Ulan-Ude

 Ulan-Ude, founded in 1666, is the capital of the Buryat Autonomus Republic, which in the 13th - 17th centuries was a part of the vast Mongolian Empire. The Buryats, indigenous population of this territory, were nomadic herders with cultures and languages similar to Mongolian. In 1783 the territory was annexed to the Russian Empire and by order of Empress Elizabeth Buddhism that had been prevailing in this region was officially recognized as a religion in Russia. Unfortunately the Soviet leaders were not so tolerant and by the end of the 1930-s the rich and unique Buryat culture was practically totally obliterated. Mongolian script was replaced by Latin and then Cyrillic, and beautiful Buddhist temples were razed to the ground. In the past decades numerous attempts to revive Buryat culture and religion have been made and hopefully soon we could admire the beauty of this ancient culture.

	Area:		217,800 sq km (territory of Buryatia)
	Location:		Ulan-Ude is situated at the junction of two rivers (Uda and Selenga) between two mountain ranges: Khamar-Daban and Ulan-Burgasy. Ulan-Ude is an important commercial and industrial center of Eastern Siberia, located on the 5,640th kilometer of the Trans-Siberian railway.
	Geographic coordinates:		51 50 N, 107 50 E
	Population:		approx 353,000 (2005 est.)
	Foundation:		1666
	Climate:		The climate is contrast, as it's hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. The average temperature in January (the coldest month) is -27 C, in August (the warmest month) +22 C.
	UTC/GMT Offset:		UTC/GMT + 8 hours
	Area code:		3012
	Major attractions:		Buddhist Datsan, Ethnographic Museum, the History and Nature Museums. The lake Baikal is 250 kilometers away from Ulan-Ude.