Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the
Buryat RepublicBuryatia, officially the Buryat Republic , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area is slightly over 350,000 km² with a population of almost one million...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, is located about 100 km south-east of
Lake BaikalLake Baikal is the world's second most voluminous lake, after the Caspian Sea. It is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m and contains a total of roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water...
on the
Uda RiverUda is a river in the Buryat Republic, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Selenga, which it meets near the city Ulan-Ude. Its length is ....
at its confluence with the Selenga. According to the
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
, 359,391 residents lived in Ulan-Ude, up from 351,806
recorded in 1989The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last and alledgedlly the most comprehensive one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
and it is the third largest city in eastern
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
.
Ulan-Ude was first called
Udinskoye (Russian: У́динское) for its location on the Uda River. From around 1735, the settlement was called
Udinsk (Russian: У́динск) and was granted town status under that name in 1775.
However, the name was changed to
Verkhneudinsk, literally "Upper Udinsk" (Russian: Верхнеу́динск
Verxneudinsk; Buryat: Дээдэ-Үдэ
Deede-Üde; ; Classical Mongolian:
Degedy Egüde), in 1783 to differentiate it from
NizhneudinskNizhneudinsk is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Uda River , some 508 km northwest of Irkutsk. It stands on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Population: 39,624 ; 39,700 ....
("Lower Udinsk") lying on a different Uda River near
IrkutskIrkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, situated by rail from Moscow. Population: -History:...
which gained town status that year.
Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the
Buryat RepublicBuryatia, officially the Buryat Republic , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area is slightly over 350,000 km² with a population of almost one million...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, is located about 100 km south-east of
Lake BaikalLake Baikal is the world's second most voluminous lake, after the Caspian Sea. It is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m and contains a total of roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water...
on the
Uda RiverUda is a river in the Buryat Republic, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Selenga, which it meets near the city Ulan-Ude. Its length is ....
at its confluence with the Selenga. According to the
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
, 359,391 residents lived in Ulan-Ude, up from 351,806
recorded in 1989The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last and alledgedlly the most comprehensive one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
and it is the third largest city in eastern
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
.
Names
Ulan-Ude was first called
Udinskoye (Russian: У́динское) for its location on the Uda River. From around 1735, the settlement was called
Udinsk (Russian: У́динск) and was granted town status under that name in 1775.
However, the name was changed to
Verkhneudinsk, literally "Upper Udinsk" (Russian: Верхнеу́динск
Verxneudinsk; Buryat: Дээдэ-Үдэ
Deede-Üde; ; Classical Mongolian:
Degedy Egüde), in 1783 to differentiate it from
NizhneudinskNizhneudinsk is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Uda River , some 508 km northwest of Irkutsk. It stands on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Population: 39,624 ; 39,700 ....
("Lower Udinsk") lying on a different Uda River near
IrkutskIrkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, situated by rail from Moscow. Population: -History:...
which gained town status that year. The "upper" and "lower" refer to positions of the two cities relative to each other, not the location of the cities on their respective Uda rivers. Verkhneudinsk lies at the mouth of its Uda, i.e. the lower end, while Nizhneudinsk is along the middle stretch of its Uda.
The current name of
Ulan-Ude (Russian: Ула́н-Удэ́; Buryat: Улаан-Үдэ
Ulaan-Üde; Mongolian: Улаан Үүд
Ulaan Üüd; Classical Mongolian:
Ulaɣan Egüde) was bestowed upon the city in 1934 and means "red Uda" or "red gate" in Buryat reflecting the
communistThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the ruling and only legal political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the...
ideology of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
to which it belonged.
