The Republic of Buryatia is an amazing, mysterious land

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In the southern part of Eastern Siberia, where the border of Russia and Mongolia passes, the Republic of Buryatia is located - an amazing region, amazing with its natural resources, diversity of traditions and cultures, and a bizarre mixture of Buddhism and shamanism.

Once these lands were part of the Great Mongol Empire, and after joining the Russian Empire, dissidents were exiled to Buryatia: Old Believers, led by the frantic Archpriest Avvakum, and later the noble Decembrists found refuge in these places.

The descendants of the “Semeyskie” (as the Old Believers are called in these places) have preserved their original dialect, traditions, beliefs and rituals to this day. Semey villages are easily recognizable by their special huts - tall, with windows decorated with bright carved frames, which are located at a height of 1.5-2 meters above the ground. Many houses have preserved traditional household utensils and colorful family outfits. By the way, the original Semeisk culture is included by UNESCO in the list of masterpieces of the intangible heritage of humanity.

Urban settlements

• Selenginsk

Population 13,500 (2020).

• Onokhoy

Population 10,837 (2020).

• Taximo

Population 7,691 (2020).

• Ust-Barguzin

Population 6,955 (2020).

• Kamensk

Population 6,607 (2020).

• Zaigraevo

Population 5,138 (2020).

• Nizhneangarsk

Population 4,209 (2020).

• New Uoyan

Population 3,025 (2020).

• Headphones

Population 2,821 (2020).

• Kichera

Population 946 people (2020).

• Severomuisk

Population 683 people (2020).

• Yanchukan

Population 259 people (2020).

Unique places

There are many special places in Buryatia that help in solving certain problems. For example, many athletes come to pray at Omulevka, a sacred place known as “Bogatyr. Couples desperate to have children come for help to the cave of the Mother’s Womb or to the Face of Yanzhima, a miraculous image of the Goddess of Fertility, which mysteriously appeared on a large boulder located in the Barguzin taiga.

Some unique places are accessible only to men. For example, women are prohibited from visiting the sacred mountain Bayan Tugad and Barkhan-uula. This is the place where, according to Buryat legends, the earthly and divine worlds converge.

Visiting some sacred places is considered a kind of “exam”, a test of the spiritual qualities of pilgrims. So, on Alkhanai there is the Gorge of Sinners.

It is believed that virtuous people pass this place without difficulty, but sinners, who are hampered by the burden of sins, get stuck and have difficulty moving along the gorge. Another similar place is located on a mountain near the Khalyutinsky springs. According to legend, the Tree of Wishes grows on the top of the mountain. But there is no single path leading to it - everyone must find the way on their own. Moreover, the more good deeds a person has done, the easier it is for him to find the treasured tree, and evil and cruel people will not find it at all.

see also

• Buryatia
• Symbols and sights of Buryatia
• Cities of Russia

General information about the Republic of Buryatia

Distinctive features . Buryatia is located on the eastern coast of Lake Baikal - the deepest and cleanest lake on Earth. 20% of the world's fresh water reserves are concentrated here. Baikal is surrounded on all sides by mountains, and its level is 445 m above sea level.

Lake Baikal is a sacred lake of the Buryats. Photo by bereza10 (https://fotki.yandex.ru/users/vera-shhukina/)

The fauna and flora of Lake Baikal are extremely diverse. Scientists predict that there are about 1,500 species not yet known to science. Only here lives the Baikal seal - the nerpa.

The Buryats have been living around Lake Baikal for many centuries - one of the Mongolian peoples, which formed into a separate ethnic group during their stay as part of the Russian Empire. Despite the fact that many Buryats live to the west of Lake Baikal, only the eastern Buryats have the status of national autonomy. Historically, there were both nomadic and sedentary Buryats. The latter also used a yurt as their home, but it was made of wood.

Yurt in the ethnographic museum of Ulan-Ude. Photo by Andrey Nazimov (https://fotki.yandex.ru/users/andreinazimov/)

The Republic of Buryatia is one of the few regions in the Russian Federation where Buddhism is practiced. One of the most important spiritual centers of the Buryats is the Ivolginsky datsan, opened in 1945. It is visited by many pilgrims and tourists. There are about a dozen temples (dugans), sacred stupas and a Buddhist university where novice huvarakis study.

