General Information

Aginskoye is an urban-type settlement located 6286 km far from Moscow in the southern part of the Chita Region, East Siberia, and an administrative center of the Aginsky-Buriatsky Autonomous Region. The territory of Aginskoye is about 19,000 sq. km. The population of the region is 80,000 people and the population of the Aginskoye is about 9 thousand people.

City telephone code: +7 30239.

History

The region was separated in the framework of the Chita Region on September, 26, 1937 when the East Siberian Region was divided into two parts – Irkutsk and Chita regions. It is generally thought that the name Aginskoye comes from the Aga River that flows close to the city. In Evenk language ‘Aga’ means ‘open valley’.

The indigenous people of the region are Buriats. By now Buriats make up 54,9% of the total population while Russians make up about 40,8%. A total of 40 nationalities live in the town, including Tatars, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Armenians etc.

The main religion is Lamaism, a branch of Buddhism, while Orthodox Christianity is certainly widespread among Russians.

The living standards in the city now are quite high. In Aginskoye with 9 thousand people living in, there are 4 schools, one elite school and 7 kindergartens. People live mostly in wooden houses and almost each family have a car, which is not typical even for Russian big cities.

Climate

The territory of the region is basically mountainous. The climate is sharply continental. The winter is cold, the average temperature of January is minus 24C; summer is hot, the average temperature in July is plus 18C.
The local sharply continental climate punctuated by frequent drought periods, and water and wind erosion hinder agricultural development. Land improvement and erosion control measures are generally required.

Economy

The natural conditions favour fine-fleeced sheep breeding. Dairy cattle, pigs, horses, birds are bred.

Agricultural enterprises in the Aginskoye-Buryat Autonomous Region take up 67 per cent of the territory and the agricultural sector plays a leading role in its economy. Chernozems (black earth) make up 37.2 per cent of the land and chestnut soils are about 36.5 per cent.
The goal of the local government is preservation and strengthening of the agricultural sector, production intensification, reduction of production costs and rising competitiveness of regional farm products.

Woods occupy about 1/3 of the territory of the region. There are also deposits of nonferrous metals. Mining (tungsten ore and concentrates), woodworking (business wood, saw-timbers, furniture, joiner’s products) and food-processing industry are developed.

Places to See

In the city center, one may see the memorial to the national hero Babdzha Baraaz Bator and a nice Aginskoye Buddhist church under the golden roof.
The building of the Administration of Aginsky-Buriatsky Autonomous Region, the main authority in the region, is located 92 Bazara Rinchino, Aginskoye 674460, Chita Region, Russia. Phone +7 30239 34152. Fax: +7 30239 34959, 34691.

The main – and perhaps the only – hotel in the city is Sapsan hotel which provides services of the reasonable quality.

Evgeniya Stroganova