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Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area
// GENERAL INFORMATION
Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia in southwestern Irkutsk Region, bordering on nine of the region's districts. Its administrative center is the town of Ust-Ordynsky (pop. 13 300) 5111 km from Moscow. The time difference between Ust-Ordynsky and Moscow is +5 hours. It has total area of 22 400 km2 (0.4% of the Siberian Federal District, 0.1% of the RF, or 2.9% of Irkutsk Region).
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The area consists of 6 administrative districts and 77 rural administrations. There are no cities.
The population is 142 500 (0.1% of the RF population). Representatives of 79 different nationalities live in the area. The main nationalities are Russians (56.5% of the population), Buryats (36.3%), Tatars (3.2%), and Ukrainians (1.7%); the remaining nationalities make up 2.3% of the population.
HISTORY
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Settlement of the territory began about 25 000 years ago. The first Proto-Buryat tribes appeared in the Neolithic and Bronze ages. From the 12th to 16th centuries, the inhabitants of this land were subjects of the Mongol khans. The territory became part of the Russian state in the mid-16th century.
In 1922, the lands of the present-day autonomous area became part of the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Region of the RSFSR. The autonomous area was formed on the basis of a Central Executive Committee (TsIK) resolution of September 26, 1937, by separating four districts from the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR). Until September 16, 1958, it was called the Ust-Ordynsky Buryat-Mongol National Area. Under a Federal agreement of 1992, the Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area received the status of an independent administrative unit of the Russian Federation, while remaining a constituent part of Irkutsk Region.
RESOURCES
The area is located in Cisbaikalia (Predbaikalye; the area west of Lake Baikal) on the southern Lena-Angara Plateau at elevations of more than 1000 m. It lies within the Irkutsk-Balagan forest steppe zone with its scenic landscapes of broad meadows and pastures alternating with coniferous forests. The surface is heavily cut by river valleys.
Oil and gas fields and deposits of hard (bituminous) coal, refractory clay, and rock salt have been discovered in the area. Gypsum from the Zalarinskoe deposit in Nukutsky District is an important nonmetallic mineral. Gypsum produced at the Nukutsky mine has good processing characteristics and is the only source of raw material for manufacturing binding materials and cement in Siberia and the Far East. Most of the coal is mined from the large reserves of the Kharanutsky and Alarsky open-pit mines.
Forest land covers a total area of 1 090 300 hectares [0.3% of the forest lands in the Siberian Federal District (SFD)]; this includes 614 400 hectares of coniferous forest (0.3% of the total coniferous forest land in the SFD). Total timber reserves of the main forest-forming species amount to 151.4 million m3 (0.5% of the reserves in the SFD). The predominant coniferous species are pine, larch, spruce, cedar, and fir.
The area has good potential for developing recreation and tourism. Three health centers (Alar, Nagalyk, and Nukutskaya Matsesta) are currently operating. The popularity of Nukutskaya Matsesta is due to its hydrosulfuric mineral spring similar to that of Matsesta in Sochi, which is used to treat a wide variety of ailments. The region also has historical and cultural monuments from several periods, the oldest being a human habitation dating from the Paleolithic.
AUTHORITIES
The Duma of Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area is the highest legislative (representative) body. It is made up of 15 deputies elected for a four-year term.
The Administration of Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area is the highest executive body.
ECONOMY
The leading industrial sectors in terms of their share of total industrial output are forestry, woodworking, and pulp and paper (39.6% of total output), fuel (29.3%), power (11.9%), food (8.4%), building materials (6.2%), light industry (3.3%), engineering and metalworking (0.6%), and others (0.7%).
There are 26 industrial companies in the area, the largest of which are the Nukutsky gypsum mine, two open-pit coal mines in Nukutsky and Ekhirit-Bulagatsky districts, and a number of forest industry companies.
The area specializes in agriculture owing to favorable natural climatic conditions and closeness to a large consumer market in the city of Irkutsk. The presence of a large Buryat population, for whom cattle herding is a traditional occupation, has also contributed to agricultural development. About one-third of the agricultural products of Irkutsk Region are currently produced in Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area.
The agricultural industry comprises 95 agricultural enterprises of various forms of ownership and 774 farms set up within the last ten years.
A total of 837 000 hectares of agricultural land, which include 570 000 hectares of tillage, are in use by landholders.
Grain growing and livestock breeding are the leading agricultural sectors. Livestock breeding is oriented towards beef, dairy, and wool production; sheep, goat, pig, and poultry farming are well developed.
The average profitability level of agricultural enterprises in the area is 29%.
The area's transportation system includes rail, road, and river transport. The Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the southwestern part of the area, and two federal highways run from north to south. There is shipping on the Angara River.
