What factories were there in Verkhneudinsk? Ulan-Ude - Verkhneudinsk, photo history. "Pioneers of Transbaikalia", or "Siberian conquistadors"

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION FEDERAL STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION BURYAT STATE AGRICULTURAL ACADEMY. V.R.FILIPPOVA

Department of History

Essay
on the History of Buryatia on the topic:"History of the founding of the city of Ulan-Ude"

Ulan-Ude,
2011
Content
Introduction

History of the city of Ulan-Ude

The city in the 18th-19th centuries
Currently

Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction
Ulan-Ude, like many Siberian cities, was founded in the 17th century by Russian explorers. The year 1666 is considered to be the time of the founding of the city. Located on the banks of two rivers - Selenga and Uda.
It got its name from one of them, since it was founded and built primarily on the banks of the Uda. And since Irkutsk land also has the Uda River and the city on it was named Nizhneudinsk, the city that arose in Transbaikalia was christened Verkhneudinsk. In Soviet times, namely in 1934, it, as the capital of the autonomous republic, was renamed Ulan-Ude, i.e. red Uda is a red Soviet city located on the banks of the Uda River.
In the 16th-17th centuries, the development of lands beyond the Urals took place. As the first explorers advanced, forts were built, roads were laid, and economic development of the region began. Thus, in 1647 the Verkhneangarsky fort was built, in 1648 - Barguzinsky, in 1665 the Cossacks of the Barguzinsky fort founded the Selenginsky fort. And in 1666, a Russian Cossack detachment erected a small wooden house at the mouth of the Uda River, on a high rocky bank (near the current bridge over the Uda River), called the “Uda Cossack winter hut.” The Uda winter hut was founded as a center for collecting yasak from the local population, a fortified military point for defense against hostile attacks, and as one of the bases for the Russian advance to the East.

History of the city of Ulan-Ude

Sacred place and the beginning of development

Modern cities, as a rule, are based on those territories that were developed by humans in the distant past.
There is evidence that approximately seven thousand years ago people appeared on the territory of modern Ulan-Ude.
From the available information, we can note: a burial in the village of Shishkovka, dating back to the Neolithic era, Divisionnaya station - a Bronze Age site, burials of the Middle Ages on the outskirts of the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia and the village of Zeleny, as well as archival information about the discovery of burials from the Xiongnu era in the area of ​​the village of Silikatny ( 3rd century BC). The surrounding area of ​​the city is replete with archaeological antiquities, testifying to the history of the city before the period of its development by Russian settlers.
The city of Ulan-Ude is located at the confluence of two rivers: the Selenga and the Uda and began with a small Cossack winter quarters at the time of the annexation of Eastern Siberia to the Russian state (17th century). The place for the city was chosen by the Cossacks and was called “Zaudinsky stone”; a road passed through it, which local people called the “Khan’s bell road” and there was a convenient crossing across the Selenga River.
This place was revered by the Buryat population as sacred.
In 1666, a detachment of Cossacks from Gavrila Lovtsov built the Uda winter hut here, which coincided with the departure of the first Russian state trade caravan from Moscow to China along the route that later became known as the “Tea Route.” 14 years later, in 1678, the defensive walls of the Udinsky fort were erected by the Tomsk boyar’s son Ivan Porshennikov. The choice of location was dictated by a convenient, from a defensive point of view, position, which made it possible to control movements across the territory of Western Transbaikalia.
In 1687, the Udinsky fort was reconstructed by order of the Tsar's envoy, later Field Marshal General, friend of Peter I F.A. Golovin, who arrived in Transbaikalia to conclude the Nerchinsk border treaty with China. The fort was surrounded by large triple gouges, a ditch, a secret passage was made to the river, towers, a guard hut, a settlement, a double fence (a log fence and slingshots), an artillery battery, two gates, and a chapel were built.
There were about 100 Cossack huts in the settlement. In winter, the mountain on which the fort stood was watered so that the enemy could not get close to its walls.
In 1689, at the request of F.A. Golovina-Udinsky fort receives the status of a city and becomes the administrative and military center of Transbaikalia. The construction of the Udinsky fort - city played a huge role in the establishment of peaceful life in Transbaikalia and the development of trade with China.
The historical place occupied by the Uda fort is located above the right rocky bank of the Uda.
The Udinsky fort stood until the second half of the 19th century, after which it was dismantled by the city population for firewood.
Now a memorial sign and a stone cross have been installed on the site of the fort.
The transformation of the Udinsky fort and fortress into a city was facilitated by the influx of Russian settlers into the Selenga valley and the economic growth of the surrounding areas. The Udinsky fort became the main point for storing goods and forming caravans for trade with neighbors. Thanks to its advantageous geographical location, the city has become the administrative and commercial center of Transbaikalia, an intermediary between Mongolia, China and the cities of Eastern Siberia.

The city in the 18th-19th centuries

As the city developed, roads began to be outlined in the direction of the cities of Irkutsk, Nerchinsk, and Chita, which later became the main ones when creating the first plans for the city.
By 1735 there were already 120 residential buildings in the city. The first planning structure of the city was compact, with clearly identified compositional ideas, and has been partially preserved to this day. We were impressed by the originality and beauty of the wooden and stone architecture, as well as the Odigitrievsky Cathedral (built in 1741-1785), Spasskaya (in 1786-1800) and Trinity Church (in 1798-1806). Odigitrievsky Cathedral - the first stone structure of Verkhneudinsk is an original monument of religious architecture of Siberia of the 18th century. Its position was taken as the starting point when determining the street grid in planning projects of the 18th and 19th centuries.
A trade fair was established in 1768; from 1780 it began to be held twice a year and was the largest in terms of trade turnover in Transbaikalia. The city developed as one of the large centers of wholesale trade on the Tea Route; it was home to a large colony of wealthy merchants, with whose funds many public buildings were built.
Since 1783 the city was called Verkhneudinsk and became a district town. Its coat of arms is established, indicating its commercial importance. The rod of Mercury and the cornucopia depicted on the coat of arms symbolized that “a noble trade is taking place in this city.” The main items of trade were manufacturing, leather, hardware, grocery, mosquito and perfumery goods, sugar and tea. According to the description of contemporaries, Verkhneudinsk resembled a continuous shopping center, which was divided into two parts - the city part, consisting of a wooden fortress, and the suburban part with shops, trading benches, private houses and churches.
Due to its location on the Moscow highway, the city became a major stage point on the route to the destination of convicts and exiles. Political exiles, starting with the Decembrists, contributed to the spread of education and culture in Transbaikalia.
In 1793, the first educational institution was opened - a small public school, transformed into a district school in 1806. The famous teacher and poet D.P. Davydov, author of the song “Glorious Sea, Sacred Baikal,” worked there.
The predominantly wooden city is often subject to fires; one of the most severe fires in 1878 destroyed three-quarters of the city's buildings. In 1830 and 1862, the city suffered strong earthquakes, and in 1867 it was hit by a flood, when a large part of the city was flooded.
The first census of 1897 shows that about 8 thousand people lived in the city. The social composition of the city in the mid-19th century was heterogeneous and included burghers (1212 people), military (717 people), commoners (480 people), merchants (171 people), nobles (109 people), officials ( 98 people), house servants (71 people), clergy (60 people), exiles (28 people), etc. The population of the city by religious denomination consisted of representatives of a wide variety of faiths: Orthodox, Jews, Mohammedans, Catholics, Old Orthodox, Buddhists, Lutherans, etc.
People of different nationalities lived in the city - Russians, Jews, Poles, Buryats, Chinese, Tatars, Georgians, Armenians, etc.
In the 19th century, new stone public buildings were erected in the city, including a public library and a city bank.
The first bridge across the Uda River is being built at the expense of the merchant M.K. Kurbatov. In 1803, a meeting of merchants and wealthy townspeople decided on a joint-stock basis to build a stone Gostiny Dvor, the construction of which continued until 1856. Gostiny Dvor became the main public building of the center of Verkhneudinsk at the end of the 19th century and to this day has retained important elements of the shopping area, made in the forms of Russian classicism.
In 1875, a City Regulation was introduced in Verkhneudinsk, according to which the first City Duma was elected, and the merchant of the 1st guild, I.P. Frolov, was elected City Head. In 1873, the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Alexei, passed through the city, and in 1891, Tsarevich Nicholas, who later became Tsar Nicholas II, visited the city. He was returning along the Chita tract from his trip around the world and stayed in the house of the merchant of the 1st guild I.F. Goldobin, which now houses the Museum of the History of the City. In honor of his arrival, the merchants erected a solemn arch - the “Royal Gate”, and the day of his arrival, June 20, was annually celebrated by the townspeople as a holiday.
Since 1900, regular railway traffic opened, connecting Transbaikalia with the center of Russia. The construction of the Great Trans-Siberian Railway in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to fundamental changes in the entire economic life of the city. Branches of large banks and apartment buildings are opening in the city, new enterprises are being built - in 1913 there were 18 of them, the first power plant, hotels and illusion houses are operating.
In 1912, the first city telephone exchange was built, the first automobile appeared, and a road postal and passenger service was established from Verkhneudinsk to Troitskosavsk. The city lives an active social life: charity evenings, concerts, theatrical performances, parades, fair booths, masquerades, as well as the first sports competitions are organized. In 1915, the first football match between the Spartak and Gladiator teams took place on Bazarnaya Square (now Revolution Square).
Revolutionary events change the way of life in the city. In 1917, the Verkhneudinsk Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was formed, chaired by V.M. Serov. The Second Congress of the Working Population of the Baikal Region supported the establishment of Soviet power. In 1918, the city was occupied by troops of the White Czechs and White Guards.
In 1920, Soviet power was established in it. Verkhneudinsk becomes the capital of the Far Eastern Republic, and in 1921 the provincial center of the Baikal province. In 1923, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created, including the territories of Buryatia, Ust-Orda and Aginsky districts, and Verkhneudinsk was declared its capital.
In 1926, air communication between Verkhneudinsk and Ulaanbaatar began; the first airfield was located on the site of the current republican hippodrome. The first professional theater opened, and a small radio station began broadcasting.
In 1929, a shipbuilding plant was built, and the Buryat-Mongolian Institute of Culture was opened - the first academic scientific institution of the republic.
The thirties were years of rapid construction. At this time, the city's population was rapidly increasing due to the arrival of specialists and workers from the west of the country. In 1934, Verkhneudinsk was renamed - now it is called Ulan-Ude.
The city is developing primarily as an industrial center of the republic - plants, factories, food and processing products, and large engineering enterprises are being built. Instead of a ferry crossing, a road bridge was built across the Selenga River. Public transport begins to function - the first 19 buses serve 4 routes with a length of 29 km.
etc.................

