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// Republics
// Adygea, Republic of >>
// Altai (Gorno-Altai), Republic of >>
// Bashkortostan, Republic of >>
// Buryatia, Republic of
// Chechnya, Republic of >>
// Chuvashia, Republic of >>
// Dagestan, Republic of >>
// Ingushetia, Republic of >>
// Kabardino-Balkaria, Republic of >>
// Kalmykia, Republic of >>
// Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Republic of >>
// Karelia, Republic of >>
// Khakassia, Republic of >>
// Komi, Republic of >>
// Mari El, Republic of >>
// Mordovia, Republic of >>
// North Ossetia, Republic of >>
// Sakha (Yakutia), Republic of >>
// Tatarstan, Republic of >>
// Tuva, Republic of >>
// Udmurtia, Republic of >>
// Territories (Krai)
// Altai Territory >>
// Khabarovsk Territory >>
// Krasnodar Territory >>
// Krasnoyarsk Territory >>
// Primorye (Maritime) Territory >>
// Stavropol Territory >>
// Regions
// Amur Region >>
// Arkhangelsk Region >>
// Astrakhan Region >>
// Belgorod Region >>
// Bryansk Region >>
// Chelyabinsk Region >>
// Chita Region >>
// Irkutsk Region >>
// Ivanovo Region >>
// Kaliningrad Region >>
// Kaluga Region >>
// Kamchatka Region >>
// Kemerovo Region >>
// Kirov Region >>
// Kostroma Region >>
// Kurgan Region >>
// Kursk Region >>
// Leningrad Region >>
// Lipetsk Region >>
// Magadan Region >>
// Moscow Region >>
// Murmansk Region >>
// Nizhny Novgorod Region >>
// Novgorod Region >>
// Novosibirsk Region >>
// Omsk Region >>
// Orel Region >>
// Orenburg Region >>
// Penza Region >>
// Perm Region >>
// Pskov Region >>
// Rostov Region >>
// Ryazan Region >>
// Sakhalin Region >>
// Samara Region >>
// Saratov Region >>
// Smolensk Region >>
// Sverdlovsk Region >>
// Tambov Region >>
// Tomsk Region >>
// Tula Region >>
// Tver Region >>
// Tyumen Region >>
// Ulyanovsk Region >>
// Vladimir Region >>
// Volgograd Region >>
// Vologda Region >>
// Voronezh Region >>
// Yaroslavl Region >>
// Federal Cities
// Moscow >>
// St. Petersburg >>
// Autonomous Areas (Okrugs)
// Agin-Buryatia Autonomous Area >>
// Chukotka Autonomous Area >>
// Evenk Autonomous Area >>
// Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area >>
// Komi-Permyak Autonomous Area >>
// Koryak Autonomous Area >>
// Nenets Autonomous Area >>
// Taimyr (Dolgan-Nenets) Autonomous Area >>
// Ust-Ordynsky Buryat Autonomous Area >>
// Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area >>
// Autonomous Regions
// Jewish Autonomous Region >>
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Buryat Republic
// GENERAL INFORMATION
The Buryat Republic is located in the southern part of East Siberia south and east of Lake Baikal. It has a favorable geographic location, with borders on Irkutsk and Chita regions, the Republic of Tuva, and Mongolia. It is a predominantly mountainous country with a small number of flat regions at altitudes of more than 500 m. The capital of Buryatia is Ulan-Ude.
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The republic covers an area of 351 300 km2. Two main railway lines, the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur railways, pass through its territory. They connect the central parts of Russia with the Far East and Southeast Asian countries, including China, North Korea, Mongolia, and Japan. There are also several main highways in Buryatia, for example, the well-traveled Irkutsk-Ulan-Ude highway.
The republic is divided into 21 districts and has 6 cities and 29 urban communities. The oldest cities are Ulan-Ude, Kyakhta (located on the Mongolian border; one of the main trading centers of the Great Tea Road), Selenginsk and Novoselenginsk, Zakamensk, Severobaikalsk, and Gusinoozersk.
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The most developed sectors in this industrial and agricultural republic include the fuel and energy complex, engineering (aircraft, shipbuilding, and machinery) and metalworking, and the light, forest, woodworking, food, and mining industries.
The republic is very rich in little-explored mineral resources, unique wilderness, therapeutic springs (about 360), and forests. Arshan and Goryachinsk are the best known resorts. The Buryat fur market attracts both Russian and foreign manufacturers, since furs like squirrel, lynx, Siberian weasel, ermine, fox, blue fox, and the renowned Barguzin sable are in great demand on the world market.
