Ulan-Ude

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Ulan-Ude Улан-Удэ
City
Other transcription(s)
• Buryat	Улаан Үдэ
Ulan-Ude City Center
Flag Coat of arms
show Location of Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude Location of Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (Republic of Buryatia) Show map of RussiaShow map of Republic of BuryatiaShow all
Coordinates: 51°50′N 107°36′E / 51.833°N 107.600°E / 51.833; 107.600Coordinates: 51°50′N 107°36′E / 51.833°N 107.600°E / 51.833; 107.600
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Buryatia
Founded	1666
City status since	1775
Government
• Body	City Council of Deputies[1]
• Mayor[1]	Igor Shutenkov[1]
Area
• Total	347.6 km2 (134.2 sq mi)
Elevation	500 m (1,600 ft)
Population  (2010 Census)[2]
• Total	404,426
• Estimate  (2018)[3]	434,869 (+7.5%)
• Rank	45th in 2010
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Administrative status
• Subordinated to	city of republic significance of Ulan-Ude[4]
• Capital of	Republic of Buryatia
• Capital of	city of republic significance of Ulan-Ude[4]
Municipal status
• Urban okrug	Ulan-Ude Urban Okrug[5]
• Capital of	Ulan-Ude Urban Okrug[5]
Time zone	UTC+8 (MSK+5 [6])
Postal code(s)[7]	6700xx
Dialing code(s)	+7 3012
OKTMO ID	81701000001
City Day	September's first Saturday
Website	ulan-ude-eg.ru

Ulan-Ude (Buryat: Улаан-Үдэ, Ulaan-Üde, [ʔʊˈlaˑɴ ʔʉˌdə]; Russian: Улан-Удэ, IPA: [ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ]; Mongolian: Улаан-Үд, Ulaan-Üd, [ʔʊˈɮaˑɴ ˌʔʉt(tə)]) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia; it is located about 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga. According to the 2010 Census, 404,426 people lived in Ulan-Ude;^[2] up from 359,391 recorded in the 2002 Census,^[8] making the city the third-largest in the Russian Far East by population.

It was previously known as Udinsk (until 1783) and then Verkhneudinsk (until July 27, 1934).

Names[]

Ulan-Ude was first called Udinskoye (У́динское) for its location on the Uda River. It was founded as a small fort in 1668.^[9] From around 1735, the settlement was called Udinsk (Уди́нск) and was granted town status under that name in 1775.^{[citation needed]} The name was changed to Verkhneudinsk, literally "Upper Udinsk" (Верхнеу́динск) in 1783, to differentiate it from Nizhneudinsk ("Lower Udinsk") lying on a different Uda River near Irkutsk which was granted town status that year.^{[citation needed]}

The descriptors "upper" and "lower" refer to the positions of the two cities relative to each other, rather than the location of the cities on their respective Uda rivers. Verkhneudinsk lies at the mouth of its river, i.e. the lower end, while Nizhneudinsk is along the middle stretch. The current name was given to the city on 27 July 1934 and means "red Uda" in Buryat, reflecting the ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Geography[]

Ulan-Ude lies 5,640 kilometers (3,500 mi) east of Moscow and 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of Lake Baikal. It is 600 meters (2,000 ft) above sea level at the foot of the Khamar-Daban and Ulan-Burgas mountain ranges, next to the confluence of the Selenga River and its tributary, the Uda, which divides the city.^[10]

Hydrography[]

Ulan-Ude is traversed by two rivers, the Selenga and Uda. The Selenga provides the greatest inflow to Baikal Lake, supplying 50% of all rivers in its basin. The Selenga brings about 30 cubic kilometers (7 cubic miles) of water into the lake per year, exerting a major influence on the lakewater's renewal and its sanitary condition. Selenga is the habitat of the most valuable fish species such as Omul, Siberian sturgeon, Siberian taimen, Thymallus and Coregonus.^{[citation needed]}

Uda is the right inflow of the Selenga river. The length of the watercourse is 467 kilometers (290 miles).

History[]

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The first occupants of the area where Ulan-Ude now stands were the Evenks and, later, the Buryat Mongols. Ulan-Ude was settled in 1666 by the Russian Cossacks as the fortress of Udinskoye. Due to its favorable geographical position, it grew rapidly and became a large trade center which connected Russia with China and Mongolia and, from 1690, was the administrative center of the Transbaikal region.

By 1775, it was known as Udinsk, and in 1783 it was granted city status and renamed Verkhneudinsk. After a large fire in 1878, the city was almost completely rebuilt. The Trans-Siberian Railway reached the city in 1900 causing an explosion in growth. The population, which was 3,500 in 1880, reached 126,000 in 1939.^[11]

From 6 April to October 1920 Verkhneudinsk was the capital of the Far Eastern Republic (Дальневосточная Республика), also known as the Chita Republic.^[12] It was a nominally independent state that existed from April 1920 to November 1922 in the easternmost part of the Russian Far East. On 27 July 1934, the city was renamed Ulan-Ude.

Administrative and municipal status[]

Ulan-Ude is the capital of the republic.^[13] Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the city of republic significance of Ulan-Ude—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.^[4] As a municipal division, the city of Ulan-Ude is incorporated as Ulan-Ude Urban Okrug.^[5]

Demographics[]

According to the 2010 Census, 404,426 people lived in Ulan-Ude;^[2] up from 359,391 recorded in the 2002 Census.^[8] In terms of population, it is the third-largest city in eastern Siberia.