History of the administrative-territorial structure of Verkhneudinsk - Ulan-Ude and adjacent places
(First part)
In 1682, an independent Irkutsk voivodeship was formed, which included in 1686 the Verkholensky, Balagansky and Idinsky forts and Biryulskaya Sloboda with the villages assigned to them, and somewhat later the Western Transbaikal forts (Verkhneangarsky, Barguzinsky, Bauntovsky, Udinsky, Selenginsky , Itantsinsky, Kabansky, Eravninsky), while the eastern forts of Buryatia came under the jurisdiction of the Nerchinsky fort. The voivode was the sole manager of the voivodeship, subordinate directly to the Siberian order. He was a civil and military commander and had executive and judicial powers. By the way, the judicial power of the governors in 1695 was somewhat limited: they were prohibited from passing death sentences. However, he was also in charge of diplomatic relations with the Mongols and Oirats, which were of a local nature; more important embassies were sent directly to Moscow.
In 1690, the Udinsk fortress received the status of a suburb; Selenginsk (Staroselenginsk) continued to remain the administrative center of Western Transbaikalia. At first, Udinsk was ruled by a Cossack head, then by a commandant. “How at first there was a small village, then multiplied by the above-mentioned archers, who were renamed Cossacks, after which it was called a suburb... Divided into two parts, of which the first is called Gorodskaya, and the second - Slobodskaya... The first part consists of a wooden fortress with towers, a powder magazine , artillery guardhouse and guardhouse; the second part consists of five provision stores, an office, barracks, a wine cellar, drinking houses, trading shops, one almshouse, four houses for official places and 110 philistine houses...”
Traveler Paul Labbe wrote about Udinsk: “... From a distance it looks really big; close up it is just a large village, similar to all Siberian district centers with wide dusty streets, which any thunderstorm turns into potholes, with wooden houses, with that sad and monotonous appearance that is characteristic of most Russian cities...”
On January 31, 1775, according to the Decree of the Governing Senate, Udinsk began to be called a provincial city (the center of the Udinsk province) as part of the Irkutsk province. On September 25, 1775, the Uda Provincial Chancellery was formed. “All those district towns and places that were under the jurisdiction of the Selenga and Nerchinsk Voivodeship Boards came under the subordination of this province: Barguzin and, in a word, all overseas inhabitants, except those assigned to the Nerchinsk factories.” Soon the governor arrived, artillery major Ivan Vasilyevich Tevyashov, comrade Ivan Vasilyevich Lanskoy and the prosecutor Ivan Ivanovich Melgunov. At that time in the city of Udinsk there were 271 male “revision souls” (205 commoners and nobles, 6 guild artisans and 60 townspeople).
In 1779, the city of Staroselenginsk, which had previously been the main administrative center of Western Transbaikalia, was subsequently subordinated to Udinsk and became a registered city of the Verkhneudinsk district. In June 1782, governor I.V. Tevyashov was transferred to Irkutsk. Vladimir Leontievich Voeikov was appointed as the new governor of the Uda province (Demin E.V., 2006, p. 214).
On March 2, 1783, according to the Highest personal Decree, Verkhneudinsk district was formed, Udinsk became a district city of the Irkutsk region and was named Verkhneudinsk, although it was located at the mouth of the Uda River (that is, it could have been called Nizhneudinsk, but such a settlement already existed in the Irkutsk region, and previously, places located further to the east were called upper). “The local situation under the entire city is meadow and flat. It extends 480 fathoms in length, 400 fathoms in width, and its shape is like a triangle... This city is divided into two parts. The first is called city, the other is called suburban; The first part consists of a wooden fortress with towers, a gunpowder magazine, an artillery workshop and a guardhouse. The second part consists of provision stores, an office, barracks, a wine cellar, drinking houses, trading shops, factory stores, private houses, of which there are 110 in number, and in the middle of these last three churches. Such a description of the township part is given in “Ancient Russian Vivliofika...” on the eve of the urban planning reform” (Guryanov V.K., Guryanov M.V., p. 20). In Verkhneudinsky district there were 252 settlements, including two cities: Verkhneudinsk and Staroselenginsk, three forts (Barguzinsky, Ilyinsky, Kabansky), three fortresses (Troitskosavskaya with the Kyakhtinsky outpost (Kyakhta trading settlement), Petropavlovskaya and Kudarinskaya), thirteen Cossack guards, then settlements and villages; There were 48,437 inhabitants, of which 28,737 people were Buryats and Evenks and 20,000 Russians.
On December 12, 1796, Siberia was divided into two provinces - Irkutsk and Tobolsk (according to the state approved in 1798, the Irkutsk province included 17 districts: Balagansky, Verkholsky, Irkutsky, Ilimsky, Kirensky, Nizhneudinsky, Yakutsky, Zashiversky, Srednekolymsky, Nizhnekolymsky, Olekminsky, Verkhnevilyuysky, Barguzinsky, Verkhneudinsky, Selenginsky, Tunkinsky and Nerchinsky).
In 1822, in connection with the transformation of Western Transbaikalia into the Verkhneudinsk district, the city of Verkhneudinsk became a district city of the Irkutsk province and the second largest city in Eastern Siberia after Irkutsk.
In 1824, Zaudinskoye Suburb was almost completely built up with estates. Naberezhnaya Street began with the estate of the Cossack Ivan Portnyagin and consisted of 9 estates. Voznesenskaya Street began with the estate of the Cossacks Peter and Semyon Tarakanovsky and consisted of 26 estates. Prodolnaya Street began with the estate of Kozma Skornyakov; there were 10 estates on it. Bolshaya Street began with the estate of the clerk Pyotr Tsynkov. There were 27 estates on it. Novo-Kazachya Street began with the estate of the Cossack Ivan Markov and included 20 estates. Lesnoy Lane consisted of two estates - the Cossack Vasily Beloglazov and the tradesman Stadyrnov. In total, in Zaudinsky Suburb there were 95 houses of residents, one state-owned wooden house and one public one. There were 35 wooden houses across the Selenga River (Guryanov V.K., Guryanov M.V., pp. 45-46).
In March 1827, the Verkhneudinsk merchant of the 1st guild Grigory Aleksandrovich Shevelev, on the advice of the Decembrist A.N. Muravyov, rented a plot of land near the city, in a mountain valley, along the Berezovka River (on Strelka) and further until it flows into the river. Udu for creating a farm and an experimental plot for acclimatization and breeding of fruit trees, vegetables, cereals and industrial crops. Soon the land was cultivated, planted and sown. On the recommendation of A.N. Muravyov, Grigory Shevelev becomes a correspondent for the Moscow Society of Agriculture (Moscow Society of Agriculture), where until 1833 he sent correspondence with the results of his experiments, which were regularly published in the Agricultural Journal. Shevelev was the first in Transbaikalia to master the industrial production of beets, conducted (albeit unsuccessfully) experiments in the cultivation of American tobacco and Chinese wheat, and grew vegetables and clover. Also here he was engaged in horse breeding and conducted experiments on bee breeding (Ulan-Ude in the past and present, pp. 50-51).
On August 16, 1851, the regulations on the administration of the Trans-Baikal region, formed from the Verkhneudinsky and Nerchinsky districts of the Irkutsk province, were approved, the abolition of the Verkhneudinsky district administration and court. In the Trans-Baikal region “... there were 3 district towns, including provincial towns, 2 provincial towns, 15 settlements, 51 villages, 304 villages, 479 Cossack villages, 46 border guards, 3 cathedral huts, 2 clan councils, clan administrations - 145, foreign uluses - 700, Tungus naslegs - 13. 356,688 people lived in the Transbaikal region.”
In 1875, according to the city register in the central part of Verkhneudinsk, the number of courtyard plots and houses in them was 348, there were 1269 male residents and 1345 female residents; for r. The number of household plots is 215, male residents are 466, and female residents are 503; for r. In Selenga, the number of courtyard plots is 39, male residents are 89, and female residents are 96; total: 602 households, 1824 men, 1944 women (total 3768 people). In 1878, according to the city government in Verkhneudinsk, on the estates of residents there were 1,415 horses, 1,015 heads of cattle, 750 sheep, 42 heads of pigs, 98 goats.
