Buriates

Buryatia

In Russia there are 318,000 mother tongue speakers (90%) of Buryat, out of an ethnic population of 422,000 (1990). Most of them live in the Buryat Republic, in South Siberia around Lake Baykal. This republic of 351,300 sq km has 1 million inhabitants, only 23% of them Buryat, the rest mostly Russians (%72). The Capital is Ulan-Ude. Other Buryat area is the nearby Aga-Buryat Autonomous District. There are also 47,500 in Mongolia (1985). Buryat is a language close to Mongolian, and as their relatives, Buryats are buddhists.