Who are Buryats?

The historical roots of the Buryat are related to the Mongolic peoples. Also, its language, history, and nomadic herding are very similar to Khalkh Mongolians. Today the Buryat people are the 2nd biggest ethnic minority in Mongolia constituting over 49,000 in northern Mongolia. There 461,000 Buryat ethnic groups live in Russia and 10.000 Buryats live in the north-eastern area of Inner Mongolia, China.

History of Buryats

It is said that the ancestors of modern Buryats were one of the Xiongnu tribe, that inhabited the Lake Baikal area.  The name "Buriyad" is mentioned as forest people for the first time in The Secret History of the Mongols. Genghis khan subjugated Buryats in 1207 when he was uniting all Mongol tribes. 
Before Manchu domination in the 16th century, Buryats were subject to Tusheet Khan and Setsen Khan of Khalkha Mongolia. 

When Buryats annexed to Russia 
In the 16th century, the Russian empire began intensively expand its borders to the east and They reached Lake Baikal in 1643. Russians invaded Siberia and began to build fortifications in Buryatia. The territory and people were formally annexed to the Russian state by treaties in 1689 and 1727 when the territories on both sides of Lake Baikal were separated from Mongolia. 

Why Buryats became victims of Stalinist Purge
Also during the Russian Civil War, most of the Buryats were supporting the White forces of Baron Ungern-Sternberg. In 1925, a battle against religion and clergy in Buryatia began. Temples were gradually closed down and the activity of the clergy was curtailed. In 1927, the Buryats revolted against Russian suppression. During the uprising, 35,000 Buryats were killed. In 1937, 10,000 Buryats were shot dead by Stalin's order because of fear that Buryat nationalism would become stronger. Moreover, a Stalinist purge of Buryats spread into Mongolia, known as the incident of L’humbee.

Republic of Buryat
In 1958, the name “Mongol” was removed from the name of the republic. Also, around 1958, the Mongolian script was banned and replaced by Cyrillic.  The Republic of Buryatia was adopted in 1992.