On December 4, 1882, the popular Russian magazine “Niva” writes: “Verkhneudinsk is one of the best cities in our distant Transbaikalia. Situated on the right bank of the Selenga, it occupies a not particularly large area, formed, on the one hand, by the Selenga, on the other by the Uda tributary, and on the third by a sandy hill on which a small pine forest grows. The city itself consists of three parts: the city itself, the Zaudinskaya settlement and a village located several miles up the Selenga.... Before the formation of the Trans-Baikal region, i.e. until the end of 1851, Verkhneudinsk was considered a district city of the Irkutsk province. The general appearance of Verkhneudinsk is quite beautiful: the streets are wide and quite regularly located, with the exception of one - Podgornaya, which the very conditions of the area did not allow to be drawn into one straight line. Several decades ago there was a lake here, and therefore this area is still popularly called Mokra Sloboda, indeed, after the rain it lives up to its name. On the large central square, in a stone two-story building, the public places of Verkhneudinsk are located: the city government, the treasury and the zemstvo court. Another square is Bazarnaya, where special trading activity is in full swing during the local fair, which lasts from January 26 to February 6, which attracts not only residents of the Verkhneudinsky district, but even Barguzinsky and Nerchinsky. Of the more remarkable city buildings, besides Gostiny Dvor, some of the local churches deserve special attention due to their structure and intricate architecture. The oldest church in the city was Spasskaya, a wooden church built near the mountain itself. Now a cross has been erected on this place where she stood, and this entire area is in the possession of one private individual. The local cathedral church was built in 1741, and the Trinity Cemetery - in 1809. The inhabitants of Verkhneudinsk are up to four thousand: these are mainly townspeople and Cossacks. The townspeople are engaged in petty trade or exchange of goods in Chita and Kyakhta. In addition, many of them travel around local villages and conduct a brisk trade in omul, since omul, together with brick tea, constitute the main food of the local common people. The Cossacks are engaged in farming, transporting and selling firewood. Many branches of trade are in the hands of Jews, who have now managed to get into even the farthest corners of Siberia. In the vicinity of the city there are factories: soap, candle and glass factories.” Then in the city of Verkhneudinsk there were 4,130 residents, of which 2,124 were male and 2,006 were female.
On June 16, 1884, the Trans-Baikal region was removed from the jurisdiction of the East Siberian Administration and transferred to the Amur Governor-General. The Transbaikal region consisted of 8 districts - Verkhneudinsky, Nerchinsky - since 1851; Barguzinsky, Selenginsky, Chitinsky - since 1870; Troitskosavsky, Akshinsky, Nerchinsko-Zavodsky - since 1872
In 1891, in the book “Transbaikalia. A brief historical, geographical and statistical outline of the Trans-Baikal region" wrote: "... The city is divided into four parts: the city itself, the mountainous part, the village inhabited by Cossacks (belongs to the city and is subordinate to the Verkhneudinsk police, but at the same time is part of the Selenga district) and a settlement located about 6 miles from the city.... In the city there is a district police department, a district treasury; have a stay as a mountain police officer of gold mines, a comrade prosecutor, a judicial investigator...”
On January 1, 1899, the national composition of the city of Verkhneudinsk was: Russians 4356 people. (men 2142, women 2214), Jews 731 people. (men 399, women 332), Tatars 85 people. (men 55, women 30), Poles 82 people. (men 62, women 20), Chinese 60 people. (all men), Buryats 52 people. (men 25, women 27), Germans 14 people. (men 8, women 6), Georgians 6 people. (all men), Armenians 8 people. (all men), Circassians 15 people. (all men), other 45 people. Total 5454 people.
The Zaudinsky suburb had the official status of a Cossack village, although in police terms it was subordinate to the city. Here, in addition to the Cossacks, the poor people of the city settled. “Zaudinskoe suburb, which has 220 estates, i.e. a third of the estates of the entire city, remains in its former run-down abandoned position and brings in the city revenues an assessment fee from real estate of 260 rubles, i.e. one twentieth of the total collection” (Minert L.K. Architecture, p. 55). The Zaudinsky Cossacks regularly served military service in the Cossack troops, and in normal times they lived a peasant life: they had arable land, meadows, kept livestock, planted potatoes in the fields and were widely engaged in gardening. “They grew especially a lot of cabbage on their large private plots, and they supplied the city with other vegetables in predominant quantities. Housewives baked bread, rolls and fluffy fragrant rolls for the bazaar. Every day they carried fresh custard rolls into the city from house to house in birch bark baskets placed on their heads, in the preparation of which they specialized to perfection. In the fall, when the collection of pine nuts was over, they supplied the townspeople with nut oil, and the children were given pleasure by “sboine” - fatty nut squeezes with sugar in the form of a cake, which were sold for a penny each and were a favorite delicacy for children.” Nevertheless, meat dishes began to form the basis of the city residents’ diet. Meat was purchased in butcher shops, bazaars and fairs. Some city residents raised livestock and provided themselves with meat. There were almost no meat grinders; meat was chopped in wooden troughs with semicircular knives with wooden handles attached to them - “chipping”. In winter, dumplings were prepared for future use, which were taken out into the cold on spacious iron baking sheets. Wealthy townspeople could afford to buy sausages, which were produced by only a few craftsmen. Hunting and fishing brought a certain variety to the diet of the townspeople. There was good hunting for ducks and geese along the Uda River in spring and autumn. In those years when there was little game in the suburbs, townspeople went for ducks and geese to the Buryats in Ivolga or to the “Semeyskie” in Taltsy.
On January 1, 1904, the national composition of the city of Verkhneudinsk was already: Russians 7500 people. (men 4000, women 3500), Jews 1480 people. (men 800, women 680), Tatars 100 people. (men 60, women 40), Poles 105 people. (men 70, women 35), Chinese 60 people. (all men), Buryats 90 people. (men 50, women 40), Germans 25 people. (men 15, women 10), Georgians 6 people. (all men), Armenians 15 people. (all men), Circassians 32 people. (men 30, women 2), others 117 people. Total 9530 people.
On March 17, 1906, the Transbaikal region was removed from the jurisdiction of the Amur Governor-General and was re-incorporated (see June 16, 1884) into the Irkutsk Governor-General, where it was until 1917.
On January 1, 1916, the population of Verkhneudinsk by nationality was: Russians 14,512 people. (7155 MP, 7357 female population), Jews 1346 (660 MP, 686 female population), Poles 284 (131 MP, 153 female population), Buryats 85 (53 m.p., 32 zh.p.), Chinese 107 (100 m.p., 7 zh.p.), Tatars 433 (187 m.p., 246 zh.p.), Circassians 13 (m.p. .), Armenians 68 (38 m.p., 30 zh.p.), Georgians 75 (51 m.p., 24 zh.p.), Lithuanians 15 (6 m.p., 9 zh.p.) , Estonians 60 (27 m.p., 33 r.p.), Latvians 28 (17 m.p., 11 r.p.), Japanese 71 (29 m.p., 42 r.p.), Koreans 35 (18 m.p., 17 zh.p.), Mordovians 10 (8 m.p., 2 zh.p.), Greeks (m.p.), unknown 45 (35 m.p., 10 f. .P.). Total 17193 people. (8534 m.p., 8659 zh.p.).
On April 6, 1920 in Verkhneudinsk, at the first constituent congress of workers' representatives, the Far Eastern Republic (FER) was formed. Verkhneudinsk becomes the capital (until November 4). The Far Eastern Republic is a “buffer” state that allowed the eastern Russian territories to maintain Russian sovereignty in the conditions of foreign intervention and distance from the center. It included the territories of Transbaikal (with the center in the city of Chita), Amur (with the center in Blagoveshchensk), Priamurskaya (with the center in Khabarovsk) and Primorsky regions (with the center in Vladivostok), Kamchatka, Northern Sakhalin and right-of-way of the Chinese Eastern Railway. The Far Eastern Republic allowed a multi-party system, universal suffrage by secret ballot, private property and private trade. Communist A.M. was elected head of the provisional government of the Far Eastern Republic. Krasnoshchekov (real name and last name Abraham Moiseevich Tobelson, 10.10.1880-26.11.1937). On May 14, 1920, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR officially recognized the Far Eastern Republic and Verkhneudinsk as the capital of the entire Far East.
On November 5, 1920, the Government of the Far Eastern Republic moved from Verkhneudinsk to Chita. After the government of the Far Eastern Republic moved to the city of Chita, the People's Revolutionary Committee of the Baikal Region (Priboblnarrevkom) was formed to perform the functions of power, organize economic and cultural life in the city of Verkhneudinsk, the executive body of which was the presidium. B.N. was elected Chairman. Dobronravov. In November 1921, it was reorganized into the Regional Administration of the Far East (Fund Guide..., p. 30). Priboblnarrevkom was located on the street. Big, in Kobylkin’s house (now V.I. Lenin Street, No. 27). On November 22, 1920, the Government of the Far Eastern Republic adopted a resolution on the separation from the Transbaikal region of the Pribaikal region with the administrative center in the city of Verkhneudinsk. December 30, 1920 “The other day, government emissary of the Baikal region A.M., appointed by the government D-V.R., arrived from Chita. Buyko" ("Baikal region", 1920, December 30, p. 2). January 30, 1921 “Order No. 1. It is announced to the population and government institutions of the region that the government regional emissariat is located in the city of Verkhneudinsk, Bolshaya Street, Goldobina's house... Emissary of the Baikal region A. Buyko" ("Baikal region", 1921, January 30, p. 2).
May 17, 1922 “Comrade Postyshev was appointed Government Emissary of the Baikal region, who will soon take up his duties” (“Pribaikalskaya Pravda”, 1922, May 17). In October 1923, in connection with the liquidation of the Baikal province, the Pribgubispolkom transferred its powers to the Revolutionary Committee of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Guide to the funds..., p. 19).

