Ust-Orda Buryat AD (until 2008) - Атлас этнических региональных автономий

Description of the autonomy

The former subject of the Russian Federation, one of the 6 districts, liquidated as a result of the enlargement of the regions in 2003-2008. It was located in the northeastern part of Russia on the territory of the Irkutsk Oblast. It had no borders with other subjects of the Russian Federation. Ust-Orda Buryat AD was a subordinate entity of the Russian Federation and at the same time was a member of another entity (Irkutsk Oblast). In 2006, a referendum was held to merge the Irkutsk Oblast and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug, which resulted in the creation of a new constituent entity of the Russian Federation in 2008. The Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug entered this entity as an administrative and territorial unit with a special status.

The district was formed in September 1937 as the Ust-Orda Buryat-Mongolian national Okrug in the Irkutsk Oblast. In 1958, it was renamed the Ust-Orda Buryat National Okrug, and in 1978 it was reorganized into the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug. In 1990, a declaration was adopted, and the district was declared a subordinate entity of the Russian Federation, as a part of the Irkutsk Oblast.

The titular ethnic group in the district were Buryats. According to the 2002 census, they made up 39.6% of the population of the district, while Russians - 54.4%. The Buryats differ from the titular nation of the country in language and religion. The Buryat language belongs to the Central Mongolic group of Mongolic languages. Since the end of the XVI century, the Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelugpa school has been widely spread among the Buryats. There are also traditional beliefs, which are termed Shamanism or Tengrism.

Autonomy's characteristics

Year of the creation of the autonomy:

Geographic

Where is the autonomy situated:
Autonomy area: km²
Share of the autonomy in the area of the country: %
Autonomy population:the latest census thousands of people
Share of the autonomy in the population of the country: %

Country's characteristics

Level of economic development of the country:GDP per capita in 2015 in current price in $ in $
Political regime in the country:It is based on the Freedom House Index, 2015. All countries of the world are located on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). Countries whose ratings fall between 1.0 and 2.5 are “Free”, between 3.0 and 5.0 are "Partly Free," and those between 5.5 and 7.0 are "Not Free."

Economic

Share of the autonomy in the economy of the country:GRP of the autonomy divided to GDP of the country (%) %
Level of economic development of the autonomy:relative to the country (%): GRP per capita of the autonomy divided to GDP per capita of the country %

Ethnic

Share of the dominant in the country ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the dominant in the country ethnic group divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Share of the titular ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Ethnic peculiarity:It indicates a key characteristic of autonomy's ethnic identity - language or religion or both
Diversity of ethnic composition:The presence of other (in addition to the titular group in the autonomy and the dominant group in the country) significant ethnic groups in the population of the autonomy

Political

Degree of self-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_selfrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of self-rule: institutional depth; policy scope; fiscal autonomy; borrowing autonomy; and the extent to which a region has an independent legislature and executive. The index takes value from 0 to 18
Degree of shared-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_sharedrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of shared-rule: participation of a region in national law-making; intergovernmental meetings; the distribution of national tax revenues; borrowing; and constitutional change. The index takes value from 0 to 12
The presence of the "kin-state":"Kin-state" is a state whose main population shares the ethnic characteristics of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy
Linguistic preferences:It indicates how the language of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy is learned in secondary schools in the autonomy
Ethnic conflicts:It indicates whether the serious conflicts between the autonomy and the central government as well as between ethnic groups within the authority take place in 2001-2015. The level of conflict is determined on the basis of the annual reports of Conflict Barometer