Buryatia

Buryatia,officially theRepublic of Buryatia,is arepublicofRussialocated in theRussian Far East. Formerly part of theSiberian Federal District, it has been administered as part of theFar Eastern Federal Districtsince 2018. It bordersIrkutsk OblastandLake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world to the north,Zabaykalsky Kraito the east,Tuvato the west andMongoliato the south.Itscapitalis the city ofUlan-Ude. It has an area of 351,300 square kilometers (135,600 sq mi) with a population of 978,588 (2021 Census).It is home to the indigenousBuryats.
The republic is located in thesouth-central regionofSiberiaalong the eastern shore ofLake Baikal.
Major rivers include:
Over 80% of the republic's territory is located in the mountainous region, including theBaikal Mountainson the northern shores ofLake Baikal, theUlan-Burgaseast of the lake, and theSelenga Highlandsin the south near theMongolia–Russia border.
The republic's natural resources includegold,tungsten,zinc,uranium, and more.
The climate varies, with the capital Ulan-Ude having a humidsteppeclimate and the north with ahumid continental climate.
Mongolian peoplehave lived around the area of Lake Baikal since the fifth century, withMongolic-relatedSlab Gravecultural monuments found inBaikalterritory.Over time, the Mongolic peoples of the regions developed into distinct groups, one of which became the Buryats. Further divisions of the Buryats came from those living on the western shore of Lake Baikal, with better land for agriculture, and those in the east, who practicednomadismmore regularly and continued residing in moveable feltyurts. As a result of the superior farmland, the western side of Lake Baikal was settled by European peasants during the time of theRussian Empire– western Buryats were more exposed to and influenced by the culture, religions, and economy of their European neighbors, whereas the eastern Buryats maintained closer ties to other Mongolic peoples, Buddhism, and Asian civilizations.
The territory of Buryatia has been governed by theXiongnuEmpire (209 BC-93 CE) and MongolianXianbei state(93–234),Rouran Khaganate(330–555),First Turkic Khaganate(552-603),Eastern Turkic Khaganate(682-744),Tang dynasty(647–784),Uyghur Khaganate(744-840),Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate(840-1208),Mongol Empire(1206–1368), andNorthern Yuan(1368–1635).Medieval Mongol tribes such as theMerkit,Bayads,Barga MongolsandTümedsinhabited Buryatia.
Cossacksand other tsarists officials began moving eastward into the western Buryat lands in 1625, where they estimated 30,000 Buryats were living in southeastern Siberia, collecting tribute from other, small Siberian tribes.The Buryats resisted the incorporation into the Russian Empire's tribute system (yasak) that demanded a yearly supply offurs; it was not until the 1680s that the last of the eastern Buryat lands were forced to participate in the yasak system. In 1666, the fort of Udinskoye was founded. This area later became known as Verkhneudinsk – in 1934, it was renamed Ulan-Ude, the present-day capital of Buryatia.
From 1727 it was the border crossing for theKyakhta tradebetween Russia andChina.Kyakhta's founder, theSerbSava Vladislavich, established it as a trading point between Russia and theQing Empire.The 1820 reforms ofMikhail Speranskyestablished indirect rule over Buryatia by codifying the local clan leaders as official members of the "steppeduma" in order to incorporate them into the existing imperial government.
Buddhism was recognized as an official religion of the Russian Empire byEmpress Elizabethin 1741, with the firstPandito Khambo Lama, the spiritual leader of Buryat Buddhists, elected in 1764. The first person to serve in this role wasDamba Dorzha Zaiaev(1711–1776). At the time of theBolshevik Revolution,Dashi-Dorzho Itigilovserved as the 12th Pandito KhamboLamaof Eastern Siberia from 1911 to 1917.Itigilov stepped down in 1917 at the time of the revolution and later encouraged his students to flee to Mongolia, though he refused to flee himself.