On the eve of the upcoming 350th anniversary of the capital of Buryatia - the city of Ulan-Ude (Udinsk-Verkhneudinsk), a documentary opportunity has appeared to doubt the correctness of the generally accepted date of its foundation - 1666. The date is accepted, so to speak, by default, but has not been precisely documented, writes the famous Buryat local historian Eduard Demin, in his article in the newspaper “Buryatia”.

Brief history of the issue

First, a little about the more than two-century history of historians designating in printed publications different dates of foundation and the founders of Selenginsk and Udinsk, which are inextricably linked in the general initial history.

Perhaps the very first specific information about the dates of foundation and founders of Transbaikal Selenginsk and Udinsk will be published in 1838 by the famous Siberian historian P.A. Slovtsov (1767-1843) in the first edition of the “Historical Review of Siberia”: “It is almost certain that Selenginsk, which has existed since 1666, was built up by a team of wasps. Irgensky, who went down Khilka; that this new castle (...) was erected in 1668. Udinskoy, based on Selenginsk." And in a footnote: “Unfortunately, nowhere was it noted what the Yenisei authorities did to promote the construction of the Uda and Selenga forts? That’s why I wanted to look at the Yenisei Chronicle.” The famous historian, apparently, did not have documentary evidence, but when naming dates for Selenginsk and Udinsk, he correctly judged the foundation of the second from the first.

In 1883, the Siberian historian I.V. Shcheglov in his “Chronological list of the most important data from the history of Siberia” will name the dates: “1649. Foundation of the Verkhneudinsk fort" (...). 1666. Selenginsk was founded as a fort.” Shcheglov names, in principle, contradictory dates for Udinsk and Selenginsk, which are chronologically and organizationally inextricably linked.

Very indicative of a critical attitude towards the information of previous authors, as well as one’s own, which turned out to be inaccurate, are the historical works of another well-known historian of Siberia, V.K. Andrievich. In his early works - “Manuals for writing the history of Transbaikalia” (1885) and “A brief outline of the history of Transbaikalia” (1887) - he writes: “Tolbuzin (...) ordered the construction of the Selenginsky fort in 1666; Udinsky (Verkhneudinsky) fort was built in 1668.” In the same works, Andrievich convincingly proves the inconsistency of the founding date of the “Udinsky fort” in 1649 named by Shcheglov. But in his main work, “History of Siberia” (1889), he no longer writes that it was the Nerchinsk governor Larion Tolbuzin who ordered the construction of the Selenginsky fort, instead we read: “The Selenginsky fort was built in 1666 (...). According to a document stored in the Moscow archive of the State Collegium of Foreign Affairs, in book No. 9” on page 3 it is written: “About the Selenginsky fort, the local Cossacks, in 7181 (1673) who came to Moscow with Mungal envoys, said: they set That prison, having selected 80 people from Yeniseisk by itself, without the voivode’s knowledge, is now in its 9th year.” Therefore, the Cossacks set up a fort in 1665.” Here it is very important to pay attention to the fact that the archival data given by Andrievich about the founding of the Selenginsky fort in 1665 became the first publication of this date.

In a 1916 monograph by historian A.P. Vasilyev’s “Transbaikal Cossacks”, clarified and supplemented by the names of direct figures, information about the founding of Selenginsk begins directly with the subtitle “Foundation of Selenginsk by Cossack foremen Osip Vasilyev and Gavriil Lovtsov in 1665.” Then follow the lines of this section: “In 1665, when he was in the Barguzinsky prison as a clerk for the Streltsy head Pervago Samoilov, Cossack foremen Osip Vasiliev and Gavriil Lovtsov (...) submitted a petition to Samoilov, asking for permission to bring under the sovereign’s hand the traitors Buryats who had left Balagansk and lived now on Chikoy, and set up a fort among their nomadic camps on the Selenga River, at the mouth of Chikoy. (...). Here, on September 27, 1665, having chosen a suitable place in Mongolian land, a new fort was erected and called it Selenginsky.” Regarding the founding of Udinsk, the author limited himself to only one mention of the “Udinsk winter quarters (at the mouth of the Uda).” The great merit of the Trans-Baikal historian Vasiliev, which has not yet been noted, is his very first publication, with reference to documentary archival sources, of the names of the founding fathers of the Selenga fort (and therefore Udinsk), which had not previously been named in printed publications.

The founders and enthusiasts of the modern compilation of the history of the Baikal region, including the “biography” of Verkhneudinsk, were prominent scientific and public figures of Eastern Siberia: historian and ethnographer N.N. Kozmin; historian, local historian, expert on local archives V.P. Girchenko and the famous Buryat historian and ethnographer M.N. Bogdanov.

