The history of Buryatia is based on a much more ancient character than many people think. Already in the XlV century BC, a developed culture existed on its territory, which archaeologists called the culture of slab graves due to the fact that its representatives had a special way of burial, based on the folding of specially processed stone slabs of recognizable graves. Subsequently, proto-Mongol and Mongol tribes, as well as some Turkic peoples, left their traces on the territory of Transbaikalia.
History of Buryatia before the Mongols
People on the banks of the Ona River settled in the Upper Paleolithic. There were also later settlements, however, most of the sites of the ancient man on the territory of modern Buryatia, although they existed for quite a long time in one place, did not survive to our time.
At the turn of a new era on the territory of Transbaikalia, where Buryatia is located today, the first state formations founded by the Xiongnu tribes appear. A century later, Buryatia fell under the control of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and later under the rule of the Uighurs.
BIn the tenth and eleventh centuries, a significant part of Buryatia fell under the rule of the Khitan Mongols, who imposed tribute on the local population, and later began to conquer neighboring tribes. At that time, Buryatia did not represent a centralized state formation, but rather resembled an ethno-cultural region, united by a common history, but under the rule of various rulers. This state of affairs continued until the seventeenth century.
Geography and climate of Buryatia
Located in the heart of Asia, Buryatia stretches along the eastern shore of Lake Baikal, which is located in the south of Eastern Siberia. Such a significant extension from south to north also determines a significant climatic diversity throughout the entire area of Buryatia, which is 351,300 square kilometers.
In addition to the great length, the climate of the republic is also influenced by large elevation changes. The lowest point of the region is the water level in Lake Baikal and its shores, and the highest is the snow-white, glacier-covered peak of Munku-Sardyk, which belongs to the eastern part of the Sayans.
At the same time, the southern part of the relief of the Republic of Buryatia is formed by the Selenginsky middle mountains, on the territory of which the formation of the water basin of the Selenga River takes place. The minimum elevation is 456 meters above sea level.
The geography of Buryatia also determines the climatic regime on its territory, which is characterized by a noticeable seasonality with a pronounced hot summer and a long coldin winter. Thus, from a climatic point of view, the republic belongs to the continental climate zone. On the other hand, significant elevation changes create the necessary conditions for altitudinal zonation.
An important distinguishing feature of the Buryat climate is considered to be a significant duration of sunshine, which ranges from 1900 to 2200 hours a year.
Wildlife of Buryatia
The population of Buryatia is 984,495 people, which, together with a large territory and a high proportion of the urban population, creates all the necessary conditions for preserving the virgin purity of nature.
Of course, the most popular natural site in this region is Lake Baikal, which attracts many tourists with its beauty and diverse natural world, the indisputable symbol of which is the Baikal seal.
Wild boars, wolves, musk deer, roe deer, ermine, lynx, roe deer and many other species of animals, including those listed in the Red Book, live in the Buryat taiga. To save the local fauna, the diversity of which reaches five hundred species, nature protection zones are being created, such as the Baikal and Barguzinsky biosphere reserves.
Water resources of Buryatia
Such a significant natural diversity that a traveler can observe on the territory of the republic could not exist without significant water reserves that feed the taiga, covering 83% of the area of Buryatia.
Hydrologists count in the territoryrepublics up to thirty thousand rivers, the total length of which is one hundred and fifty thousand kilometers. However, only twenty-five of them are classified as large and medium, while the rest are considered small, not exceeding two hundred kilometers in length each.
The overwhelming majority of the water runoff of all the rivers of Buryatia belongs to three large basins: the Angara and Lena rivers, as well as the Baikal Lake basin. There are also more than thirty-five thousand lakes in the republic, but the most significant both in terms of the area of \u200b\u200bthe water mirror and in terms of the volume of water stored in them include Gusinoe, Bolshoi and Malaya Eravnye, as well as Lake Baunt. As for Lake Baikal, about 60% of its area is located on the territory of Buryatia.
Recent history
The modern borders and state system of Buryatia took shape as a result of the civil war that followed the October Revolution. From 1917 to 1920, several governments existed on the territory of the republic, both simultaneously and one after the other, acting in the interests of the Buryats and the tsarist government.
