Ufa

Understand

Ufa is one of the shortest place names in Russia. As the locals say, "If you get only three letters, come visit usǃ" It is only three letters in the Bashkir language as well, ӨФӨ, the unusual appearance of which has given the city one of its odder nicknamesː City of Three Screws. Ufa is situated west of the Ural Mountains on the Belaya River (in Bashkir, Agidel River) at its confluence with the Ufa River. The toponym itself may mean “river” or simply “water”: opinions differ on this matter. In a loose sense, Ufa may be one of the oldest cities in the Ural Region. Excavations indicate a permanent presence here back to the 4th century AD and, if the Bashkirs did in fact have medieval cities, archaeologists say it was either here or somewhere close by. Written sources from the time of the Golden Horde report a city on the Belaya River named Bashkort, which perhaps corresponds to the location of modern day Ufa, but there are no visible traces of it. Under its modern three-letter incarnation, Ufa dates back to 1574 when Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of a prison on the Belaya River, and later a small kremlin (however, nothing older than late 18th century buildings survived to the present). In its early history, Ufa more resembled a fortress than a city, occasionally assailed by rebellious Bashkirs. After the Pugachev Uprising in 1774, Ufa entered a long period of peace. The kremlin did burn down, after which stone construction began in earnest; however, construction was not very active, as Ufa had the lowly status of "county town" under the Orenburg Governate. In 1865, however, the Ufa Governate was formed, with the titular city made its capital. Around the same time the Samara-Zlatoust railway was completed (the old, historical Trans-Siberian route), which contributed significantly to the city's growth. Additionally, Catherine II gave the city's upward trajectory a major boost by naming it the capital of Russian Islam. In Ufa there are fewer old mosques

Getting there

By plane

1 Ufa International Airport (UFA IATA) (southeast of the city, not so far from the city center), ☏ +7 347 229-52-95. Ufa is one of the primary centers for flight traffic in the Urals. In addition to regular flights from Moscow (more than 10 times a day), there are direct flights from Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and many cities throughout Western Siberia (Surgut, Novy Urengoy, etc.) Small prop planes fly almost every day to Yekaterinburg, Rostov, Kazan, Perm, Orenburg, and Samara - the last, however, is easily reached by train. International flights go to Vienna, Prague, Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), Dushanbe, and Tashkent. The airport of Ufa has been renovated is quite modern, with jet bridges, although the width of the corridors and the design of the halls sometimes leave much to be desired. There are two terminals at the airport - domestic and international. Coming in from the entrance, you'll see a kiosk with honey and Bashkir souvenirs, as well as a "Bashkir goose" («Башкирский гусь») kiosk that serves essentially the same function. To the right at the end of the corridor is a 24-hour Cafe Moskva, where you can sample Bashkir pastries at low prices, as well as salads and hot food. Also in the terminal are Shokoladnitsa for chocolate and a fresh-squeezed juice counter. On the second floor there is a small shop and post "office," which has the only computer with (supposedly) internet access. A round-the-clock left-luggage office on the lower level: 200 руб for the first day and 50 руб for each subsequent. After security, there is one large hall with another souvenir shop and a "duty-free" store (which is absurd for domestic flights...). There is a counter on the left with coffee and tea (expensive). At the end of the hall there are a couple of cheaper cafeterias, indistinguishable from one another. There is no hot food. Throughout the terminal there is decent free Wi-Fi, with also a paid option, Ufanet. There is a large area in front of the ter

Getting around

By public transport Marshrutkas and buses go all over the city and run very frequently. These can be hard to figure out if you can't read Russian so look up the route on Yandex before heading out. Pay right before getting off, not as you get on. The drivers will make change for 50- or 100-ruble notes. Transit essentially shuts down after 22:00. Only a few minibuses continue to operate, until 00:40. There are trams and trolleybuses here as well, but they offer far more limited service than the buses and minibuses. Fares are paid to the driver or conductor. Cash fares are 22 руб on trams and trolleybuses, 29 руб for buses (June 2021). On the minibuses, the price varies from 20-40 руб, depending on the length of the route and time of day (in the evening the price rises).

By taxi Taxis are a very efficient method of getting around Ufa and are easily summoned by phone. Lider Taxi (☏ +7 347 2-901-901) and Motor-Servis (☏ +7 347 2-900-900) provide the price over the phone, based on trip distance. Yandex. Taxi, Uber, Gett, and Maxim cars can all be ordered by smartphone app and may be cheaper than taxis. The average taxi waiting time is just 4 minutes from the time of order. Catching a taxi on the street is problematic, since all local services are designed for phone or internet dispatch. Hailing off the street can also be more expensive than by calling .

By car Ufa suffers from traffic congestion and a lack of parking. In the center, paid parking is available at Gostiny Dvor on the ul. Kommunisticheskoy side. On most streets, parking is free, but check signs to make sure it's permitted.

See

What to see in Ufa is a tricky question. On one hand, it is easy to spend more a day here, especially if you visit Chernikovka and other areas outside the center. On the other hand, there no one well-known attraction in the city. Perhaps the best known sight is the Monument to Salavat Yulaev, but for the average traveler, it's just another monument, albeit one with a beautiful setting overlooking the river. It's also worth visiting the National Museum, Friendship Monument, and the Fountain of Seven Girls. There are many Orthodox churches, but the oldest and most interesting ones were destroyed during Soviet times. The situation is even more dire with regards to Ufa's mosques — almost all of them are rebuilt. Older stone architecture in the center fared better under the Soviets, but thinned out in the 2000s courtesy of "urban development," and anyway was inferior to larger cities like Kazan or Yekaterinburg. Historic houses along Aksakova, Krupskaya, and Mustaya Karim were almost all demolished. There is another architectural travesty flourishing locally, known as “facadeism”: when only the front wall of the building is preserved, and a multi-story, glass-concrete monster of an office, hotel, or shopping center is built around it. The result looks about the same as the mustache painted on the Mona Lisa, ridiculous and sad. Nonetheless, Ufa is an interesting