Regarding the date of the founding of Verkhneudinsk, the first to speak out was Girchenko, who in 1922, in the historical essay “Baikal region,” without citing sources, wrote: “In 1665 it was founded near the confluence of the river. Chikoya in Selenga fort Selenginsky. After a year [i.e. in 1666 - E.D.] at the confluence of the Uda River with the Selenga, the Uda winter hut was set up to collect yasak from the surrounding Tungus, which later turned into a mountain. Verkhneudinsk".

Kozmin owns, obviously, the very first special work in modern local history on the history of Verkhneudinsk, published in 1925 under the title “Essays on the Mountains. Verkhneudinsk". In it, Kozmin, having placed the date according to Shcheglov, immediately disavows it with an indisputable historical fact: “The founding of the Udinsky fort dates back to 1649, but it is interesting that Spafariy, who twice passed in 1675 the place where the Udinsky fort should be, does not mention absolutely about him. (...). Spafariy could hardly have missed the Udinsky fort if it existed.”

Girchenko’s large historical essay “Foundation and Initial History of the City of Verkhneudinsk” was also published in 1925. In it, Girchenko, referring to printed sources, notes: “In the “response” drawn up on September 30, 1665, the Cossack foreman Vasiliev reported to the Yenisei governor that the service people... had chosen a suitable place in the Mungal land, on the Selenga River... . they built a new prison"; “and the foreigners to the new Selenginsky fort,” the same Vasiliev reported in another reply, dated August 14, 1666, “were called up: 25 people were called up for the yasash payment of the Kolenkur clan of foreigners of the Tungus people... and for those new conscripted foreigners, a yasak payment was set winter quarters at the mouth of the Uda River.” Girchenko, confirming the validity of Kozmin’s doubts, will close the question of 1649, concluding his chronological analysis with the words: “The dating of the founding of Udinsk to 1649 also contradicts the above data.” But, as later pointed out by the researcher of urban planning and monuments of Transbaikalia, the author of the book “Architecture of Ulan-Ude” L.K. Minert (1983), he himself will be mistaken, dating the lines of Vasiliev’s reply he quotes to August 14, 1666, instead of April 27, 1666 indicated in the document.

In 1926, in “Essays on the History of the Buryat-Mongolian People” by historian and ethnographer M.N. Bogdanov (introduction by N.N. Kozmin), on the same documentary basis, the founding date of the Selenginsky fort will be indicated - 1665 and one of its founders will be named - “Cossack foreman Osip Vasiliev”.

In subsequent Soviet years, historian E.M. Zalkind (in 1949) writes: “In the 60s (...) several forts were built, the largest of which were Selenginsky and Udinsky, founded in 1666.” Regarding the Selenginsky fort, Zalkind later, in the 1958 monograph “Annexation of Buryatia to Russia,” will clarify: “Permanent relations with Kukan Khan began after the construction of the Selenginsky fort in 1665 at the mouth of Chikoy.” The author will also designate “the builder of the fort Gr. Lovtsov,” incorrectly calling him Grigory, but according to the documents he is Gavrila.

In the “Chronology” attached to the “History of the Buryat-Mongol ASSR”, published in 1951, the founding of Selenginsk and Udinsk is dated back to 1666.

Apparently, following this chronology, in relation to Udinsk, the same date will be repeated in their books about Ulan-Ude by historians F.M. Shulunov - in 1955, Ts.Ts. Dondukov - in 1961, both without naming its founders.

In 1966, historian N.V. Kim in “Essays on the History of Ulan-Ude” will write: “In 1666, the Cossacks of the Selenga fort, going down the Selenga, reached the mouth of the Uda and established a small Cossack winter hut here (Udinskoe). (...). In August 1666, in one of their reports to the Siberian Prikaz, servicemen wrote about this: “And for those... prize foreigners, a winter quarter was set up at the mouth of the Uda River.” And in the 1976 essay “The Udinsky Fortress,” Kim specifies the date and names one of the founders: “Ulan-Ude dates back to a small Cossack winter hut, built in 1666 by the serviceman Osip Vasilyev, “comrades” who founded the Selenginsky fortress a year earlier.” As we see, Kim is also mistaken regarding the date of unsubscription (not August 1666, but April 27).

The most serious chronological analysis will be carried out by the already mentioned researcher L.K. Minert, who in a unique monograph of 1983 - “Architectural Monument of Buryatia” - wrote by date: “G. Ulan-Ude (formerly Verkhneudinsk) was founded at the turn of 1665-1666.” In the above-mentioned book, he will consider this issue in detail: “Although the time of construction of the winter hut is not indicated in the documents, it is quite accurately determined by the time between two reports (unsubscribes) of Osip Vasilyev, i.e. September 30, 1665 and April 27, 1666. It is generally accepted that the year of foundation of the city of Verkhneudinsk (Ulan-Ude) is 1666. As can be seen from the above, the construction of the winter quarters was carried out either in the last months of 1665, or at the very beginning (January, February) of 1666. In this case, October 1665 seems more likely g., until the freeze-up of the Selenga."

Later, Far Eastern historian A.A. would support Minert’s opinion. Artemyev in the 1999 monograph “Cities and forts of Transbaikalia and the Amur region in the second half of the 11th-111th centuries.”

In the 1991 article “And the Cossack winter quarters were built” and in the 1995 book “Udinsky Fortress,” local historian Alexey Tivanenko writes: “Although Osip Vasiliev writes that he began construction of the new fort [Selenginsky - author] on September 27, 1665, this unlikely." These lines alone cannot inspire confidence in the author for the reason that in the corresponding replies from Vasiliev the word “started” is missing, but is clearly indicated - “they set up a new prison,” the Yenisei governor also wrote to the tsar, according to Vasiliev’s replies. And one more thing: a completely normal, very healthy, and also literate person, a Cossack foreman, a fearless pioneer, who combined the duties of a clerk and an interpreter here, was one of them - the founders of Selenginsk and Udinsk - Osip Vasilyev... And there is no doubt that he was fully responsible for his actions and replies to the “comrades”, the governor and the tsar...

In a very informative book from 1993 by historian S.V. Evdokimova “Essays on the history of the cities of Transbaikalia in the 11th-111th centuries.” in relation to the founding of the Selenginsky fort, information that has already become documented indisputable is named: the date is “September 27, 1665”, the founders are “Pentecostal Gregory [Gavrila - E.D.] Lovtsov and foreman Osip Vasiliev.” But about the time of the emergence of Verkhneudinsk, the historian writes that service people “under the leadership of Gavrila Lovtsov, “looking for” new lands, reached the mouth of the Uda River (...) on August 14, 1666 [in the source, as specified by L.K. Minert, April 27 - E.D.] set up a winter hut.” True, further, the author determined the time of foundation of the winter hut more carefully: “It would be correct to assume that by the autumn of 1666 the winter hut already existed.”

To summarize this selective list, we can say that the founding date of Selenginsk in the past was called 1668 and 1666, and Udinsk - 1649, 1666 and 1668. The first person to call 1665 the year of the founding of the Selenga fort in 1889 was the historian V.K. Andrievich, and the first who, pointing out the mistake of V.P. Girchenko (repeated later), when dating one of the replies (not August 1666, but April 27), in 1983, documented doubted the founding year of Udinsk-Verkhneudinsk (Ulan-Ude), generally accepted today as 1666. Researcher L.K. Minert. Well, the first person who, in 1916, with reference to documentary archival sources, identified the names of the founding fathers of the Selenga fort (and therefore Udinsk), who had not previously been named in printed publications, was the Transbaikal historian A.P. Vasiliev.

Now we can move on to the ancient act that I recently discovered, which clearly draws a line under such a long discord of opinions regarding the founding date of the modern capital of Buryatia - the city of Ulan-Ude (Udinsk-Verkhneudinsk).

This document, which has not yet been introduced into our local historical and local lore circulation, “Reply of the Yenisei Cossacks O. Vasiliev and his comrades to the Siberian order on the construction of the Selenga fort, on the Mongolian ambassadors and the Chinese state,” dated “1666 no earlier than March 26,” - “the time of writing the list with the contractual petition (TSGADA, f. Mongolian Affairs, op. 1, 1666, d. No. 2, l. 14).” It is given in the collection of documents “Russian-Mongolian relations. 1654-1685", published in 1996.

