Buryat Republic
[key], constituent republic (2020 est. pop. 985,431), c.135,600 sq mi
(351,200 sq km), SE Siberian Russia, N of Mongolia, extending between Lake
Baykal and the Yablonovy Mts. Ulan-Ude is the capital. The republic is
mountainous and heavily forested and has rivers and lakes that are rich in
fish and that provide hydroelectric power. In the mountains are valuable
deposits of coal, iron ore, tungsten, molybdenum, gold, tungsten, nickel,
bauxite, and manganese. The chief sectors of the economy are mining,
lumbering, and livestock raising. Agriculture, found mainly in the Selenga
River valley, is based on spring wheat and fodder crops. There are fisheries
and fish-canning plants on Lake Baykal. Fur breeding and trading are
important in the north, where nomads also keep reindeer herds. Major
manufactures of Buryat include machinery (notably locomotives for the
Trans-Siberian RR, which traverses the republic), metal products, pulp,
paper, and textiles. The Buryats, former nomads who have largely adopted a
sedentary existence, are descended from the Huns, Mongols, Evenki, and
Turks. They speak a Mongolian language and generally adhere to Lamaist
Buddhism or to Russian Orthodoxy. Buryats constitute about 24% of the
republic's population and engage mostly in stock raising. Russians make up a
majority (70%) of the population, and there are Evenki, Tuvan, Tatar, and
Ukrainian minorities. Russian penetration of the region began in the 1620s
and advanced for a century in the face of Buryat resistance until annexation
occurred in 1727, followed by intensive Russian colonization. The
Buryat-Mongol ASSR was formed in 1923 and retained that name until 1958. The
Buryat Republic was a signatory to the Mar. 31, 1992, treaty that created
the Russian Federation (see Russia).
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