Бурятия: Тарих, география және мәдениеті

First level administrative division of Russia

Over 80% of the republic's territory is located in the mountainous region, including the Baikal Mountains on the northern shores of Lake Baikal, the Ulan Burgas east of the lake, and the Selenga Highlands in the south near the Mongolia–Russia border.

The republic's natural resources include gold, tungsten, zinc, uranium, and more.

Mongolian people have lived around the area of Lake Baikal since the fifth century, with Mongolic related Slab Grave cultural monuments found in Baikal territory. 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 practiced nomadism more regularly and continued residing in moveable felt yurts. As a result of the superior farmland, the western side of Lake Baikal was settled by European peasants during the time of the Russian 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. Medieval Mongol tribes such as the Merkit, Bayads, Barga Mongols and Tümeds inhabited in Buryatia. From 1727 it was the border crossing for the Kyakhta trade between Russia and China. Kyakhta's founder, the Serb Sava Vladislavich, established it as a trading point between Russia and the Qing Empire. The 1820 reforms of Mikhail Speransky established indirect rule over Buryatia by codifying the local clan leaders as official members of the "steppe duma" in order to incorporate them into the existing imperial government. 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 Army advanced in Buryatia in 1920 and continued to Outer Mongolia in 1921. Attracted to the promises of self determination and territorial autonomy by the Bolsheviks, 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, the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (; Бурятская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика) was created as a result of the merger of State of Buryat and Buryat Oblast and promised territorial autonomy. In 1929, a revolt was suppressed in Buryatia, caused by collectivisation and repression of Buddhism. In 1937, Aga Buryatia and Ust Orda Buryatia were detached from the Buryat Mongolian ASSR and merged with Chita and Irkutsk Oblasts, respectively. In 1958, the name "Mongol" was removed from the name of the republic as it was fitting and simply became the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Buryatia within the vast multi ethnic, diverse Soviet Union. The Ivolginsky Datsan was opened in 1945 as the only Buddhist spiritual centre of the USSR, home to the Central Spiritual Board of Buddhists of the USSR, the state controlled sangha. The Buryat intelligentsia were active throughout Buryatia and beyond, into Tibet and Mongolia. At the turn of the 20th century, Buryats leaders, such as Batu dalai Ochirov and 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 were purged, killed outright or sent to concentration camps, in the 1930s. The leader of the Buryat ASSR from 1962 to 1984 was Andrei Urupkheevich Modogoev. In the 1970s, Soviet authorities began two major industrial projects in Buryatia: the Gusinoozerskii power station to the south of Ulan Ude and the construction of the Baikal–Amur Mainline railway 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. This agreement was abolished on 15 February 2002. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, autonomous republics such as Buryatia did not have the right to secede. However they retained considerable autonomy, with a separate legislature and president. However this autonomy has been curtailed following the 2004 law passed by Vladimir Putin that decreed regional governors and presidents were to be appointed, rather than directly elected. Between 1991 and 2007, the President was Leonid Vasilyevich Potapov, who was elected on July 1, 1994, re elected in 1998 (with 63.25% of votes), and then re elected again on June 23, 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 is Alexey Tsydenov, who was elected by popular vote on 10 September 2017. Prior to this he was acting Head, having been appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2017. The Republic's parliament is the People'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 Pavlov has been Chairman of the People's Khural since September 2019. The Republic's Constitution was adopted on February 22, 1994.

Census date 1926 1939 1959 1970 1979 1989 2002 2010 Total population 491,236 545,766 673,326 812,251 899,398 1,038,252 981,238 972,021 Average annual population growth +1.7% +1.1% +1.5% −0.4% −0.1% Males 248,513 467,984 Females 242,723 513,254 Females per 1000 males 977 1,097 Proportion urban 9.3% 59.6% Territory (km2) 368,392 351,334 351,334 351,334 351,334 351,334 351,334 351,334 Population density/km2 1.3 1.6 1.9 2.3 2.6 3.0 2.8 2.8

According to the 2021 Census, ethnic Russians make up 64% of the republic's population, while the ethnic Buryats comprise 32.5% of the population. Other groups include Soyots (0.5%) and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. Ethnicgroup 1926 Census1 1939 Census 1959 Census 1970 Census 1979 Census 1989 Census 2002 Census 2010 Census 2021 Census2 Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Buryats 214,95743.8% 116,382 21.3% 135,798 20.2% 178,660 22.0% 206,860 23.0% 249,525 24.0% 272,91027.8% 286,83930.0% 295,27332.5% Soyots 1610.0% 2,7390.3% 3,5790.4% 4,3160.5% Russians 258,79652.7% 393,05772.0% 502,56874.6% 596,96073.5% 647,78572.0% 726,16569.9% 665,51267.8% 630,78366.1% 581,76463.9% Tatars 3,0920.6% 3,8400.7% 8,0581.2% 9,9911.2% 10,2901.1% 10,4961.0% 8,1890.8% 6,8130.7% 4,0350.4% Evenks 2,8080.6% 1,8180.3% 1,3350.2% 1,6850.2% 1,5430.2% 1,6790.2% 2,3340.2% 2,9740.3% 2,9950.3% Ukrainians 1,9820.4% 13,3922.5% 10,1831.5% 10,7691.3% 15,2901.7% 22,8682.2% 9,5851.0% 5,6540.6% 2,0070.2% Others 9,4401.9% 17,2773.2% 15,3842.3% 14,1861.7% 17,6302.0% 27,5192.7% 19,9692.0% 18,3601.9% 19,3252.1% 1 In 1926, the Buryat Mongolian ASSR included Aga Buryatia, Ust Orda Buryatia, and Olkhonsky District. These territories were transferred to Chita and Irkutsk Oblasts in 1937. Consequently, the results of the 1926 census cannot be compared to the results of the censuses of 1939 and later. 2 68,873 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.

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 by shamans, who systematized tribal beliefs and cults. From the second half of the 17th century, beliefs and cults in the shamanic form were displaced by Buddhism, 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. There are also Tengrist movements. Siberian Tatars are 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. Islam is followed by immigrant groups like Azeris and Uzbeks, who constitute another 0.7% of the population.

The higher education institutions of the republic include Buryat State University, Buryat State Academy of Agriculture, East Siberian State Academy of Arts and Culture, and East Siberia State University of Technology and Management.

The republic's economy is composed of agricultural and commercial products including wheat, vegetables, potatoes, timber, leather, graphite, and textiles. Fishing, hunting, fur farming, sheep and cattle farming, mining, stock raising, engineering, and food processing are also important economic generators. The unemployment rate of Buryatia was 11% in 2020. GDP pro person nominal in 2018 was 3,650 USD and PPP in 2009 was 11,148 USD.

Lake Baikal is a popular tourist destination, especially in summer.