A unique ancient act

Here are the relevant extracts from this document, addressed by all the original builders of the Selenga fort directly to the Russian Tsar:

“To the Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, autocrat of all Great and Lesser and White Russia, and to the Sovereign Tsarevich and Grand Duke Alexei Alekseevich, of all Great and Lesser and White Russia, and to the Sovereign Tsarevich and Grand Duke Feodor Alekseevich, of all Great and Little and White Russia, your slaves beat the Yenisei prison with their foreheads, foreman Oska Vasiliev with his servicemen. (...).

And this year, great sovereigns, in the year 174, on the 27th day of September, having chosen a suitable place, on the Selenga River in the Mungal land, for the help of God, you, the great sovereign, erected a new Selenga fort, and according to the salary, the fort was erected 60 fathoms printed , and in the corners there are 4 towers with spreaders and covered towers. And the height of the fort is half a third fathom, and the circle of the fort is fortifications, garlic and gouges.” (...).

And this year, great sovereigns, in the year 174, on the 30th day of September, I, Osipko Vasiliev [with] service people from the comrades from the new Selenginsky prison, sent those Mungal ambassadors to you, the great sovereigns, to Moscow, and with them, the ambassadors, the Pentecostal Cossack Gavrilko Lovtsov and the servicemen Pyatunka Fofanov and Fedka Ivanov Vyatchenin were released from the Yenisei prison, the foreman // Cossack Timoshka Grigoriev was released to the eager Cossacks, and the serviceman Tarasko Afanasyev was released with them. (...).

Yes, in the present, great sovereigns, in the 174th year of September, on the 27th day, you, the great sovereign, were called by the Tsar's Majesty, under the high hand, into eternal, unrelenting servitude and in tribute payment, foreigners - the Tungus people of the Lyulelenkur family of 25 people to the Selenga at the mouth of the Uda River to the winter tribute, and those drafted and visiting foreigners of the Tungus people were beaten by the Barguzin yasak Tunguses at the mouth of the Itantsa River, and those slaughter people were killed by a pogrom belly from the Barguzin yasak Tunguses of the Streltsy and Cossack head of the First Samoilov, for any threat, took the cattle and belly and yasyr for himself.”

The uniqueness of this ancient act for the initial history of Selenginsk and Udinsk is also seen in the list of names and surnames given in it of almost half of their original builders, of whom, as is known today, there were 85 people. By publishing this list, I really hope that some of the modern residents of Buryatia will recognize their Transbaikal ancestors in them. These are the first and last names of the first builders and first settlers who signed the appeal to the Tsar:

“Yes, in the present, great sovereigns, in 174, the serviceman Afonko [Fedorov] Baidon was taken from the Irkutsk fort of the Yenisei to the new Selenginsk fort for your great sovereign affairs for interpretation in the Tungus and Bratsko language and Mungal translation. Please, great sovereigns, give that interpreter in the Yenisei prison from your royal treasury his Cossack salaries, cash and grain and salt salaries.

Yes, then with this reply to you, the great sovereign, a contractual petition was sent for our hands, a list word for word, as I, your servant Oska Vasilyev, cleaned up the service people and newly-applied Cossacks and called up the Selenga service for your great sovereigns.

On ll. 8-14 rev. assault: To this response to the Selenginsk prison, the foreman, a Cossack foreman, a Siberian native Oska Vasiliev, and instead of the foreman Ofonka Kazymin and instead of the interpreter Ofonka Boydon, at their behest, and in his place, put his hand. Instead of servicemen Vasily Stepanov, Evdokim Mikiforov, Ontsifor Ermolin, Filip Simanov, Mikhail Ivanov Palachev, and at their behest, Zakharko put his hand in for himself. The service man Ivashko Tyukhin put his hand. Instead of servicemen and willing Cossacks, Mikhail Kolesarev, Timofey Rodukov, Luka Ivlev, Kuzma Mogulev, Yarafey Mogulev, Ignatius Stefanov, Lu[ku]ka Fomin, Mikhail Kichigin, Ivan Telnovo, Yakov Kirilov, Ivan Osipov, Tretyak // Denisova, Sergius Ivanov , Oniki Grigoriev, Ivan Vasilyev, Levontiy Timofeev, Ivan Belogolov, Dmitrey Ivanov, Sava Grigoriev, Oleksiy Yakovlev, Oniki Kirilov, Mikhail Yakovlev, Maxim Vlasov, Ofonasy Eleseev, Gerasim Nanarimskovo [correctly Narimskovo] and instead of himself Timoshka Danilov Tatarinov put his hand in. Instead of the eager Cossacks Stenka Mikha[y]lov, Yakunka Maksimov, Ondryushka Matfiev, Ondryushka Kozmin, Vavilka Grigoriev, and Ivashka Afanasyev put his hand in for himself. // Instead of the eager Cossacks Ekim Overkiev, Fyodor Ondriev, the eager Cossack Efimko Mikhailov had a hand. Instead of the service people Vasily Semenov, Ondrei Ivanov Failures and in all the service people, instead of those who were unable to read and write, the service man Petrushka Vasiliev Vlasyev, at their behest, put his hand to the Yenisei prison. (TSGADA, f. Mongolian affairs, op. 1, 1666, d. No. 2, pp. 8-12. Original).”

As can be seen from the dates named in this act, the date “in the year 174 of September on the 27th day” refers both to the establishment of the Selenginsky fort and to the already existing one “at the mouth of the Uda River for the winter tribute.”

Thus, the reliably documented date of the founding of the Udin winter hut, and therefore the city of Udinsk-Verkhneudinsk (Ulan-Ude), should now be considered not 1666, but 1665. The winter hut at the mouth of the Uda River was apparently built almost simultaneously with the Selenga fort itself, in the same months of 1665 and by the same first builders.

Modern cities, as a rule, are based on those territories that were developed by humans in the distant past.

There is evidence that approximately seven thousand years ago people appeared on the territory of modern Ulan-Ude.

From the available information, we can note: a burial in the village of Shishkovka, dating back to the Neolithic era, Divisionnaya station - a Bronze Age site, burials of the Middle Ages on the outskirts of the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia and the village of Zeleny, as well as archival information about the discovery of burials from the Xiongnu era in the area of ​​the village of Silikatny ( 3rd century BC). The surrounding area of ​​the city is replete with archaeological antiquities, testifying to the history of the city before the period of its development by Russian settlers.

The city of Ulan-Ude is located at the confluence of two rivers: the Selenga and the Uda and began with a small Cossack winter quarters at the time of the annexation of Eastern Siberia to the Russian state (17th century). The place for the city was chosen by the Cossacks and was called “Zaudinsky stone”; a road passed through it, which local people called the “Khan’s bell road” and there was a convenient crossing across the Selenga River.

This place was revered by the Buryat population as sacred.

In 1666, a detachment of Cossacks from Gavrila Lovtsov built the Uda winter hut here, which coincided with the departure of the first Russian state trade caravan from Moscow to China along the route that later became known as the “Tea Route.” 14 years later, in 1678, the defensive walls of the Udinsky fort were erected by the Tomsk boyar’s son Ivan Porshennikov. The choice of location was dictated by a convenient, from a defensive point of view, position, which made it possible to control movements across the territory of Western Transbaikalia.

In 1687, the Udinsky fort was reconstructed by order of the Tsar's envoy, later Field Marshal General, friend of Peter I F.A. Golovin, who arrived in Transbaikalia to conclude the Nerchinsk border treaty with China. The fort was surrounded by large triple gouges, a ditch, a secret passage was made to the river, towers, a guard hut, a settlement, a double fence (a log fence and slingshots), an artillery battery, two gates, and a chapel were built.

There were about 100 Cossack huts in the settlement. In winter, the mountain on which the fort stood was watered so that the enemy could not get close to its walls.

In 1689, at the request of F.A. Golovin, the Udinsky fort received the status of a city and became the administrative and military center of Transbaikalia. The construction of the Udinsky fort - city played a huge role in the establishment of peaceful life in Transbaikalia and the development of trade with China.

The historical place occupied by the Uda fort is located above the right rocky bank of the Uda.

The Udinsky fort stood until the second half of the 19th century, after which it was dismantled by the city population for firewood.

Now a memorial sign and a stone cross have been installed on the site of the fort.

The transformation of the Udinsky fort and fortress into a city was facilitated by the influx of Russian settlers into the Selenga valley and the economic growth of the surrounding areas. The Udinsky fort became the main point for storing goods and forming caravans for trade with neighbors. Thanks to its advantageous geographical location, the city has become the administrative and commercial center of Transbaikalia, an intermediary between Mongolia, China and the cities of Eastern Siberia.