Buryatia has a severe continental climate. Winters are long, cold, windless, and snowy, while summers are short and warm. Air temperatures range from +40°C in summer to -50°C in winter. Precipitation is about 300 mm per year. There are also permafrost areas.
Buryatia's natural features are varied. They include great Lake Baikal, a favorite place for recreation and tourism, including international tourism; mountains up to 3491 m high; taiga that covers 2/3 of the republic's territory; forest steppes; and steppes. Transbaikal is a blend of Switzerland, the Don, and Finland.
Diverse religions coexist peacefully in Buryatia. Buddhism and Orthodoxy are the most widespread and traditional faiths. Buryatia is the center of Buddhism in Russia and is the site of the country's first Buddhist convent.
Buddhist monasteries (datsans) are found in every district. The form of Buddhism practiced here is Lamaism. In the monasteries, you can obtain spiritual or medical advice. The best known datsans are Ivolginsky (the center of Buddhism in Russia), Tamchinsky (one of the oldest), and Atsagatsky.
The most important rivers are the Selenga, Barguzin, Verkhnyaya Angara (empties into Lake Baikal), Uda, and Vitim (a tributary of the Lena River). Lake Baikal, located on the republic's western boundary, is the world's deepest freshwater lake. The Barguzinsky Preserve stretches along its shores.
Buryatia is one of 89 subjects of the Russian Federation, with its own legislative and executive bodies.
HISTORY
The Transbaikal area has been part of the Central Asian historical and cultural region since the depths of antiquity. The region's people have been involved directly or indirectly in the sweeping historical events in this part of the world. The most interesting chapter in the history of Transbaikal region is the Hunnish period from the end of the 3rd century B.C. to the end of the 1st century A.D. The Hunnish state was home to diverse tribes, mainly Proto-Mongolian and to some extent Proto-Tungus and Proto-Iranian tribes. According to historical evidence, the Huns created a powerful nation of Central Asian nomads that lasted for three centuries.
Successive nomad states came and went over a period of millennia until Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire in 1206, uniting all the main Mongolian tribes. As subjects of the empire, the people of Transbaikal took part in the campaigns of conquest of Genghis Khan and his successors.
After the collapse of Genghis Khan's empire, the Mongol state continued to exist, although it was rent by feudal strife. The nomadic tribes of Transbaikal and Predbaikal (the region west of Lake Baikal) remained part of it throughout.
In the 16th century, the Russian Empire began expanding its borders eastward. The great historical events sweeping over Baikal had an impact on the lives of the people inhabiting the region. In 1666, Russian Cossacks built a wooden fortress on a high bank of the Uda River, laying the foundations for the important merchant city of Verkhneudinsk, which later became Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia.
Once the Russian boundary was firmly established, the Buryat tribes were isolated from the rest of the Mongolian world. The tsarist government set up its own administrative system in the Transbaikal region, although local government was carried out by Buryat nobles controlled by the East Siberian administration. Construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway passing through the Transbaikal region and the traditional caravan routes connecting Russia with the countries of Southeast Asia led to intensive economic growth in the region in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The October Revolution of 1917 continued the long drawn-out process of Transbaikal's integration with Russia. The Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed in 1923, and in 1937 was given the official name of Buryatia, or Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Due to a reorganization of the administrative and territorial structure of East Siberia in 1937, two districts were removed from the republic and used as the basis of two Buryat autonomous districts in the adjacent administrative regions: Agin District in Chita Region and Ust-Orda District in Irkutsk Region. In the same year, the republic was renamed the Buryat Autonomous Socialist Republic.
The Soviet period of Buryatia's history is closely connected with all the bright and dark events experienced by the whole country. A fairly well developed agricultural industry was established in the republic during the decades of Soviet rule. Nearly 60 national economic sectors, including such strategic ones as the aircraft construction, engineering, power, coal, mining, and woodworking industries, were connected to all economic regions of the USSR. Most of the large factories in Buryatia specialized in defense production, which to a certain extent isolated the republic from the rest of the world.
Developments in the areas of education, science, and culture may also be considered achievements of the Soviet period. The Buryat Scientific Center of the Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences and its applied research divisions, four higher educational institutions, and more than 20 technical and special secondary schools constitutes an enormous scientific and professional potential that helped develop the republic's economy and will continue to determine it in the future.