History
The first occupants of the area where Ulan-Ude now stands were the
EvenksThe Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
and, later, the Buryat Mongols. Ulan-Ude (old name Verkhneudinsk) was founded in 1666 by the Russian
CossackCossacks were originally members of military communities in the uninhabited borderland areas in the steppe that lies North of Black Sea...
s as fortress Udinskoye. Due to its favourable geographical position, the city grew rapidly and became a large trade centre which connected Russia with
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
and, from 1690, was the administrative center of the
TransbaikalTransbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia , or Dauria is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" Lake Baikal in Russia. The alternative name, Dauria, is derived from the ethnonym of the Daur people...
region. In 1775, the city, now Udinsk, was chartered as a city and in 1783 was renamed Verkhneudinsk. After a large fire in 1878, the city was almost completely rebuilt. The
Trans-Siberian RailwayThe Trans-Siberian Railway or Trans-Siberian Railroad is a network of railways connecting Moscow and European Russia with the Russian Far East provinces, Mongolia, China and the Sea of Japan.-Route development:The original plans and funding for construction of 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. On 27 July 1934, the city was renamed Ulan-Ude.
Geography and climate
Ulan-Ude lies east of
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
and south-east of
Lake BaikalLake Baikal is the world's second most voluminous lake, after the Caspian Sea. It is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m and contains a total of roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water...
. It is located
above mean sea levelThe term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
at the foot of the Khamar-Daban and Khrebet Ulan-Burgasy mountain ranges, next to the
confluenceConfluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where a tributary joins a more major river, called the mainstem, when that major river is also the highest order stream in the drainage basin....
of the Selenga River and its
tributaryA tributary is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body...
, the
UdaUda is a river in the Buryat Republic, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Selenga, which it meets near the city Ulan-Ude. Its length is ....
which divides the city into two parts.
Ulan Ude has a moderate
subarctic climateRegions having a subarctic climate are characterized by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates...
with mean temperatures of . The hottest month, July, has a mean temperature of and the coldest, January, is . Ulan-Ude receives an average of
precipitationIn meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel...
per year, mostly in the summer.
Population
According to the
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
, 359,391 residents lived in Ulan-Ude, up from 351,806
recorded in 1989The 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last and alledgedlly the most comprehensive one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
. It is the third largest city in East
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
.
Historical population figures for Ulan-Ude
| Year |
1923 |
1926 |
1939 |
1959 |
1970 |
1979 |
1989 |
| Population |
21,600 |
28,900 |
125,700 |
174,300 |
253,600 |
299,800 |
351,800 |
The ethnic makeup of the city's population in 2002:
- Russians
The Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
: 73.1%
- Buryats
The Buryats or Buriyads, numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia. They are the northernmost major Mongol group....
: 21.4%
- Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly—citizens of Ukraine...
: 2.6%
- Tatars
Tatars , sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic ethnic group mainly inhabiting Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. They numbered 10 million in the late 20th Century, which includes all subgroups of Tatar people, such as...
: 0.8%
- Others: 2.1%
The city is the center of
TibetanTibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India...
Buddhism in RussiaBuddhism appeared in the territories of modern Russia as early as the late 16th century, when early Russian explorers travelled to and settled in Siberia and what is now the Russian Far East. It is also believed that Indian King Ashoka had sent monks to spread Buddhism all over the world including...
and the important
Ivolginsky datsanIvolginsky datsan is the Buddhist Temple located in Buryatia, Russia, 23 km from Ulan Ude, near Verkhnyaya Ivolga village.-History:The datsan was opened in 1945 as the only Buddhist spiritual centre of USSR...
is located 23 km from the city.
Transport
Ulan Ude is located on the main line (Trans-Siberian line) of the
Trans-Siberian RailwayThe Trans-Siberian Railway or Trans-Siberian Railroad is a network of railways connecting Moscow and European Russia with the Russian Far East provinces, Mongolia, China and the Sea of Japan.-Route development:The original plans and funding for construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway...
between
IrkutskIrkutsk is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, situated by rail from Moscow. Population: -History:...
and Chita at the junction of the Trans-Mongolian line (the
Trans-Mongolian Railway|}|}|}|}|}|}The Trans-Mongolian Railway connects Ulan Ude, on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia, with the Chinese city of Jining, by way of Ulan Bator in Mongolia....