As the city developed, roads began to be outlined in the direction of the cities of Irkutsk, Nerchinsk, and Chita, which later became the main ones when creating the first plans for the city.

By 1735 there were already 120 residential buildings in the city. The first planning structure of the city was compact, with clearly identified compositional ideas, and has been partially preserved to this day. We were impressed by the originality and beauty of the wooden and stone architecture, as well as the Odigitrievsky Cathedral (built in 1741-1785), Spasskaya (in 1786-1800) and Trinity Church (in 1798-1806). Odigitrievsky Cathedral - the first stone structure of Verkhneudinsk is an original monument of religious architecture of Siberia of the 18th century. Its position was taken as the starting point when determining the street grid in planning projects of the 18th and 19th centuries.

A trade fair was established in 1768; from 1780 it began to be held twice a year and was the largest in terms of trade turnover in Transbaikalia. The city developed as one of the large centers of wholesale trade on the Tea Route; it was home to a large colony of wealthy merchants, with whose funds many public buildings were built.

Since 1783 the city was called Verkhneudinsk and became a district town. Its coat of arms is established, indicating its commercial importance. The rod of Mercury and the cornucopia depicted on the coat of arms symbolized that “a noble trade is taking place in this city.” The main items of trade were manufacturing, leather, hardware, grocery, mosquito and perfumery goods, sugar and tea. According to the description of contemporaries, Verkhneudinsk resembled a continuous shopping center, which was divided into two parts - the city part, consisting of a wooden fortress, and the suburban part with shops, trading benches, private houses and churches.

Due to its location on the Moscow highway, the city became a major stage point on the route to the destination of convicts and exiles. Political exiles, starting with the Decembrists, contributed to the spread of education and culture in Transbaikalia.

In 1793, the first educational institution was opened - a small public school, transformed into a district school in 1806. The famous teacher and poet D.P. Davydov, author of the song “Glorious Sea, Sacred Baikal,” worked there.

The predominantly wooden city is often subject to fires; one of the most severe fires in 1878 destroyed three-quarters of the city's buildings. In 1830 and 1862, the city suffered strong earthquakes, and in 1867 it was hit by a flood, when a large part of the city was flooded.

The first census of 1897 shows that about 8 thousand people lived in the city. The social composition of the city in the mid-19th century was heterogeneous and included burghers (1212 people), military (717 people), commoners (480 people), merchants (171 people), nobles (109 people), officials ( 98 people), house servants (71 people), clergy (60 people), exiles (28 people), etc. The population of the city by religious denomination consisted of representatives of a wide variety of faiths: Orthodox, Jews, Mohammedans, Catholics, Old Orthodox, Buddhists, Lutherans, etc.

People of different nationalities lived in the city - Russians, Jews, Poles, Buryats, Chinese, Tatars, Georgians, Armenians, etc.

In the 19th century, new stone public buildings were erected in the city, including a public library and a city bank.

The first bridge across the Uda River is being built at the expense of the merchant M.K. Kurbatov. In 1803, a meeting of merchants and wealthy townspeople decided on a joint-stock basis to build a stone Gostiny Dvor, the construction of which continued until 1856. Gostiny Dvor became the main public building of the center of Verkhneudinsk at the end of the 19th century and to this day has retained important elements of the shopping area, made in the forms of Russian classicism.

In 1875, a City Regulation was introduced in Verkhneudinsk, according to which the first City Duma was elected, and the merchant of the 1st guild, I.P. Frolov, was elected City Head. In 1873, the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Alexei, passed through the city, and in 1891, Tsarevich Nicholas, who later became Tsar Nicholas II, visited the city. He was returning along the Chita tract from his trip around the world and stayed in the house of the merchant of the 1st guild I.F. Goldobin, which now houses the Museum of the History of the City. In honor of his arrival, the merchants erected a solemn arch - the “Royal Gate”, and the day of his arrival, June 20, was annually celebrated by the townspeople as a holiday.

Since 1900, regular railway traffic opened, connecting Transbaikalia with the center of Russia. The construction of the Great Trans-Siberian Railway in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to fundamental changes in the entire economic life of the city. Branches of large banks and apartment buildings are opening in the city, new enterprises are being built - in 1913 there were 18 of them, the first power plant, hotels and illusion houses are operating.

In 1912, the first city telephone exchange was built, the first automobile appeared, and a road postal and passenger service was established from Verkhneudinsk to Troitskosavsk. The city lives an active social life: charity evenings, concerts, theatrical performances, parades, fair booths, masquerades, as well as the first sports competitions are organized. In 1915, the first football match between the Spartak and Gladiator teams took place on Bazarnaya Square (now Revolution Square).

Revolutionary events change the way of life in the city. In 1917, the Verkhneudinsk Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was formed, chaired by V.M. Serov. The Second Congress of the Working Population of the Baikal Region supported the establishment of Soviet power. In 1918, the city was occupied by troops of the White Czechs and White Guards.

In 1920, Soviet power was established in it. Verkhneudinsk becomes the capital of the Far Eastern Republic, and in 1921 the provincial center of the Baikal province. In 1923, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created, including the territories of Buryatia, Ust-Orda and Aginsky districts, and Verkhneudinsk was declared its capital.

In 1926, air communication between Verkhneudinsk and Ulaanbaatar began; the first airfield was located on the site of the current republican hippodrome. The first professional theater opened, and a small radio station began broadcasting.

In 1929, a shipbuilding plant was built, and the Buryat-Mongolian Institute of Culture was opened - the first academic scientific institution of the republic.

The thirties were years of rapid construction. At this time, the city's population was rapidly increasing due to the arrival of specialists and workers from the west of the country. In 1934, Verkhneudinsk was renamed - now it is called Ulan-Ude.

The city is developing primarily as an industrial center of the republic - plants, factories, food and processing products, and large engineering enterprises are being built. Instead of a ferry crossing, a road bridge was built across the Selenga River. Public transport begins to function - the first 19 buses serve 4 routes with a length of 29 km.

1932 - the Pedagogical Institute named after A.S. Pushkin and the first Buryat professional theater were opened.

During the Great Patriotic War, military hospitals were established in the city, where wounded soldiers were treated. In memory of these events, obelisks and monuments were erected in squares, avenues and streets; a memorial was opened at the Zaudinsky cemetery on the mass grave of soldiers who died in city hospitals.

In the post-war years, the development of the city continued. The construction of a fine cloth factory has been completed.

In 1952, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city was built - the Buryat State Opera and Ballet Theater, which became one of the best musical theaters in Eastern Siberia and received the title "academic" in 1979.

1957 - a new reinforced concrete bridge was built across the river. Udu instead of an arched wooden one.

The first tram track was laid, the first television station began broadcasting. New universities and schools are opening, rapid housing construction is underway, and new microdistricts are appearing on the city map.

In 1966, the city solemnly celebrated the 300th anniversary of its founding.

In 1971, the reconstruction of the administrative center - Soviet Square was completed with the opening of the monument to V.I. Lenin, which became one of the unique attractions of the city. In the north-eastern part of the city, the “Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia” was opened and a new building of the Buryat Academic Drama Theater named after Kh. Namsaraev was built.

In 1990, the city was included in the "List of Historical Populated Places in Russia." Here, under state protection there are 52 historical monuments, 177 - architecture and urban planning, 3 - monumental art, 1 - archeology, of which 11 are monuments of federal significance.

In 1991, the city was visited by the head of Buddhists around the world, the Dalai Lama, and Buddhists of the republic celebrated the 250th anniversary of the official recognition of Buddhism in Russia. In 1992, for the first time in the history of Verkhneudinsk, Ulan-Ude the city was visited by the First President of the Russian State B.N. Yeltsin.

In 1995, for the first time in the history of the city, general elections for the mayor were held. V.A. was elected head of local government. Shapovalov. In July 1996, the city celebrated its 330th anniversary.

The 90s were especially marked by the revival of Orthodox and Buddhist temples, the construction and consecration of new religious buildings. In 1995, construction of the first female Buddhist monastery began in the city. The Center for Oriental Medicine, founded in 1989 and using in its practice methods of Tibetan medicine dating back centuries, received the status of a regional medical center in 1996.

Currently, the city of Ulan-Ude is a dynamically developing business, cultural and scientific center of Transbaikalia.