On October 8, 1990, Buryatia proclaimed national sovereignty as the Buryat Soviet Socialist Republic and renounced its status as an autonomous republic. On March 27, 1991, the Parliament of Buryatia removed the designations "Soviet" and "Socialist" from the republic's name and it became known as the Buryat Republic. As a sovereign republic, Buryatia has its own Constitution and legislative and executive bodies. The first president in the history of Buryatia was elected in 1994.
Diverse religions and faiths coexist peacefully in Buryatia. Buddhism and Orthodoxy are the most widespread and traditional faiths. Buryatia is the center of Buddhism in Russia and is the site of the country's first Buddhist convent.
Buryats are the indigenous population of the republic. Buryat cultural associations are registered in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, and Irkutsk. More than 300 public associations are registered in the republic, and the social and political atmosphere has traditionally been calm.
RESOURCES
Buryatia's natural resources are unique in their reserves and diversity. Thick coniferous forests, high mountain ranges, broad steppes, mountain valleys with a wide variety of grasses and flower-filled meadows, and an abundance of nuts and berries provide a favorable habitat for Buryatia's rich wildlife, which includes a number of rare and unique species listed in the Red Book. The Barguzin sable, Siberian brown bear, mountain goat, and wild reindeer are known worldwide. Manchurian deer, elk (the European moose), squirrels, lynx, wolverine, roe deer, musk deer, wild boar, Baikal seal, omul (a type of salmon found in Lake Baikal), and a large number of bird species represent only a partial list of Buryatia's diverse wildlife.
Lake Baikal is a natural reservoir containing a fifth of the world's high-quality freshwater reserves. The lake is more than 20 million years old; it is 636 km long, 80 km wide, and 1637 m deep and is home to 2500 different species of animals and fish, including 250 species endemic to Lake Baikal and the surrounding territories.
The republic is also rich in mineral resources and has 35 114 300 ha of available land with a wide variety of soils. The most fertile and productive of these are the chestnut, gray forest, and chernozem (black earth) soils that cover 56.4% of all farmland or 76.5% of all arable land.
Forests are another of the republic's natural resources. A total of 20.3 million ha out of an available stock of 27.2 million ha are covered with forests. Total timber reserves are 1850 million cu. m.
According to geological maps of Asia, Buryatia covers the western part of a huge mass of ancient crystalline rocks beginning east of Lake Baikal. The crystalline complexes found here were formed in the Archean era, the very earliest age of the Earth's history. These rocks are in the form of blocks separated by younger formations and reach the surface on the proximate flank of the southern edge of the East Siberian plateau. They are believed to be fragments of the crystalline basement that underlies all later geological structures in Buryatia, including the East Siberian plateau itself. Archean crystalline rock complexes make up a large part of the Eastern Sayan and Khamar-Daban ranges on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal (around the community of Turka, the Svyatoi Nos Peninsula, Olkhon Island, etc.) and the Muisky ranges flanking the valley of the same name on the north and south.
Minerals are Buryatia's main national resource. Nearly 50% of all of Russia's established reserves of lead-zinc ores, 35% of its molybdenum, 27% of its fluorite, and 26% of its fluorspar reserves are found here. There are also unique reserves of various sorts of nephrite (jade), from white to black. Production of native and alluvial gold is increasing year by year.
High-quality deposits of asbestos, beryllium ores, and chemically pure limestones have been explored and prepared for commercial development. There are also large, economically workable deposits of polymetals, molybdenum, gold, fluorspar, graphite, bauxite, strategic radioactive and quartz materials, and agricultural minerals, among others.
Building material deposits include zeolites, perlites, brick and keramzite clays, sand-gravel mixtures, and building stone.
Due to a lack of geological knowledge and the distinctive features of the republic's geological structure, there is a high probability that promising new mineral deposits will be discovered in the future.
The potential of Buryatia's mineral resources is enormous, although the republic comprises only slightly more than 2% of Russia's territory.
ECONOMY
Buryatia is both industrial and agricultural republic. The major industries are power production, mining, timber, construction materials, machine building, instrument-making, electrical, aerospace, light and food industries, and sheep husbandry. Buryatia exports lumber and sawn timber materials, pulp, fine wool, nephritis, helicopters, metals, and oil products. It imports telecommunications equipment, drilling and entry driving machinery, food processing equipment, consumer goods and food.
Timber: Buryatia has valuable timber resources. The total reserves of timber are estimated at 1,850 million cubic meters. Forests are predominantly coniferous (86 percent). The structure of forest reserves is as follows:
- Larch - 65 percent,
- Pine - 21 percent,
- Other coniferous species - 10 percent.
More than 15 million cubic meters of timber are harvested annually. The good quality of Buryat timber is recognized internationally.
