The Personal Archive of the Bashkir Educator and Writer of the Second Half of the 19th Century Mukhametsalym Umetbaev

The article reviews the history of creation and studies of the personal provenance fond of Bashkir the scientist, educator, and writer of the second half of the 19th century Mukhametsalim Umetbaev, which is presently stored in the Scientific Archive of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The author points out that only a small part of fond materials dating from the 18th to early 20th century has been studied and introduced into scientific use. The originals and handwritten copies of numerous official documents of the Orenburg and Ufa gubernia boards on social and economic problems of the Bashkir and other peoples of the region, biographies and fates of individual historical figures haven't come to the attention of researchers and local historians. Many of the educator's personal documents; publications, scientific, pedagogical, and historical works; ethnographic and folklore records; dictionaries drafts; appeals and reports to various authorities; poetic and prosaic translations from different languages; letters and diaries; texts on folk medicine and crafts; memoirs; handwritten and printed copies of personal papers remain little studied. Materials concerning his friends, relatives, and acquaintances, among which there were famous scientists, writers, religious and state figures, should be known to researchers. The fond contains rich illustrative materials (drawings and photographs) and also biographical data on Bashkir, Tatar, and Russian poets of the 19th century of little renown and their works as well. Fond materials are of great value for historians, ethnographers, sociologists, linguists, folklorists, and literary critics. The author has prepared a brief scientific description of M. Umetbaev's written heritage and published it as a book, which can serve as a fond guide for anyone interested in life and activities of M. Umetbaev or in social, economical, literary, and cultural past of the peoples of the Ural and Volga region.