CULTURE AND ART
The Buryats, an ancient, distinctive people with a rich historical culture and traditions, live in the Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area. From the earliest times, each settlement had a master craftsman renowned for his art, whether an engraver or a woodcarver. Talented painters and sculptors worked in Buddhist monasteries (datsans). Buryat craftsmen were noted for the age-old technique of inlaying silver and tin on iron. They used such techniques as casting, stamping, engraving, filigree, gilding, graining, and incrustation with precious and semiprecious stones. Knives known as khutaga, which were supposed to protect a person from every kind of evil, were an essential ornament for both men and women. Silver overlay and incrusted stones decorated the handles and sheaths. The overlay on the knives was made of thin silver plates with images of dragons, lions, bats, and a "good luck knot" depicted on them. Craftsmen also made firestarting kits (khete) consisting of a steel bar and a leather case for storing flint and tinder, so that courage, strength, and good fortune would accompany a person who carried one. The case was made of dark leather with painted silver overlay fixed on it. The third essential item of men's clothing consisted of pendants, also decorated with ornaments and symbols. For Buryat women, the ornaments they wore had to correspond to their age. Newborn girls had their ears pierced with coral earrings to protect them from evil forces. With each passing year, the girl was given a new ornament; but after she married, their number began to decrease. Coral-decorated caps and headdresses were an essential item of women's clothing. They were made of a birchbark base covered with velvet or silk. The headdresses were decorated with coral, with additions of amber and lapis lazuli; strings of coral were fastened at the temples. Women also wore various ornaments wound in their braids. Figured plates with scarlet coral in the center were tied to the ends of the braids. Russian, Chinese, and Japanese silver coins strung on a silver ring were used as hair ornaments. Girls and young women covered their index, ring, and little fingers with rings.
The Buryats had long had a single religion-shamanism. Buryat shamans passed on folk traditions and legends and the ancient art of healing with natural remedies and herbs from generation to generation. The shamans' powers were defined by the number of initiations, of which there nine in all. The ninth degree of initiation, known as zaarin, was extremely rare. Buryat shamans did not build temples, because nature was their temple. They did not cut down trees near a spring or disturb the peace and quiet of any living thing in the forest. Sacred places were set aside for shamanist celebrations and offerings; there were many of these places in the western Baikal area (Pribaikalye). Buddhism began to spread through the area in the early 18th century aided by Mongolian and Tibetan lamas. Buddhism introduced the culture of Tibet and Mongolia and brought Tibetan medicine to the people. Medical schools (manba-datsany) were built, and ancient works were recopied there and new ones that included the experience of Buryat lama doctors were compiled. Religious art developed with the arrival of Lamaism. Sculptures of Lamaist divinities were made for monasteries. A metal sculpture of White Tara, the goddess of mercy, housed in the State Museum of Eastern Art in Moscow has enormous value. After the October Revolution, the fight against shamanists and Buddhists began in the area, and Old Mongolian writing was replaced first with the Latin alphabet and then with the Russian alphabet.
The most important Buryat holiday is Sagaalgan, the festival of the White Month or New Year's according to the lunar calendar. Celebration of Sagaalgan began as a result of the influence of Buddhism and Mongolian-speaking peoples. People greet the new year early in the morning on the first day of the new year. Dairy products appear on the holiday table; their white color symbolizes happiness and prosperity. Old useless things are burned in a bonfire as a way of getting rid of all the bad things and sins of the past year. Another holiday is the Buryat national holiday of Surkharbaan (target shooting), celebrated annually on the first Sunday in June. Besides archery, the holiday program includes horse races and wrestling contests, as well as performances by folklore groups in Buryat national costumes. The best known number is the Buryat folk dance known as the ekhor, an ancient rhythmic magical dance. It is performed in the sunward direction (clockwise) with incantations and accelerating movements as if propelling the shaman and the souls of sacrificial animals to the heavens. The dance begins in the evening and lasts all night until dawn.
National art always attracts attention and inspires admiration of people who have preserved the language and culture of their ancestors. Applied art, jewelry making, and photography are quite well developed in the area.
Development of the region's rich cultural and historical heritage is very important in the Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area. Native trades, the national musical culture, songs, dances, restoration of historical and architectural sites and libraries, and holding celebrations and festivals are all included in the revival program. Research on the national culture and training of native personnel are also part of the program.
TOURISM
Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area is located on the Lena-Angara Plateau amidst steppes and meadows with small stands of coniferous forest. Scenic landscapes, natural splendors, and favorable climatic conditions create excellent opportunities for developing tourism and recreation.
The area places high emphasis on those interested in active tourism, and a large number of easy hiking and boating routes have been developed for them. The diversity of plant and animal life also offers unique opportunities for hunting and fishing vacations.
One of the country's major rivers, the Angara, with its tributaries the Zalary, Osa, Ida, and Kuda rivers, flows through the area; tributaries of the Lena River flow through the extreme northeastern part. A ravine-cut chain of hills located along the Kuda River attracts hang-gliders and paragliders. Both training flights and free flights take off from these hills. The hills have an average elevation of about 40 m, with isolated higher sections of elevations from 60 to 100 m. Hang-gliders have claimed several of these sections and gather every year in late July and early August for flying camps.
The Nukutskaya Matsesta and Alar health centers with their hydrosulfuric mineral springs are a source of pride for residents of Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area. Mineral water baths are used in the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, heart and blood vessels, urogenital system, kidneys, respiratory system, and consequences of poisoning by heavy metal salts and radioactive substances. Table water is used to treat the digestive organs affected by metabolic disorders. Both adults and children, including patients with cerebral palsy, are treated at Nukutskaya Matsesta.
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