information:classification, stylistic:tone, structural:reformatting
Terminology

The name "Bashkortostan" derives from the name of the Bashkir ethnic group. While the root of the name is Turkic (being a combination of ' baş ', which in Turkish can mean head, chief, main, principal and "qurt" meaning wolf, one of the animals regarded as sacred to Turkic peoples); the suffix -stan is Persian, commonly used for many Eurasian territorial names. Bashkirs speak the Bashkir language, which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic language group.