Historical cities of Bashkortostan as an important tourism resource

The article for the first time discusses in the context of the region the historical cities of Bashkortostan as potential tour- ist centers except Ufa. It is analyzed from the point of the necessity for new approaches to the problem of a substantial increasing domestic and incoming tourist flows in Bashkortostan as provided in the framework of the “Region Develop- ment Strategy until 2030”. The authors explore the history of emergence and further development of Birsk, Sterlitamak, Belebey, and Beloretsk, and their features, caused by historical factors. The article provides the information about current economy state, lead- ing enterprises, population, and the number of culture and sport institutions. The authors give brief comparative description of historical and cultural potential of the historical cities in the republic (the number of cultural heritage sites under state protection; the degree of preservation of historic planning and histori- cal ensembles). The article distinguishes the most interesting objects for tourist, and characterizes the tourism infra- structure of these cities and the perspectives and ways of their usage in tourism. The norms of the Russian and regional legislation on cultural heritage protection, envisaging the inclusion of settlements in the lists of federal and regional significance are given. The authors substantiate the expediency of incorporating Birsk city, as the object of the priority regional importance, in the list of historical settlements of the Bashkortostan Republic.