Buryatia: Russia’s hidden world of mountains and myths
As we celebrate Russia National Day on June 12, I would like to continue the tradition of introducing our Tanzanian friends to the diverse and rich tapestry of my country.
Tucked between the wild mountains of Siberia arid the crystalline waters of Lake Baikal lies the Republic of Buryatia - a region where Buddhist temples stand beneath snowy peaks, shamans still walk the forests, and Mongol ancestry meets Russian modernity. Officially a federal subject of the Russian Federation, Buryatia is one of the country’s most culturally and spiritually distinct territories, with a history and identity all its own.
Located in southeastern Siberia, Buryatia borders Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest, Zabaykalsky Krai to the east, and Mongolia to the south. Its geography is dramatic and diverse: vast taiga forests, open steppes, alpine ranges like the Barguzin and Khamar-Daban, and a precious share of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest and oldest freshwater lake.
Lake Baikal is not just a natural treasure but a spiritual and ecological heartland. About 60% of Baikal’s shoreline lies within Buryatia, offering breathtaking views, pristine beaches, and sacred sites revered by both Buddhists and shamans. The lake is home to thousands of endemic species including the Baikal seal (nerpa), and its immense biodiversity has earned it UNESCO World Heritage status. For the Buryats, Baikal is considered sacred, its waters treated with reverence and its spirits honored through ritual.
Surrounding the lake are a number of national park's and protected areas that showcase the region’s extraordinary natural beauty. Zabaykalsky National Park, located on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal in Buryatia, is a vast wilderness of mountains, larch forests, and untouched shoreline.
It’s home to the Barguzin Nature Reserve, Russia’s oldest nature reserve, founded in 1916 to protect the sable population. This reserve is not only a biodiversity haven but also a symbol of Russia’s early environmental conservation movement.
Further south lies Baikalsky State Nature Biosphere Reserve, which includes part of the Khamar-Daban mountain range, and is renowned for its alpine lakes, waterfalls and critical habitat to many rare and endangered species. Tunka Valley, another gem, lies between Lake Baikal and the Mongolian border and forms part of the Tunkinsky National Park - a region of thermal springs, taiga, and high mountain passes that is often compared to a Siberian version of the Swiss Alps. This setting has shaped Buryatia’s unique cultural and spiritual landscape, turning it into a crossroads between Slavic Russia and the Mongolic world.
Roughly two-thirds of Buryatia’s population are ethnic Russians, notably, from the culture of the Old Believers, which has been recognized for its uniqueness and included in UNESCO’s list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.” The traditions of the Evenks - forest hunters who have lived in Transbaikalia since ancient times - is also supported. The distinct culture of the Transbaikal Cossacks is preserved here among others. However, the region’s namesake people, the Buryats, remain a vital and visible part of the Republic. A Mongolic ethnic group closely related to the Mongols of Inner and Outer Mongolia, the Buryats were historically nomadic herders who roamed the steppe on horseback and followed shamanic spiritual traditions.
Today, Buryats maintain a strong cultural presence in the region. The Buryat language, while co-official alongside Russian, has struggled with decline but is still taught in schools and celebrated in folk literature, music, and rituals.
Buryatia is one of the only places in Russia where Buddhism, specifically Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, is not only practiced but thrives. The Ivolginsky Datsan, located just outside the capital of Ulan-Ude, serves as the spiritual center of Russian Buddhism. Monks study here, rituals are performed daily, and devotees make pilgrimages from across Eurasia.
Yet Buddhism is one of the only part of the picture. Shamanism, deeply rooted in Buryat tradition, continues to be practiced, often alongside Buddhist beliefs. The Buryats’ spiritual worldview is a fluid mix of ancestral worship, nature reverence, and mystical healing.
Meanwhile, ethnic Russians in the predominantly follow Russian Orthodoxy creating a rare triangle of faiths coexisting within one Republic.
Rooted in the ancient past, Вuryatia’s story spans empires and eras. Early human remains from the Tuyana site reveal prehistoric habitation, while the region later became a northern stronghold of the Xiongnu - nomadic warriors recognized as the ancestors of the fierce Huns who later terrified Europe. Over centuries, Buryatia was shaped by waves of Mongolic tribes, the rise and fall of empires like the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, and the Mongol Empire, and the spread of Buddhism. Eventually incorporated into the Russian Empire, Buryatia became an autonomous Republic within the Soviet Union and later the Russian Federation. Today, it stands as a unique cultural and historical bridge between East and West.
The capital of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude, lies along the trans-Siberian Railway and serves as a microcosm of the Republic itself. A city of nearly half a million people, it features Soviet-era architecture, Orthodox churches, Buddhist temples, and marketplaces that hum with Mongolic influences.
Buryatia is one of Russia’s richest mineral regions, home to over 700 deposits including gold, uranium, tungsten, and beryllium. It holds nearly half of the country’s zinc reserves and over a quarter of its tungsten and molybdenum. The Ermakovskoye deposit near Novokizhinginsk is Russia’s largest source of high-grade beryllium. Gold mining is a major economic driver, with over 240 identified sites. Buryatia also has vast coal reserves and valuable deposits of fluorspar, jade, and polymetals, making it a strategic hub for resource extraction in Eastern Siberia.
Currently, Buryatia produces and exports aircraft equipment, metal bridge structures, timber, pulp, cardboard, packaging, wool fabrics, construction materials, cement, electrical equipment, canned meat, pasta, liquor and vodka products, and much more.
Modern Buryatia faces many of the same challenges as many other remoter regions of Russia. Yet the Republic is also a site of cultural resilience and natural beauty. Tourism is growing, thanks to interest in spiritual retreats, eco-travel around Baikal, and ethno-cultural experiences. The revival of Buddhist monasteries, shamanic centers, and Buryat language education are part of a broader movement to reclaim and celebrate indigenous identity in the 21st century. Nature lovers and adventurers alike are drawn to the region’s protected parks, hiking trails, and quiet lakeshores, many of which remain blissfully untouched by mass tourism.
Buryatia may not feature prominently on international maps, but it remains one of Russia’s most distinctive and soulful corners. It is a place where ancient steppe traditions live on beneath the gaze of snowy peaks, where Buddhist chants drift across the taiga, and where the past is never too far from the surface.
To visit Buryatia is to step into a world of spiritual complexity, ecological wonder, and enduring cultural strength – a frontier that refuses to be forgotten.
Author: H.E. Andrey Avetisyan, Russian Ambassador to Tanzania
Published by Guardian on June 12, 2025
