Ust-Ordynski Buryat Autonomous Okrug

District within the Irkutsk oblast (region) of southeastern Siberia, Russian Federation; area 22,300 sq km/8,610 sq mi; population (1996) 143,000 (57% Russians, 36% Buryats). The capital is Ust-Ordynski. Industries include coal and gypsum mining. Grain, potatoes, and vegetables are grown, and there is animal husbandry. The region is located on the southern part of the high Central Siberian plateau, west of Lake Baikal. The climate is severely continental. The vegetation is mostly coniferous wooded steppe. The principal river is the Angara.

The original inhabitants of the Ust-Ordynski region were the Buryat nomadic pastoralists; they were subdued by the Russians and the region was incorporated into the Russian empire during the 17th century. Under the Soviets, the area of Ust-Ordynski was originally part of the larger Buryat–Mongol Autonomous Republic (see Republic of Buryat) from 1923 onwards, but was constituted as a separate region under the administrative control of Irkutsk oblast in 1937.