterlitamak Obl. (25 raions) and Ufa Obl. (38 raions). The oblasts were abolished in April 1953. In the course of the policy of consolidation of collective farms, creation of multisectoral village farms and new state farms in 1954—60, more than 450 selo councils were abolished in Bashkortostan.
By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR of February 1st 1963, 20 rural raions (since March 3rd 1964 — 24) and 1 industrial raion were created in the BASSR out of the 56 raions total. The currently existing 54 administrative raions were introduced in 1972 and acknowledged by the BASSR Constitution in 1978. The Constitution of the RB of 1993, and the RB laws On the Admi nistrative and Territorial System of the Republic of Bashkortostan dated July 12th 1993, in 2005, defined the modern A.a.t.s. of Bashkortostan with the following constituent parts (data for 2017): raions (54), cities (21), PGTs (2), rural settlements (4538), selos [selo councils (828), incl. 9 selos, which belong to the cities areas].
