The city of Ufa – a large industrial, scientific and cultural centre of Russia – is located in the East of Europe. Ufa is the capital of multinational republic, which lies approximately 60 miles west of the ancient Ural Mountain ridges, surrounded by such a major industrial cities as Samara, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Orenburg.

The magnificent natural scenery of Ufa and its surroundings, which located in the forest and steppe zone on the banks of big rivers attracted people since the ancient times. Archaeologists have discovered remains of the primitive man settlements on the site of the present-day city.

Following the collapse of the Kazan Khanate, a fortress to protect the land was constructed. Nearly simultaneously the fortress started to be called “Ufa”, most probably derived from ancient Turkish “ufak”, meaning “small” or “little”.