The largest private timber enterprise in Buryatia is the Baikal Timber Company (Baikalskaya Lesnaya Kompania). Most products are exported to China and the USA. The company runs a furniture factory, a chain of food and consumer goods stores, furniture and wooden construction materials. The export of sawn goods is constantly growing, so further introduction of modern wood-processing and furniture-manufacturing technologies is the company's priority.
Textiles: Fine-Wool Manufacturing Enterprise is one of the largest fine-wool producers in Russia. As a result of recent equipment modernization, the company increased both domestic and export sales.
Aerospace: the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, founded in 1939, used to be the leading industrial enterprise in Buryatia. The plant produces SU fighters, MI-8 and MI-171 helicopters, boats, and consumer goods. The company seeks foreign partners for joint marketing of its renowned helicopters.
Food Industry: Aquabur soft drink producing plant, established in 1961, restructured into a joint-stock company in 1993, is the leading producer and distributor of mineral water, soda drinks and bottled Baikal water in the Buryatya Republic.
Agriculture: the geographic position of Buryatia, its mountainous relief and abundance of forests and rivers do not favor the development of agroindustrial complex. The most popular occupation of local farmers is meat cattle breeding and meat and wool sheep husbandry. Only 9% of the territory is used for growing crops. Since it is a risky agricultural zone, peasants cultivate mostly grain-crops like spring wheat, barley and oats, sugar-beet and long-fibred flax. The area under crop makes up 521.7 thousand hectares, 321.2 thousand of which is occupied by grain-crops. However, weather and climatic conditions also allow to grow potatoes, vegetables and forage crops in the republic. Despite its adverse climate, Buryatia's agricultural GDP grows annually. Agricultural enterprises provide 60-80% of meat, milk and other agricultural produce for the republic's use.
AUTHORITIES
The National Khural (Parliament) of the Buryat Republic is the republic's representative and legislative body. The National Khural is elected by the citizens of the Buryat Republic for a four-year term on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot. It consists of 65 deputies elected on the basis of both territorial and federal representation.
The Chairman of the National Khural of the Buryat Republic and his deputy preside over sessions of the National Khural; manage the work routine of the National Khural; supervise the preparation and consideration of questions to be discussed by the National Khural; and, within the limits of their authority, issue decrees.
Deputies of the National Khural, the President of the Buryat Republic, the Government of the Buryat Republic, as well as the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and Superior Court of Arbitration of the Buryat Republic, have the right to initiate legislation on questions of their jurisdiction. Bills are introduced into the National Khural; however, bills on the imposition or abolition of taxes, tax exemption, government loan issues, and changes in the government's financial obligations are considered only at the decision of the Government of the Buryat Republic.
The Government of the Buryat Republic exercises executive authority in the republic. The Government is headed by the President, who is simultaneously the Chairman of the Government. The Government consists of the First Deputy and Deputy Chairmen, an executive officer, ministers, and chairmen of government committees.
The Government issues resolutions and decrees on the basis and in pursuance of the laws of the Buryat Republic and decrees of the President of the Buryat Republic and monitors their fulfillment. Government resolutions and decrees are binding everywhere in the territory of the Buryat Republic.
The Government consolidates and directs the work of ministers, government committees, other agencies under its jurisdiction, and local administrations. Ministers, government committees, and other government administrative agencies of the Buryat Republic manage the corresponding sectors of the administration and carry out intersectoral management under the direction of the President of the Buryat Republic.
Judicial authority in the Buryat Republic resides only in the courts and is exercised through constitutional, civil, administrative, and criminal court proceedings. The establishment of emergency courts is not permitted. The judicial system of the Buryat Republic is established in accordance with the Constitutions of the Russian Federation and the Buryat Republic and federal constitutional law.
The principles of irremovability, immunity, and independence of judges, openness of court hearings, and the adversarial nature of court proceedings have been instituted in the Buryat Republic. The legal status of judges established in federal law of the Russian Federation applies fully to judges in the Buryat Republic.
Court proceedings in the Buryat Republic are conducted in Buryat or Russian. Persons involved in a case who do not speak the language in which the court proceedings are conducted are guaranteed the right to full familiarization with the materials of the case and participation in court activities through an interpreter and the right to address the court in their native language.
The Constitutional Court of the Buryat Republic is the highest judicial authority on matters of protecting the republic's constitutional structure. The authority and manner of formation and activities of the Constitutional Court are prescribed by republican law.
Buryat Republic Web Site:
http://www.buryatia.ru
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