Buryats

The Buryats were formed from various ethnic components of Mongolic, Turkic, Tungusic and Samoyedic origin. The earliest inhabitants of the Baikal region were presumably Tungusic and Samoyedic tribes. It is believed that the ethnogenesis of the Buryats involved such tribes as the Bayirku and the Kurykans , who were part of the tribal union of the Tiele. At the same time, with regard to the Bayyrku and the Kurykans, alongside the Turkic version there are also hypotheses suggesting that they represented Mongolic elements within the Tiele confederation. The hypothesis of the Turkic origin of the Bayirku is shared by a number of researchers, such as N. A. Aristov, É. Chavannes, A. N. Bernshtam, B. R. Zoriktuev. The version of the Ancient Mongolic origin of the Bayegu/Bayïrku was first put forward in detail by G. N. Rumyantsev. The Mongolic hypothesis of the origin of the Bayegu/Bayïrku was supported by scholars Ts. B. Tsydendambaev, A. Ochir, P. B. Konovalov, S. B. Miyagasheva, G. Tubshinima. The Kurykans were regarded as Turkic-speaking by P. Meliorsky, A. P. Okladnikov, S. E. Malov, S. A. Tokarev, B. O. Dolgikh. G. N. Rumyantsev, B. B. Dashibalov. The name "Buriyad" is mentioned as one of the forest people for the first time in The Secret History of the Mongols (possibly 1240). It says Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, marched north to subjugate the Buryats in 1207. the Buryats lived along the Angara River and its tributaries at this time. Meanwhile, their component, Barga, appeared both west of Baikal and in northern Buryatia's Barguzin valley. Linked also to the Bargas were the along the Arig River in eastern Khövsgöl Province and the Angara. A Tumad rebellion broke out in 1217, when Genghis Khan allowed his viceroy to seize 30 Tumad maidens. Genghis Khan's commander Dorbei the Fierce of the Dörbeds smashed them in response. The Buryats joined the Oirats challenging the imperial rule of the Eastern Mongols during the Northern Yuan period in the late 14th century. Historically, the territories around Lake Baikal belonged to Mongolia, Buryats were subject to Tüsheet Khan and Setsen Khan of Khalkha Mongolia. When the Russians expanded into Transbaikalia (eastern Siberia) in 1609, the Cossacks found only a small core of tribal groups speaking a Mongol dialect called Buryat and paying tribute to the Khalkha. However, they were powerful enough to compel the Ket and Samoyed peoples on the Kan and the Evenks on the lower Angara to pay tribute. According to Bowles, the ancestors of most modern Buryats were speaking a variety of Turkic-Tungusic dialects at that time. However, according to the Russian researcher Nanzatov, the Tungusic and Turkic groups then lived on the outskirts of the Buryat area. They were small fragments assimilated by the Buryat population. In addition to genuine Buryat-Mongol tribes (Bulagad, Khori, Ekhired, Khongoodor) that merged with the Buryats, the Buryats also assimilated other groups, including some Oirats, the Khalkha, Tungus (Evenks) and others. The Khori-Barga had migrated out of the Barguzin eastward to the lands between the Greater Khingan and the Argun. Around 1594, most of them fled back to the Aga and Nerchinsk in order to escape subjection by the Daurs. The Russians reached Lake Baikal in 1643 but the Buryats resisted them and their forces. The Buryats were defeated, though they attempted to revolt a few times. These revolts were suppressed. (27,700–60,000) to 300,000. Another estimate of the rapid growth in people referring to themselves as Buryat is based on the clan list names paying tribute in the form of a sable-skin tax. This indicates a population of about 77,000 in 1640 rising to 157,000 in 1823 and more than a million by 1950. The historical roots of the Buryat culture are related to the Mongolic peoples. After Buryatia was incorporated into Russia, it was exposed to two traditions – Buddhism and Orthodox Christianity. Buryats west of Lake Baikal and Olkhon (Irkut Buryats), are more "Russified", and they soon abandoned nomadism for agriculture, whereas the eastern (Transbaikal) Buryats are closer to the Khalkha, may live in yurts and are mostly Buddhists. In 1741, the Tibetan branch of Buddhism was recognized as one of the official religions in Russia, and the first Buryat datsan (Buddhist monastery) was built. The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was a time of growth for the Buryat Buddhist religion (48 datsans in Buryatia in 1914). Buddhism became an important factor in the cultural development of Buryatia. Because of their skills in horsemanship and mounted combat, many were enlisted into the Amur Cossacks host. During the Russian Civil War most of the Buryats sided with the White forces of Baron Ungern-Sternberg and Ataman Semenov. They formed a sizable portion of Ungern's forces and often received favorable treatment when compared with other ethnic groups in the Baron's army. After the Revolution, most of the lamas were loyal to Soviet power. In 1925, a battle against religion and clergy in Buryatia began. Datsans were gradually closed down and the activity of the clergy was curtailed. Consequently, in the late 1930s the Buddhist clergy ceased to exist and thousands of cultural treasures were destroyed. Attempts to revive Buddhism started during World War II, and it was officially re-established in 1946. A revival of Buddhism has taken place since the late 1980s as an important factor in the national consolidation. In the 1930s, Buryat-Mongolia was one of the sites of Soviet studies aimed to disprove Nazi race theories. Among other things, Soviet physicians studied the "endurance and fatigue levels" of Russian, Buryat-Mongol, and Russian-Buryat-Mongol workers to prove that all three groups were equally able. In 1923, the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed and included Baikal province (Pribaykalskaya guberniya) with Russian population. The Buryats rebelled against the communist rule and collectivization of their herds in 1929. The rebellion was quickly crushed by the Red Army with loss of 35,000 Buryats. The Buryat refugees fled to Mongolia and resettled, however, only a few of them joined the Shambala rebellion there. In 1937, in an effort to disperse Buryats, Stalin's government separated a number of counties (raions) from the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and formed Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug and Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug; at the same time, some raions with Buryat populations were left out. Fearing Buryat nationalism, Joseph Stalin had more than 10,000 Buryats killed. Moreover, Stalinist purge of Buryats spread into Mongolia, known as the incident of L'humbee. In 1958, the name "Mongol" was removed from the name of the republic (Buryat ASSR). Also around 1958, the Mongolian script was banned and replaced by Cyrillic. Ethnic Buryats often enlist in the army because of financial reasons. File:Расселение бурят в СФО по городским и сельским поселениям, в %.png|Settlement of Buryats in the Siberian Federal District (2010 census) File:Buryat-Mongol ASSR in 1925.jpg|Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1925 File:USSR map Asia.jpg|Buryat-Mongol ASSR in 1929 File:The Soviet Union 1933 CPA 416 stamp (Peoples of the Soviet Union. Buryats) cancelled.jpg|Buryats depicted on a 1933 "Peoples of the Soviet Union" stamp File:Soviet Union Administrative Divisions 1989.jpg|Buryat-Mongol ASSR in 1989 File:Buryatia01.png|Map of autonomous Buryat territories (until 2008): Republic of Buryatia and autonomous okrugs of Aga Buryatia and Ust-Orda Buryatia ==Culture and traditions==