Bashkortostan

[wpspoiler name=”Turkic music from Bashkortostan” open=”true” style=”aatw-video”][/wpspoiler]

— Bashkortostan:
Located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains in far eastern Europe, densely-forested Bashkortostan boasts substantial oil and mineral reserves, making it one of the wealthiest republics in the Federation. Of particular interest in the Wikipedia entry about the Baskhirs is its account of the confusing Russian-Bashkir War of 1735-1740, in which Russians fought Bashkirs but also Bashkirs fought Bashkirs. Some of the Bashkir at the time were followers of a half-nosed, one-eared warrior named Karasakal (“Blackbeard”) who “pretended to have 82,000 men on the Aral Sea.” (A bonus: Want to brush up on your Bashkir folk-tales and legends?)