Buryats

The Buryats outdated, even Buryat - Mongols are a Mongolian ethnic group in Siberia, where especially in Buryatia, and in the areas of Chita and Irkutsk. Smaller groups live in Mongolia and the PRC. 1989, there were in the Soviet Union 423 436 Buryats, thus they constitute the largest national minority in Siberia. Besides Buryat they speak mainly Russian.

History

The name " Buryat " is mentioned for the first time in the Secret History of the Mongols (probably 1240). The Russian state verleibte a population and the territory through treaties of 1668 and 1728, which the territories were separated on both sides of Lake Baikal from Mongolia. The Buryat population grew from 27,700 in the mid-17th century to 300,000 at the beginning of the 20th century.

The historical roots of the Buryat culture are related to those of the Mongols. After Buryatia Russia had been incorporated, it was exposed to two traditions: Christianity and Buddhism. The Buryats west of Lake Baikal ( Irkutskische Buryat ) were " Russified " and soon abandoned the nomadic lifestyle in favor of agriculture, whereas the east living Buryat (Trans Baikalen ) are the Mongols closer, often still live in yurts and usually are also Buddhists. 1741 Lamaist branch of Buddhism in Russia was officially recognized as a religion, and the first Buryat Dazan (Buddhist monastery) was built.

The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were for the Buryat Buddhist religion (48 Dazans 1914) a period of growth. Buddhism became a major factor in the cultural development of the Buryats. After the October Revolution, most lamas of the Soviet state power behaved loyal. In 1925, a battle against religion and church in Buryatia. The driving force behind this was Andrej Smetankin. Gradually Dazans were closed and restricted the activities of the church. Consequently heard the Buddhist faith community in 1930 largely to exist, and thousands of cultural treasures were destroyed. Efforts to revive the organization of Buddhism translated, a during the Second World War, after which it was founded in 1946. A real revival of Buddhism took place in the late 1980s, which turned out to be an important factor of national unity and spiritual rebirth.

1923, the Buryat - Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established; they included the Baikal Province ( Pribaykalskaya guberniya ) with a majority Russian population. 1937 separated the Stalin government, with the intention to divide the Buryats in different administrative units, some areas ( Rajons ) of the Buryat- Mongolian ASSR and formed from the two Buryat autonomous districts ( Okrug ) Ust- Orda and Aga. At the same time, some districts with Buryat population were completely eliminated. Buryat nationalism fearing Josef Stalin murdered more than 10,000 Buryats. In 1958, the term " Mongolian " from the name of the Republic away ( Buryat ASSR ). 1990, the BASSR declared its independence in 1992 and took the name Republic of Buryatia on. The Constitution of the Republic in 1994 was adopted by Parliament, and in 1995 a bilateral agreement with the Russian Federation was signed.

Famous Buryat

• Bair Badjonow - Archer
• Agwan Dorjieff - Buddhist monk, a diplomatic representative of the 13th Dalai Lama
• Valéry Inkijinoff - Actor
• Yuri Yekhanurov - Ukrainian politicians
• Vladimir Jeschejew - Archer
• Irina Pantajewa - model and actress