History of Buryatia

In ancient times, the territory of Transbaikalia was an integral part of the Central Asian historical and cultural area. The population of the region, directly or indirectly, for millennia participated in the grandiose historical events of this part of the planet.

An interesting page in the ancient history of Transbaikalia is its Hun period (the end of the 3rd century BC - the end of the 1st century AD). The Hunnic Empire assembled diverse ethnic tribes, primarily Proto-Mongolian, partly Proto-Tungus and Proto-Iranian tribes. According to historical evidence, the Huns created a powerful state of nomads of Central Asia, which existed for three centuries. The subsequent state formations of the nomads succeeded each other for millennia before the formation of the Mongol Empire in 1206, in which Genghis Khan united all the main Mongolian tribes. Strictly obeying the state discipline, the peoples of Transbaikalia participated in the conquest campaigns of Genghis Khan and his successors. After the collapse of the empire of Genghis Khan, the Mongolian state, torn apart by feudal strife, continued to exist. The tribes that roamed in Transbaikalia and the Cisbaikalia invariably remained in its composition.

In the 16th century, the Russian empire began intensively expand its borders to the east. Major historical events, advancing towards Baikal, touched the fate of the peoples who lived in these territories. In 1666, on the high bank of the river Uda, the Russian Cossacks built a wooden fortress, which laid the foundation for the large merchant city of Verkhneudinsk, which later became the capital of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude.

The establishment of stable borderlines by Russia led to the isolation of the Buryat tribes from the rest of the Mongolian world. The tsarist government established it’s administrative and management system in Transbaikalia, but internal self-government was carried out by the Buryat nobility under the control of the East Siberian administration. The construction of the Trans-Siberian railway, passing through the territory of the Trans-Baikal region, as well as the traditional caravan routes linking Russia with the countries of South-East Asia, led to intensive economic development of the region in the 18-19th centuries. May 30, 1923, The Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. Even earlier, two Buryat-Mongolian autonomous regions were created within the RSFSR and the Far Eastern Republic (a buffer state created by the Soviet government for tactical purposes)

On May 30, 1923, the Presidium of the All-Union Central Executive Committee adopted a decree on the merger of these regions into a republic with a center in the city of Verkhneudinsk.

The capital of Buryat-Mongolia in 1934 was renamed Ulan-Ude. In 1937, a number of districts were withdrawn from the republic, based on which two Buryat autonomous regions were formed, which were part of neighboring regions: Aginsky within the Chita and Ust-Ordynsky districts in the Irkutsk region.

In 1958, the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR received a new name - the Buryat ASSR.

On October 8, 1990, the state sovereignty of the Buryat Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed and the renunciation of the status of an autonomous republic was declared. On March 27, 1991, the parliament of Buryatia excluded the definition of "Soviet" and "Socialist" from the name of the republic, and it received a modern name. Since 1994, the present Constitution is in force. It establishes the separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial powers, and defines a system of public authorities that includes the President, the Government, the People's Khural, the Constitutional Court, as well as the Supreme Court and other judicial bodies.

In Buryatia, various religions and confessions peacefully coexist. The most common and traditional of them are Buddhism and Orthodox Christianity. In Buryatia, there is a center of Buddhism of Russia, and the first Buddhist nunnery is being built.

The indigenous population of the republic is the Buryats. Buryat culture societies are registered in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev and Irkutsk. More than 300 public associations are registered in the republic, and traditionally, the republic has a quiet social and political situation. 

Ulan-Ude (Verkhneudinsk) is the capital of Buryatia

The city of Ulan-Ude is the administrative, political, economic and cultural center of the Republic of Buryatia. It is one of the oldest major cities in Siberia and the Far East. Ulan-Ude is located in a picturesque place. From the northern and southern sides the city is bordered by mountains covered with coniferous forests, and to the west of it stretches the Ivolginsky Valley. Through the city, like giant arteries, the Zabaikalsky beauty-river Selenga and the fleeting Uda carry their waters.

The history of the creation and development of the city is inextricably linked with the historical process of voluntary entry of Buryatia into a centralized Russian state, with the history of cohabitation and activity of the Buryat and Russian peoples in the economic development of Transbaikalia, the richest region of Siberia.

The history of Ulan-Ude, like almost all old Siberian cities, begins with the construction of a winter hut, a prison. In 1666, a Russian cossack detachment set up a small wooden house on the mouth of the Uda River, on a high rocky shore, called the "Udin Cossack winter". Udinsky winter hut was created mainly to collect yasak.

Further development of the Udinsky winter hut, turning it into a jail, and then into the city was greatly facilitated by its very advantageous geographical location - at the crossroads of Russia's main trade routes with China and Mongolia. Given the convenient geographical and strategic location of the Udinsky winter hut, the Moscow government decided to build a jail (military town) here. In 1689, its construction was completed, and the jail was named Verkhneudinsk. In 1690, Verkhneudinsky prison was renamed into the city. Verkhneudinsk, in terms of administration, from the eighties of the XVII century, was part of the Irkutsk voivodeship. Occupying a favorable position on the trade route of Russia with China and Mongolia, Verkhneudinsk comparatively quickly turned into one of the main shopping centers of Russia in the East. Here, trade duties were levied and, essentially, all the trade of Russia with other countries was controlled.

Entrepreneurship in Buryatia has a rich history. Fairs have been held in Verkhneudinsk since 1780. A little later, the construction of the Living Rooms (1791-1856) began in the center of the city, which have survived to this day. Famous merchants of those years were Mitrofan Kurbatov, Peter Frolov, Iakin Frolov, and Petr Trunev.

The development of industry in the city was associated with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was conducted from two sides, from the West and the East simultaneously, for 13 years, from 1892 to 1905. August 15, 1899 residents of Verkhneudinsk met the first train.

The Trans-Siberian Railway connected Verkhneudinsk with the entire country, and by 1913 there were already 13,000 inhabitants in the city.

Nowadays, Ulan-Ude is a large industrial center of the Republic of Buryatia.