The city's population is 375.3 thousand people. The city can rightfully be considered a cultural, theatrical and museum capital - there are 6 state theaters, the Buryat national circus, and 6 museums.

The museum collections carefully preserve objects of everyday life and cultures of the peoples who inhabited Buryatia from the Hunnic settlements to the present day. The original art of artists, jewelers, and craftsmen is known far beyond the republic's borders. You can buy their works while walking along the pedestrian part of Lenin Street, which was transformed in 2004.

Today, when we are building a social state, there is no clear understanding in society of what will happen in the end? And what is “socially responsible business”? Whereas in the history of the capital of our republic there is a rather long period when such a business existed.

On trade routes

In the trading city of Verkhneudinsk, the main donors were, of course, merchants. If a simple city dweller donated from 1 to 3 rubles when collecting funds (which was a lot in the prices of those years), then merchants donated from 100 rubles and more. And this was a noticeable phenomenon in public life. Shortly before the revolutionary upheavals, in 1903, the Society for Assistance to the Poor was founded in Verkhneudinsk, and a board was elected, headed by Elizaveta Goldobina, the wife of an eminent merchant. But this is the final stage of the charity movement. How did it all begin?

Already by the beginning of the 18th century, Verkhneudinsk could be considered a major trading center in Transbaikalia. Trade with China, mining of gold and furs led to the emergence of a wealthy stratum - the merchant class. These were active citizens: merchants built shops and factories and acted as philanthropists. A significant proportion of the merchant class were Old Believers - people strong in faith and with strong moral principles.

They donated a lot of money to good causes: they built and maintained hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, shelters for the poor and elderly, and made donations to churches and schools. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, merchants made up 12.8% of the city's population. At the end of the 18th century, 20 merchants registered in the guild were trading in Verkhneudinsk. In 1844, there were already 69 guild merchants in the city.

Merchants of the 1st guild traded in Kyakhta along the border with the Chinese and within the empire. Merchants of the Second Guild traded wholesale and retail in cities and fairs. The trade of the merchants of the III guild was limited to Verkhneudinsk and its district. But there were also small traders who also did not shy away from charity, which was considered a charitable deed.

Among the merchants of Verkhneudinsk in the first half of the 19th century, the most famous were Mitrofan Kurbatov - the owner of a glass factory and the best two-story stone house in the city, the Mordovsky brothers, merchants Pyotr Lebedev, Pyotr Frolov, Gavrilo Mikhailov, Alexander Shevelev, Alexander Kobylkin, Yakov Rubinstein, families Sotnikovs, Losevs, Menshikovs, Trunevs, Naletovs and others.

Was charity beneficial? In accordance with the Regulations of the Chief Magistrate of 1721, merchants received sufficient benefits and business opportunities, as they were exempt from conscription. They were allowed to buy peasants and convert them into laborers, as well as hire workers from another class.

The regulation accelerated the concentration of capital in the merchant community and marked the beginning of its separation into the merchant class. By the end of the 18th century, with the adoption of the City Regulations - “Charter of Rights and Benefits to the Cities of the Russian Empire”, the merchant class finally took shape. We will talk about some of them below.

City fathers

Archival materials of that time contain documents indicating that the “generators of ideas” and the main implementers of socially useful works were two merchant-philanthropists - Mitrofan Kurbatov and Alexander Shevelev. Mitrofan Kuzmich was a merchant of the 1st guild, an honorary citizen of the city of Verkhneudinsk and the mayor from 1816 to 1819. In partnership with a Moscow merchant named Gulyaev, Barguzin merchant Ivan Chernykh and Suzdal merchant Nevzorov, he built a soap and glass factory, the first of which was the only one in Transbaikalia at that time.

Merchant Kurbatov, who did not receive a systematic education, was seriously and thoroughly engaged in self-education, and was known as an intelligent person. Using his own funds in 1817, he built a dam on Selenga to “drain rushing water, which... still brings life-saving benefits and will serve as an example to later posterity and the gratitude of the city’s residents.” This dam has been preserved to this day; there is a city beach near it.

The Kurbatov House was the center of cultural life in Verkhneudinsk

In 1822, Mitrofan Kurbatov assembled a floating bridge across the Uda, for which he was awarded the gold medal “For Merit” and the title “Honorary Citizen of Verkhneudinsk.” The Kurbatovs' house was the center of cultural life in Verkhneudinsk.

Kurbatov's house, our days. Russianstock.ru, Zorikto Dagbaev

Alexander Shevelev was one of the major donors for the development of education in Verkhneudinsk. He made a generous gift to the city, giving it a house for a school and providing apartments for teachers. For this he was awarded a silver medal on a scarlet ribbon “to be worn around the neck.” Like Kurbatov, Shevelev was among the first shareholders of the Gostiny Dvor under construction. He left his son Gregory as the heir to his capital.

Grigory Alexandrovich, like his father, was engaged in construction contracts. In 1830, he received a government contract for the construction of a medical building on the hot Turkin dunes (now the Goryachinsk resort).

Grigory Shevelev also rented a plot of land near the city, near the Berezovka River (now Strelka) before it flows into the Uda, and here he began experiments in growing American tobacco and Chinese wheat, vegetables and the production of glue. He was the first in Transbaikalia to start breeding merino sheep, took up horse breeding, and conducted experiments on bee breeding. The grandson of Alexander Shevelev, Mikhail Grigorievich, founded the first shipping company in the Far East, whose ships sailed between Hanhou (China) and Vladivostok.

Another merchant (I guild) - Yakov Nemchinov. An honorary citizen of the city of Verkhneudinsk, a philanthropist, he did a lot for the improvement of the city. In 1906, when the 3rd and 4th grades of the real school were opened, he rented the second floor of his house. At Nemchinov’s expense, a stone chapel was built in the name of the first bishop of the independent Irkutsk diocese, St. Innocent, the Irkutsk miracle worker. His son, merchant Andrei Yakovlevich Nemchinov, a famous person in the city, donated 1000 rubles to organize a meeting of the heir to the Russian throne, Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov, in Verkhneudinsk.

Meeting the Tsarevich. A triumphal arch was erected in Verkhneudinsk for his visit

"Royal Doors" today. Russianstock.ru, Zorikto Dagbaev

To the present day

He became famous for his generous gift for the needs of the city. Peter Frolov- honorary citizen of Verkhneudinsk, tradesman, owner of the estate. In 1870, thanks to his help, the first secondary male educational institution in Transbaikalia was opened - a real school, to which he allocated his two-story stone house (Lenin St., 11). Later, a scholarship named after the donor was established at the Verkhneudinsk Real School. He made another charitable gesture by bequeathing his capital in the amount of 100 thousand rubles, according to the wishes expressed by the Bishop of Transbaikal and Nerchinsk, for the construction of a temple in the name of St. John the Baptist.

The same thing, the first men's real school in Transbaikalia

Ivan Goldobin- Irkutsk merchant of the 1st guild, also a hereditary honorary citizen of Verkhneudinsk. The government issued a certificate of hereditary honorary citizenship to Ivan Flegontovich and his wife Elizaveta Evgrafovna. The whole city knew about the merchant’s charitable activities.

Merchant Goldobin's House

Today there is a museum of the history of the city here.

Goldobin’s great merit is considered to be the reception in his house (Lenin St., 26) of the heir to the Russian throne, Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov. The Tsarevich stayed in the main house of the Goldobin estate on June 21, 1891, upon returning from his trip around the world.

Museum of the History of the City, interactive performance “The Career of the Merchant I.F. Goldobin.” Russianstock.ru, author Mark Agnor

His wife is Elizaveta Goldobina- Hereditary honorary citizen of Verkhneudinsk, was the trustee of a shelter for children of prisoners. In 1896, she bequeathed 25 thousand rubles to Verkhneudinsk for the construction of an almshouse and an orphanage. As an honorary trustee of the Verkhneudinsk women's gymnasium, she donated 1000 rubles to this educational institution. She was awarded His Highest Imperial Majesty's favor in 1904.

Alexander Kobylkin citizen of Verkhneudinsk, merchant of the 1st guild, owned a brewery, glass-making mineral water factory on Batareinaya Square and an estate. In 1901, he also leased a plot of land of 2,400 square meters for 38 years. fathoms opposite his brewery (on Batareika) for the construction of a pavilion and gazebos for the recreation of citizens. The main house of the Kobylkin estate (Lenin St., 27) has still been preserved. It is registered as an architectural monument of local significance...