In March 1920, after the liberation of Buryatia by the Red Army, the national autonomy of the Buryats was created. After numerous administrative reforms, mergers and separations, by 1922 the borders of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR were finally formed, which existed with minor changes until 1958, when the Buryat Autonomous Republic was created, which was part of the RSFSR. At that time, the capital of Buryatia was Verkhneudinsk, renamed Ulan-Ude on the wave of national revival that followed the collapse of the USSR. From this moment begins a new chapter in the national history of the Buryats.
Immediately after the collapse of the USSR in Buryatia, a declaration of state sovereignty was adopted, which the People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia declared invalid in 2002. In 2011, the entry of Buryatia into Russia, which took place three hundred and fifty years ago, was widely celebrated in the republic.
Buryatia today
Modern Buryatia is a republic within Russia. She has all the necessary attributes of state power, such as a flag, emblem and anthem. In addition, the Declaration of State Sovereignty was in force until recently.
From the point of view of the law on the administrative structure, Buryatia is divided into twenty-one municipal districts and two cities of national importance. The official language of Buryatia, along with Russian, is Buryat. This provision is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic.
The Republic is one of the most urbanized in the Russian Federation, as the vast majority of the population of Buryatia live in cities, of which there are six. The largest cities with a population of more than twenty thousand people include: Ulan-Ude, Kyakhta, Gusinoozersk and Severobaikalsk. The capital of the republic is the city of Ulan-Ude, whose population exceeds four hundred and thirty-one thousand people. This is the main industrial and economic center of the republic.
Time in Buryatia for fivehours ahead of Moscow, which means that the republic is in the UTC + 8 time zone.
State power
State power in the republic is exercised by the Head of Buryatia, the Government, the courts, as well as the People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia, which exercises legislative power, being a representative body of people's power.
The People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia consists of 66 deputies who are elected using a mixed system that includes both single-member constituencies and party lists.
In its modern form, the People's Khural has existed since 1994, when it was created on the basis of the executive committee of the Buryat ASSR. During the twenty-three years of its existence, the Khural was convened five times. The competence of this state body includes the preparation and discussion, as well as the initiation of legislative acts affecting all areas of public life, such as security, he alth and the economy.
The structure of the economy of Buryatia
Despite its small population, Buryatia is one of the subjects of the federation whose economy has developed in accordance with regional and climatic conditions.
In accordance with the level of its economic development, the republic ranks sixtieth among other regions of Russia, located between the Novgorod region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
The main enterprises that produce the gross domestic product of the republic are located in the capital of Buryatia - the city of Ulan-Ude. For example, in the capital there areLocomotive Repair Plant, as well as Aircraft and Instrument-Making Plants. In addition, there are numerous transport, communications and energy enterprises in the city.
The most developed branch of the Buryat economy - the service sector - is best represented in the capital of the republic. Of the entire population of Buryatia, more than half live in Ulan-Ude, so it is not surprising that the main end-user-oriented enterprises are concentrated here.
Culture of the region
Despite the fact that, in accordance with the plan for the creation of national autonomies, which was implemented during the first years of the existence of the USSR and the pattern of territories for the creation of state entities, the overwhelming majority of the population of the republic are Russians.
In Buryatia, the population is represented by two large ethnic groups, the Buryats proper, who have lived on these lands for many centuries, and the Russians, who began active colonization of Transbaikalia at the end of the 15th century.
The development of the south of Eastern Siberia by Russian pioneers began with the construction of the Udinsky prison, which for a century served as one of the important fortifications in this region. It was regularly rebuilt and modernized as it was twice besieged by Mongol tribes controlled by neighboring China. However, for a century and a half, most of the buildings in it were wooden.
Architectural heritage of Ulan-Ude
The Hodegetrievsky Cathedral, built in 1741, became the first stone structure. The same cathedral servedthe point from which the new stone city began to rebuild.
For example, today's Lenin Street was the first street that connected Odigitrievsky Cathedral with Nagornaya Square, later renamed Sovetov Square, which today is the main square of Buryatia. Before the establishment of Soviet power in the republic, the street was called Bolshaya Nikolayevskaya.