Historical population figures for Ulan-Ude^[14]

Year	1923	1926	1939	1959	1970	1979	1989	2002	2010	2021
Population	21,600	28,900	125,700	174,300	253,600	299,800	352,530[15]	374,854	404,426	437,514[16]

The ethnic makeup of the city's population in 2010:^[17]

• Russians: 63.6%
• Buryats: 32.7%
• Ukrainians: 0.6%
• Tatars: 0.5%
• Others: 2.6%

The city is the center of Tibetan Buddhism in Russia and the important Ivolginsky datsan is located 23 km (14 mi) from the city.

Transportation[]

Ulan-Ude is located on the main line (Trans-Siberian line) of the Trans-Siberian Railway between Irkutsk and Chita at the junction of the Trans-Mongolian line (the Trans-Mongolian Railway) which begins at Ulan Ude and continues south through Mongolia to Beijing in China.

The city also lies on the M55 section of the Baikal Highway (part of the Trans-Siberian Highway), the main federal road to Vladivostok.^{[citation needed]} Air traffic is served by the Ulan-Ude Airport (Baikal), as well as the smaller Ulan-Ude Vostochny Airport. Intracity transport includes tram, bus, and marshrutka (share taxi) lines.^{[citation needed]}

Culture[]

Until 1991, Ulan-Ude was closed to foreigners. There are old merchants' mansions richly decorated with wood and stone carving in the historical center of Ulan-Ude, along the river banks which are exceptional examples of Russian classicism. The city has a large ethnographic museum which recalls the history of the peoples of the region. There is a large and highly unusual statue of the head of Vladimir Lenin in the central square: the largest in the world. Built in 1970 for the centennial of Lenin's birth, it towers over the main plaza at 7.7 meters (25 ft) and weighs 42 tons.^[18]

Sights[]

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The Ethnographic Museum of the peoples of Transbaikal is one of Russia's largest open-air museums. The museum contains historical finds from the era of the Slab Grave Culture and the Xiongnu until the mid 20th century, including a unique collection of samples of wooden architecture of Siberia – more than forty architectural monuments.

Odigitrievsky Cathedral – Orthodox Church Diocese of the Buryat, was the first stone building in the city and is a Siberian baroque architectural monument. The cathedral is considered unique because it is built in a zone of high seismic activity in the heart of the city on the banks of the River Uda River where it flows into the Selenga.

One of the attractions of Ulan-Ude is a monument in the town square — the square of the Soviets — in the form of the head of Lenin (sculptors G.V. Neroda, J.G. Neroda, architects Dushkin, P.G. Zilberman). The monument, weighing 42 tons and with a height of 7.7 meters (25 ft), was opened in 1971 in honor of the centenary of Lenin's birth.^[18] The Voice of Nomads international music and culture festival is held annually at various sites in the city.

Economy[]

The Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant is based in Ulan-Ude.

Mongol Rally[]

Ulan-Ude serves as the endpoint for the Mongol Rally.

Climate[]

Ulan-Ude can be described as possessing a humid steppe climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), bordering on a humid continental climate (Dwb) and a subarctic climate (Dwc). The climate is characterised by long, dry, cold winters and short but very warm summers. Precipitation is low and heavily concentrated in the warmer months.

Notable people[]

• Irina Pantaeva, Sports Illustrated model
• Oksana Omelianchik, artistic gymnast
• Dmitry Masleev, pianist
• Alexander Slastin, actor
• Inna Stepanova, Olympic archer

Twin towns - sister cities[]

Ulan-Ude is twinned with:^[21]

References[]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ulan-Ude.

Notes[]

Sources[]

• Правительство Республики Бурятия. Постановление №431 от 18 ноября 2009 г. «О реестре административно-территориальных единиц и населённых пунктов Республики Бурятия», в ред. Постановления №573 от 13 ноября 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Постановление Правительства Республики Бурятия от 18.11.2009 №431 "О реестре административно-территориальных единиц и населённых пунктов Республики Бурятия"». Вступил в силу 18 ноября 2009 г. Опубликован: "Бурятия", №216, Официальный вестник №120, 21 ноября 2009 г. (Government of the Republic of Buryatia. Resolution #431 of November 18, 2009 On the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of the Republic of Buryatia, as amended by the Resolution #573 of November 13, 2015 On Amending Resolution #431 of November 18, 2009 of the Government of the Republic of Buryatia "On the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Units and the Inhabited Localities of the Republic of Buryatia". Effective as of November 18, 2009.).
• Народный Хурал Республики Бурятия. Закон №985-III от 31 декабря 2004 г. «Об установлении границ, образовании и наделении статусом муниципальных образований в Республике Бурятия», в ред. Закона №1411-V от 14 октября 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Республики Бурятия "Об установлении границ, образовании и наделении статусом муниципальных образований в Республике Бурятия"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Бурятия", №1, Официальный вестник №1, 12 января 2005 г. (People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia. Law #985-III of December 31, 2004 On Establishing the Borders, Creating, and Granting a Status to the Municipal Formations in the Republic of Buryatia, as amended by the Law #1411-V of October 14, 2015 On Amending the Law of the Republic of Buryatia "On Establishing the Borders, Creating, and Granting a Status to the Municipal Formations in the Republic of Buryatia". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).