National movements, including that of Buryatia, began to foment after theFebruary Revolutionin 1917. From March 1917, the leading Buryatintelligentsiaorganized a number of conferences in cities such asPetrograd,Chita,Irkutsk, and Verkhneudinsk (present-day Ulan-Ude) and invited representatives from Buryat administrative districts of theIrkutskandTransbaikaliaregions. The culmination of these conferences was the first All-Buryat Congress in 23-25 April 1917 in Chita, where activists advocated for a self-governing Buryat Autonomous Region, based on the models ofPolandandFinland, with an elected body, the Buryat National Duma, that all Buryats, men and women, over the age of 18 and without criminal convictions, would participate in. This Duma would elect a permanent executive body, the Buryat National committee, which would take on responsibilities such as organizing the elections, assembling the Buryat Duma, and publishing works in the Buryat language.Among other topics discussed at the Congress were the establishment of an Education Council to create Buryat schools, trained educators, and curricula that included the history of the Buryats and Mongols and Buryat studies.
After the November Revolution in 1917, the Buryats bid for independence was complicated by the arrival of aJapanese expeditionary forceinto Buryatia in 1918.The Buryat national leaders saw the Japanese as potential and critical allies in assisting the independence movement, but the cooperation ultimately failed due to the conflicting agendas.The Red Armyadvanced in Buryatia in 1920 and continued toOuter Mongoliain 1921. Attracted to the promises ofself-determinationand territorial autonomy by theBolsheviks, and having lost the cooperation of the Japanese, the Buryat leaders embraced the idea of building a Buryat nation with the new Soviet state. In 1923, theBuryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic(Buryat:Буряадай Автономито Совет Социалис Республика;Russian:Бурятская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика) was created as a result of the merger ofState of BuryatandBuryat Oblastand promised territorial autonomy.
In 1929, arevolt was suppressed in Buryatia, caused by collectivisation and repression ofBuddhism. In 1937,Aga BuryatiaandUst-Orda Buryatiawere detached from theBuryat-Mongolian ASSRand merged withChitaandIrkutsk Oblasts, respectively. In 1958, the name "Mongol" was removed from the name of the republic and simply became theAutonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Buryatiawithin the vast multi-ethnic, diverse Soviet Union.
TheIvolginsky Datsanwas opened in 1945 as the only Buddhist spiritual centre of the USSR, home to theCentral Spiritual Board of Buddhists of the USSR, the state-controlledsangha.
The Buryat intelligentsia were active throughout Buryatia and beyond, intoTibetand Mongolia. At the turn of the 20th century, Buryats leaders, such asBatu-dalai Ochirovand Mikhail Bogdanov, began actively writing political articles about the threat to Buryatia and Buryat existence from Russia. Despite their noted influence from 1900 to 1930, most of them werepurged, killed outright or sent toconcentration camps, in the 1930s.
The leader of the Buryat ASSR from 1962 to 1984 wasAndrei Urupkheevich Modogoev.In the 1970s, Soviet authorities began two major industrial projects in Buryatia: theGusinoozerskii power stationto the south of Ulan-Ude and the construction of theBaikal–Amur Mainlinerailway in northern Buraytia. The construction of both projects, particularly the railway, required recruiting campaigns to bring workers from other parts of the country to Buryatia. Towns developed along the railroad, and the urban population in northern Buryatia doubled between 1979 and 1989.In addition to the Russians who moved to Buryatia for work, Buryats from other parts of southern Siberia also migrated to the Buryat ASSR, particularly Ulan-Ude and other cities for jobs and educational opportunities. Prior to World War II, less than 10% of Buryats lived in urban areas, compared to almost half at the time of the fall of the Soviet Union. By 1989, one-third of the Buryat population of the Buryat ASSR was living in Ulan-Ude.
The Buryat ASSR declared itssovereigntyin 1990 and adopted the nameRepublic of Buryatiain 1992. However, it remained an autonomous republic within theRussian Federation. On 11 July 1995 Buryatia signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.This agreement was abolished on 15 February 2002.
Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union,autonomous republicssuch as Buryatia did not have the right to secede. However they retained considerableautonomy, with a separate legislature and president. However this autonomy has been curtailed following the 2004 law passed byVladimir Putinthat decreed regional governors and presidents were to be appointed, rather than directly elected.
The head of the Republic is theHead(formerly President), who the voters of the republic elect for a four-year term. From 2004 to 2012 the head of Buryatia (along with all other heads of regions in Russia) was nominated directly by theRussian President.
