Ulan-Ude

Ulan-Ude was first called Udinskoye (Удинское, [ˈudʲɪnskəjə]) for its location on the Uda River. It was founded as a small fort in 1666. From around 1735, the settlement was called Udinsk (Удинск, [ʊˈdʲinsk]) and was granted town status under that name in 1775. It was renamed Verkhneudinsk (Верхнеудинск, [vʲɪrxnʲɪˈudʲɪnsk]; "Upper Udinsk") in 1783, to differentiate it from Nizhneudinsk ("Lower Udinsk") lying on a different Uda River near Irkutsk which was granted town status that year. The descriptors "upper" and "lower" refer to the positions of the two cities relative to each other, rather than the location of the cities on their respective Uda rivers. Verkhneudinsk lies at the mouth of its river, while Nizhneudinsk is along the middle stretch. …

The first occupants of the area where Ulan-Ude now stands were the Evenks and, later, the Buryat Mongols. Ulan-Ude was settled in 1666 by the Russian Cossacks as the fortress of Udinskoye. Due to its favorable geographical position, it grew rapidly and became a large trade center which connected Russia with China and Mongolia and, from 1690, was the administrative center of the Transbaikal region. By 1775, it was known as Udinsk, and in 1783 it was granted city status and renamed Verkhneudinsk. After a large fire in 1878, the city was almost completely rebuilt. The Trans-Siberian Railway reached the city in 1900 causing an explosion in growth. The population, which was 3,500 in 1880, reached 126,000 in 1939. From 6 April to October 1920, Verkhneudinsk was the capital of the Far Eastern Republic, also known as the Chita Republic. …

Ulan-Ude lies 5,640 kilometers (3,500 mi) east of Moscow and 100 kilometers (62 mi) southeast of Lake Baikal. It is 600 meters (2,000 ft) above sea level at the foot of the Khamar-Daban and Ulan-Burgas mountain ranges, next to the confluence of the Selenga River and its tributary, the Uda, which divides the city. Ulan-Ude is traversed by two rivers, the Selenga and Uda. The Selenga provides the greatest inflow to Baikal Lake, supplying 50% of all rivers in its basin. The Selenga brings about 30 cubic kilometers (7 cubic miles) of water into the lake per year, exerting a major influence on the lakewater's renewal and its sanitary condition. Selenga is the habitat of the most valuable fish species such as Omul, Siberian sturgeon, Siberian taimen, Thymallus and Coregonus. Uda is the right inflow of the Selenga river. The length of the watercourse is 467 kilometers (290 miles).