Ulan-Ude is a city with the three-century history, particular culture and unique architecture that preserved the antiquity and absorbed the modern features. The capital of Buriatia is situated in Transbaikalia, in the valley of the river Selenga between the Khamar-Daman and Ulan-Burgasy Ranges, 74 km east from the Baikal.

Ulan-Ude was based in the 17th century by the Russian path-breakers. The year of its foundation is considered 1666, when the Russian Cossack detachment construct a little hut on the rocky bank in the mouth of the river Uda (a right tributary of the Selenga; 467 km long), and called it the Udinsky winter hut. Mainly, it was built for the purpose of yasack (tax type of Siberia that, mainly, was paid with furs) imposing on the local inhabitants. The place for it was chosen luckily. The winter hut was situated at the crossroads between Russia, China and Mongolia. The woody mountains and water ways served as a good protection from all the parts around. Due to the geographically and strategically beneficial location of the winter hut, the Moscow government decided to build a big ostrog there. The winter hut was fenced with a paling in 1860. The construction was ended in 1689. Later the Udinsky ostrog had got a rank of city. Its official name of the – Verkhneudinsk had been approved in the 30s of the 18th century.        

While developing of Transbaikalia: construction of the land Siberian highway, the Russian-Chinese trade relations as well as a complete disappearance of the war threat, made the transport, commerce and administrative functions of the city become first and foremost.  In 1775 the Tsar’s Senate invested Verkhneudinsk with own emblem. There depicted a babr (tiger) with a sable in his mouth (like on Irkutsk’s emblem) on the gold field at the upper part of the emblem, while at the lower part – a rod of the god Mercury (god of commerce) along with a horn of plenty that emphasized the commerce importance of the city. In 1994 the emblem had been changed for Ulan-Ude separated from the Irkutsk Oblast and formed its own one. The current emblem has no babr, the lower part is the same, but the sun and the moon appeared at the upper part symbolizing the eternal life and hearth.     

The first primary school was opened in 1793, and in 1806 it was already reformed into the district college. A number of the educational institutions rapidly grew up, and in 1916 there were already 27 diverse schools and colleges in Verkhneudinsk. The first stone buildings were built in the city center in 19th century. They were constructed in style of the Classic architecture.   

After the Buryat Republic having joined Russia, the economic process of the region’s development, the strengthening of the commodity-money relations and its involving into the country-wide market stimulated the industrial forces growth. There opened the handicraft workshops and petty plants.

By the end of the 19th century Verkhneudinsk acquired an aspect of the European Russia’s district city. Its streets were straight and right-laid. There were constructed a square with stone buildings and trade rows. Moreover, its lucrative location: near the navigable river Selenga, on the main road from Irkutsk towards Amur and close location of the bread and well-do regions converted Verkhneudinsk into the main commerce center of the western part of the Transbaikalia.

The intensive industrial development of the city connected with the construction of the Great Trans-Siberian railroad.  The laying of the Verkhneudinsk’s part of the road was terminated in 1899. On August 15, 1899 the city’s residents saw a first train. It was a great and joyful event in the life of Verkhneudinsk.

By 1917 the population of the city ran to 20 thousand people. On May 30, 1923 the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialistic Republic with the capital Verkhneudinsk was formed. 

From 1932 the industrial development of the city intensified. There began the large construction of diverse industrial objects in the suburbs that time. In short period the buildings of the biggest in the East industrial enterprises were erected. In 1934 Verkhneudinsk was renamed in Ulan-Ude. In Buryat language it means “Red Uda” according to the river Uda’s name. The rank of the Buryat Autonomous Republic’s capital Ulan-Ude had got in 1958. Nowadays, there are about 400 thousand residents in the city. It places Ulan-Ude on the third position among the rest Eastern Siberian cities.     

The capital of Buryatia is the main industrial center. There are several big plants in the city such as aircraft works, shipbuilding and instrument-making plants. Light and food industry (large fine-cloths mill, meat-packing and milk factories) are developed well enough. Apart from all these, the city is considered to be the scientific and cultural center of the Republic. There are five institutions of a higher education, over 20 technical secondary schools and professional colleges. There is also the Buryat Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Ulan-Ude. Besides, 4 theatres, among them of ballet and opera, and 6 museums provide a bright cultural life of the capital.

The most visiting by the tourists object  in Ulan-Ude is an Ethnographical open-air museum of the tribes of Transbaikalia. It is situated in the suburbs of the city in Verkhnaya Berezovka village. The unique exhibits that tell us in details about the Buryat tribes’ culture and their way of life are kept in the museum’s funds. There one can see tiled tombs belonged to the Bronze Age, the medieval felt yurty as well as the wooden architectural monuments dated from the beginning of the 20 century. The museum started its work in 1973, and now it is considered to be one of the unique open-air museum-preserve of 23 hectares. 
 
About 100 thousand visitors go through the museum’s doors annually. Its exposition is presented in such a way that every ethnic group that inhabits the Baikal region, is shown apart from all others. Firstly, there is an archaeological complex, then the Evenks’ one, the Buryats’ and so on.  One more museum is a Historical one. It represents diversity of the Orthodox and Buddhist relics.

One of the Ulan-Ude’s famous sights is a monument of V.I. Lenin. It is placed on the main city square named Square of Sovety. The 12-tone monument in form of the leader’s head was erected in 1970 in honour of Lenin’s 100-year birthday anniversary. This very monument was acknowledged as the best one on the world exposition in Montreal in 1967.    

Ulan-Ude also is a big transport point. The city connects Transbaikalia with Mongolia, China and countries of Asia and the Pacific Ocean region as well as Far East and Siberia through the net of the railroads and highways. Nowadays, there is an intensive house-building construction in Ulan-Ude. The city center spread out in form of amphitheatre along the banks of the Uda and the Selenga, is being filled up with new modern constructions owing to that a greater number of tourists is attracted. The modern buildings, decorated with the stained-glass windows, mosaic pictures of the national ornament, peacefully neighbor with the old merchants’ mansions preserved up to our days. Such buildings are the monuments of the wooden and stone architecture.      

From 1990 Ulan-Ude is regarded as one of the historic cities of Russia due to its territory possesses over 200 historical, cultural and architectural monuments. There is an Ivolginsky datsan at a distance of 40 km from Ulan-Ude that was built in 1947. In the main temple of the datsan is kept an imperishable body of Pandido Khambo-lama Itygilov – the authentic Buddhist monk that reached a lucid state – Nirvana, that provides freedom from own conscious of “I am” and burden of the world. Lama died in 1927, and some years ago, his body was taken out his grave by the Buddhists of Buryatia. During the examination of his body even the scientists that are the materialists didn’t find any indications of death. The logical explanations to that had not been given up to now. The only way left is to regard it as a miracle. The monks of the local datsan believe that Pandido Khambo didn’t die, he just continues meditating.       

According to the Mass Media (electronic and printing publications) Ulan-Ude occupies one of the first places in the Russian Federation, and possesses the most modern tele-communicational technologies.

The development strategy of Ulan-Ude that is under elaboration now, is aimed to the providing of a decent place for the city in the regional and world division of labour. It is planned to keep on developing the most competitive advantages of Ulan-Ude, for instance, the high cultural potential and national culture attainments of Buryatia, the unique natural, climate and ecological peculiarities of Lake Baikal and commercially beneficial geographical position as well.