Between 1991 and 2007, the President wasLeonid Vasilyevich Potapov, who was elected on 1 July 1994, re-elected in 1998 (with 63.25% of votes), and then re-elected again on 23 June 2002 (with over 67% of votes). Prior to the elections, Potapov was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic—the highest post at that time.
The current Head of the Republic isAlexey Tsydenov, who was elected by popular vote on 10 September 2017. Prior to this he was acting Head, having been appointed by Russian PresidentVladimir Putinin February 2017.
The Republic'sparliamentis thePeople's Khural, popularly elected every five years.  The People's Khural has 66 deputies and is currently dominated by the country's ruling party,United Russia, with 45 seats.Vladimir Anatolyevich Pavlovhas been Chairman of the People's Khural since September 2019.
TheRepublic's Constitutionwas adopted on 22 February 1994.
In the2024 Russian presidential election, which critics called rigged and fraudulent, PresidentVladimir Putinwon 87.96% of the vote in Buryatia.
As of 2013, Buryatia is divided into 21districts, 6citiesor towns, 16urban-type settlementsand 238selsovietsandsomons.
Population:972,021 (2010 Census);981,238 (2002 Census);1,041,119 (1989 Soviet census).
Source:
According to the2021 Census,ethnicRussiansmake up 64% of the republic's population, while the ethnicBuryatscomprise 32.5% of the population.  Other groups includeSoyots(0.5%) and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population.
Traditionally, Buryats adhered to belief systems that were based on the deification of nature, belief in spirits, and the possibility of their magic influence on the surroundings. They were led byshamans, who systematized tribal beliefs and cults. From the second half of the 17th century, beliefs and cults in the shamanic form were displaced byBuddhism, which became widespread in ethnic Buryatia. By the end of the 19th century, the majority of Buryats were part of the Buddhist tradition. A synthesis of Buddhism and traditional beliefs that formed a system of ecological traditions has constituted a major attribute of Buryat culture.In 2003, the Local Religious Organization of Shamans, Tengeri was officially registered as a religious organization in Buryatia.
As of a 2012 survey27.4% of the population adheres to theRussian Orthodox Church, 19.8% toBuddhism, 2% to theSlavic Native Faith,Tengrismor Buryatshamanism, 4% declares to beunaffiliatedChristian(excluding Protestants), 1% are Orthodox Christian believers without belonging to churches or are members of otherOrthodox churches, 1% are members ofProtestant churches. In addition, 25% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 13% to beatheist, and 10.8% follows another religion or did not give an answer to the survey.
Tibetan BuddhismandOrthodox Christianityare the most widespread religions in the republic. Many Slavs, who constitute around 67% of the population, are Russian Orthodox. Since the breakup of the USSR in 1991, a small number have converted to various Protestant denominations or toRodnovery, also known as the Slavic native faith. There are also someCatholicsamong the Slavs. Most of theGermans(0.11% of the population) are also Orthodox, so are some other non-European groups likeArmenians(0.23%),Georgians(0.03%), andSoyot(0.37%). Buryats constitute 30.04% of the total population.
Most urban Buryats are either Buddhist or Orthodox, while those in the rural areas often adhere toYellow shamanism, a mixture of shamanism and Buddhism, or toBlack shamanism.There are alsoTengristmovements.Siberian Tatarsare around 0.7% of the population. However, due to isolation from the main body of Tatars, many of them now are either non-religious or Orthodox.Islamis followed by immigrant groups likeAzerisandUzbeks, who constitute another 0.7% of the population.
The higher education institutions of the republic includeBuryat State University,Buryat State Academy of Agriculture,East Siberian State Academy of Arts and Culture, andEast Siberia State University of Technology and Management.
The republic's economy is composed of agricultural and commercial products includingwheat,vegetables,potatoes,timber,leather,graphite, andtextiles.Fishing,hunting,fur farming,sheepandcattle farming,mining, stock raising,engineering, andfood processingare also important economic generators.
The unemployment rate of Buryatia was 11% in 2020.
GDP pro person nominal in 2018 was 3,650 USDand PPP in 2009 was 11,148 USD.
Lake Baikalis a populartouristdestination, especially in summer.