Belebei

a city in the Bashkir ASSR, located in the Bugul’ma-Belebei uplands. It is the last station on the rail siding from the Ufa-Kuibyshev line. In 1967 its population was 32,000. The center of the major Shkapovskii petroleum region, it has a machine-building plant, which produces woodworking machinery. There are meat-processing and milk-processing plants and a distillery. The city also manufactures building materials and has a factory producing standard designs for cars and metal products. There is a technicum for mechanization and electrification in agriculture, a medical school, and a teachers’ college. Belebei was founded in 1757 and became a city in 1781. The medicinal koumiss health resorts of Aksakovo and Glukhovskaia are nearby.