Ulhan-Ude is the capital of Buryatia

The city Ulhan-Ude is an administrative political, economic and cultural centre of Buryat Republic. It's one of the oldest large city of Siberia and the Far East. Ulhan-Ude is located on the picturesque place. The North and South sides are bordered with mountains, which are covered with coniferous forest and to the west it spread over the Ivolgin valley. The Zabikalsky beauty river Selenga and fleeting river Uda carry stately their water like the gigantic artery through the city.

The history of beginning and development of the city is inseparably bound up with the historical process of voluntary entry of Buryatia into the central Russia State, with the history of joint life and activities of Buryat and Russian people at economic mastering of Zabaikalye, of the rich territory of Siberia..

The history of Ulhan-Ude, as practically of all old Siberian towns, begins with building of winter hut, jail. In 1666 the Russian Cossack detachment has built the small wooden house in estuary of Uda, on its high rocky side, which was named: "The Udinsky winter hut". The winter Udinsky hut was created in the main for the collection of jasak(tax).

Its very advantageous geographical location made for the further development of Udinsky winter hut, transformation it to the jail, and then to the city – at a cross-roads of main commercial way of Russia with China and Mongolia. Considering the convenient geographical and strategical location of Udinsky winter hut, Russian Government decided to build here a jail(military town). In 1689 its building was finished and this jail was called the Verkhneudinsky jail. In 1690 Verkhneudinsky jail was renamed into the city.

In administrative attitude from the 80th years of 17th century Verkhneudinsk was a member of Ikkutsk province. In commercial way of Russia with China and Mongolia Verkhneudinsk turned comparatively quickly into one of the main commercial centre of Russia in the East. Here was levied commercial duty and in that way the whole trade of Russia with other countries was controlled in essence.

The enterprise in Buryatia has a rich history. In Verkhneudinsk from 1780 the fairs have begun to work. Some time later in the centre of town began the building of ways of shops(1791-1856), which was preserved to this day. The well-known merchants at that time were Mitrophan Kurbabov, Piotr Phrolov, Iakin Phrolov Piotr Trunev.

The development of industry in the city was bound up with building of Trans-Siberian Railway, that was conducted from two sides, from the West and from the East, at the same time, during 13 years, from 1892 to 1905. In the 15th of August 1899 people of Verkhneudinsk saw the first train. Trans-Siberian Railway linked Verkhneudinsk to the whole country and to 1913 the population of this city numbered over 13 thousand people. Now Ulhan-Ude is the big industrial centre of Buryatia Republic.

The source is - "CD Encyclopedia of Baikal” (version 1.1.2003)