Buryat

Stalin, like the Cossacks and other Russians before him, didn’t much favor these people, with their Mongolian dialect (still alive, floating in between Russian in the conversations of babushki) and their Buddhist and shamanist leanings, but he compromised and allowed them to have their temples and yurts and their own republic too. Today Buryats make up about half of Ulan Ude’s population, but the traditional trappings grow ghostly in the face of Russian and growing western influences. In a quiet way, there seems to be a very slight racial divide in Ulan Ude, favoring whites--though there is no apparent racism here, for which Russia is typically known. It's a wonder that any tension could arise: they are as deeply, demurely beautiful a people as you can find.