) which begins at Ulan Ude and continues south through
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
to
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
in China. The city also lies on the M55 section of the
Baikal HighwayThe Baikal Highway is a federal highway in Russia. Its official designation is federal highway M51, M53, M55 "Baikal" . It part of the Trans-Siberian Highway and of the AH6 route of the Asian Highway Network. The Chelyabinsk-Omsk stretch is also included into the European route E30...
(part of the
Trans-Siberian HighwayThe Trans-Siberian Highway is the unofficial name for a network of federal highways that span the width of Russia from the Baltic Sea of the Atlantic Ocean to the Japan Sea of the Pacific Ocean. In the Asian Highway Network, the route is known as AH6. It stretches over 11,000 kilometers from Saint...
), the main federal road to
VladivostokVladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...
. Air traffic is served by the
Ulan-Ude AirportUlan-Ude Airport or Lake Baikal Airport is an international airport located west of Ulan-Ude, Russia. Airport has one terminal building built in early 1980s with capacity of 400 passengers per hour. There are customs and border control points...
(Mukhino), as well as the smaller
Ulan-Ude Vostochny AirportUlan-Ude Vostochny Airport is an airport in the Buryat Republic, Russia located 9 km east of Ulan Ude. It services medium-size airliners. The airfield served as a bomber staging base. There is considerable tarmac space, with three 400x125m tarmacs and a few alert revetments....
. Intracity transport includes
tramA tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a conventional train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets...
,
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
, and
marshrutkaMarshrutka , from marshrutnoye taksi is a share taxi in the CIS countries, the Baltic states, and Bulgaria. Marshrutnoye taksi literally means routed taxicab...
(
share taxiA share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between private transport and conventional bus transport, often with a fixed or semi-fixed route, but with the added convenience of stopping anywhere to pick up or drop off passengers and not having fixed time schedules...
) lines.
Culture
Until 1991 Ulan-Ude was a city 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 also a large and highly unusual statue of the head of Lenin in the central square, the largest in the world.
Ulan-Ude — the old historic and cultural center in Siberia. Among other things can be noted such as a monument Geser, Arch «King's Gate» and many other interesting places.
Sister cities
Anyang,
South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
.
Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
ChangchunChangchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is a sub-provincial city. The name originated from the Jurchen language. As of 2007, Changchun has a population of 7.46 million,...
,
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
. Darkhan,
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
.
ErdenetErdenet is the second-largest city in Mongolia and the capital of the aimag of Orkhon.Located in the northern part of the country, it lies in a valley between the Selenge and Orkhon rivers about 150 miles northwest of Ulan Bator, the capital...
,
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
.
HohhotHohhot , sometimes spelled Huhehot or Huhhot, is a city in North-central China and the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, serving as the region's administrative, economic, and cultural centre....
,
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
.
KazanKazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities. It is a major industrial, commercial and cultural center, and remains the most important center of Tatar culture. Since April 2009 Kazan has the legal right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
ManchuriaManchuria is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within China, or is divided between China and Russia...
,
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
.
MannheimMannheim is a city in Germany. With 327,318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart....
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
Rumoiis a city located in Rumoi, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the capital of Rumoi Subprefecture.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 26,017 and the density of 87.5 persons per km². The total area is 297.44 km².The city was founded on October 1, 1947....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
TaipeiTaipei is the largest city in Taiwan and has served as the de facto capital of the Republic of China since the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It is situated on the Danshui River, almost at the northern tip of the island, about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
,
TaiwanThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition and jurisdiction over China into a democratic state with limited international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan and minor islands, though it...
. Ulan Bator,
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 24 miles from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator,...
.
YaltaYalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
.
YamagataYamagata is the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture in Japan.The famed temple of Yamadera lies within the city limits, 15 minutes by train from the center....
,
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.