In Southern Siberia, just north of Mongolia, sits the Republic of Buryatia. For thousands of years, nomadic Mongol and Chinese tribes inhabited this area. In the early 1600’s, however, the first Cossacks arrived and forced the local tribes to become subjects of the Russian Empire. Ever since, the Buryat tribes have faced the slow decline of their culture and language to the endangered state that it is in today (UNESCO). To learn how Buryats have been losing their language and culture, this project will show events and changes throughout history using maps and timelines.
Using Russian census data, I will visualize how the percentage of Buryats that speak their native language has been in a decline since the late 1800’s. This will be further supported by data and history of how Buryats migrated from rural villages to urban cities (Russian Census), and the effect that has had on Buryat tradition. Beginning with language, I will explain what caused decline in usage, like Soviet laws that repeatedly changed the alphabet and forced schools to only teach in Russian (Minorities at Risk). Next, I will describe how Buryat culture has changed and declined, caused by urbanization, suppression of religion in the USSR, and other forced cultural assimilation methods. Finally, I will analyze how the Buryat government and people have been attempting to preserve their language and culture through their constitution, distributed media, and arts.