One of the main mysteries of the monastery is the incorruptible body of Hambo Lama Itigelov, an outstanding ascetic and spiritual leader of Buddhists in Eastern Siberia. Before leaving for Nirvana, he gathered his students and asked them to look at his body after 30 years. When in 1955 the lamas took out the sarcophagus with his body, they saw that the great lama was sitting in the lotus position, as if before death, and his body was completely preserved. It still remains incorruptible. There is no scientific explanation for this phenomenon yet.

Ivolginsky datsan. Photo by serebrennikowaolya (https://fotki.yandex.ru/users/serebrennikowaolya/)

Another Buryat religion is shamanism. The Buryats, like many peoples of Siberia, believe that spirits—good and evil—live everywhere around us. Therefore, without their permission, you cannot build houses or do any other things that may disturb them. The work of modern shamans is highly paid.

Thanks to the unique nature, tourism is developing in the Republic of Buryatia. Now a special tourist and recreational zone is being created here - “Baikal Harbor”.

Geographical location . The Republic of Buryatia is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, in Transbaikalia. To Moscow - 5519 km. The republic is part of the Siberian Federal District. The Republic of Buryatia borders on the Irkutsk region, the Republic of Tyva and the Trans-Baikal Territory.

Buryatia is a mountainous country. It is divided into 4 large regions: the Eastern Sayans, the Baikal mountain region, the Selenga Dauria and the Vitim Plateau. 4/5 of the territory of the republic is occupied by mountain taiga forests.

Nature of Buryatia. Photo by tatyana-rzheneva (https://fotki.yandex.ru/users/tatyana-rzheneva/)

There's nothing wrong with the water in Buryatia - at least fill it up. 9,000 rivers and streams flow through its territory. But if this is not enough, there is also Lake Baikal, which was mentioned above.

Population. The Republic of Buryatia has a population of 973,982 people. The birth rate here is very high (17.4 people per 1000 inhabitants), the mortality rate is slightly lower - 12.4 people. per 1000 inhabitants. The majority of the republic's population are Russians (64.89%). Buryats are in second place - 29.51%. In total, 112 nationalities live on the territory of Buryatia. The level of education is slightly lower than the average for Russia - 15% have higher education (versus 17% in the Russian Federation).

Buryats and Buryat beauties. Photo by amk59 (https://fotki.yandex.ru/users/amk59/)

Crime . The Republic of Buryatia is one of the three most criminal regions of the Russian Federation (“honorable” 3rd place). 13.12 crimes committed per 1000 residents in six months is a lot. Here you can find a full range of crimes: drug trafficking, murder, rape, theft and so on. All this is beyond any normal person’s head. Most likely, the main reasons are unemployment, drunkenness and drug addiction among the local population.

The unemployment rate in the Republic of Buryatia is 7.9%. The average salary is 22,930 rubles. The highest salaries are earned by workers engaged in financial activities (45.6 thousand rubles) and mining, except fuel and energy (43 thousand rubles).

The cost of real estate in Ulan-Ude is on average 51 thousand rubles per sq. m. meter. A one-room apartment can be bought for 1.5 million rubles, a two-room apartment for 2-2.5 million rubles.

Ulan-Ude. Photo by Andrey (https://fotki.yandex.ru/users/andre-kramarenk/)

The climate of Buryatia is sharply continental. The winter here is long, but there is little snow. On the coast of Lake Baikal the situation is different. The huge water mass of the lake, like an ocean, softens the climate. The average January temperature is −24°C. Summer is short but warm, sometimes even hot. The average July temperature is +18°C, but sometimes it reaches +35-40°C. On the coast of Lake Baikal, summers are cooler. Maximum precipitation is 250-300 mm per year, in the mountains 300-500 mm.

Demographics[ | ]

Ratio of men and women (data from Rosstat[55])

National composition[ | ]

Dynamics[ | ]

Change in the share of the most numerous nationalities of Buryatia in 1926–2010[61]:

Population[ | ]