Baikalia (also transcribed as Baykalia. ) is a vague geographical term referring to the region around
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...
. It is less common than the concept of
Transbaikalia, the area to the east of Lake Baikal. The term Baikalia is loosely defined and has no official definition.
History
Early history
The Baikal area has a long history of human habitation. An early, historically known tribe in the area was the
Kurykans, partially forefathers of at least two ethnic groups: the
Buryats
The Buryats are a Mongolic ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia who speak the Buryat language. They are one of the two largest indigenous groups in Siberia, the other being the Yakuts. The majority of the Buryats today live in their ti ...
and the
Yakuts
The Yakuts or Sakha (, ; , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to North Siberia, primarily the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation. They also inhabit some districts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. They speak Yakut, which belongs to the Si ...
.
Located in the former northern territory of the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
confederation, Baikalia was a theatre of the
Han–Xiongnu War, where the armies of the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
pursued and defeated the Xiongnu forces from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. They recorded that the lake was a "huge sea" (''hanhai'') and designated it the North Sea (''Běihǎi'') of the semimythical
Four Seas
The Four Seas () were four bodies of water that metaphorically made up the boundaries of ancient China. There is a sea for each for the four cardinal directions. The West Sea is Qinghai Lake, the East Sea is the East China Sea, the North Sea is ...
. The Kurykans, a Siberian tribe who inhabited the area in the sixth century, gave it a name that translates to "much water". Later on, it was called "natural lake" (''Baygal nuur'') by the
Buryats
The Buryats are a Mongolic ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia who speak the Buryat language. They are one of the two largest indigenous groups in Siberia, the other being the Yakuts. The majority of the Buryats today live in their ti ...
and "rich lake" (''Bay göl'') by the
Yakuts
The Yakuts or Sakha (, ; , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to North Siberia, primarily the Republic of Sakha in the Russian Federation. They also inhabit some districts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. They speak Yakut, which belongs to the Si ...
. Little was known to Europeans about the lake until Russia expanded into the area in the 17th century. The first
Russian explorer to reach Lake Baikal was
Kurbat Ivanov
Kurbat Afanasyevich Ivanov (; died 1667) was a Cossack explorer of Siberia. He was the first Russian to encounter Lake Baikal, and to create the first map of the Russian Far East. He also is credited with creation of the early map of Chukotka a ...
in 1643.
Russian conquest
Russian expansion into the Buryat area around Lake Baikal in 1628–58 was part of the
Russian conquest of Siberia
The Russian conquest of Siberia took place during 1581–1778, when the Khanate of Sibir became a loose political structure of vassalages that were being undermined by the activities of Russian explorers. Although outnumbered, the Russians pr ...
. It was done first by following the Angara River upstream from
Yeniseysk (founded 1619) and later by moving south from the Lena River. Russians first heard of the Buryats in 1609 at
Tomsk
Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...
. According to folktales related a century after the fact, in 1623,
Demid Pyanda, who may have been the first Russian to reach the Lena, crossed from the upper Lena to the Angara and arrived at Yeniseysk.
Vikhor Savin (1624) and
Maksim Perfilyev
Maksim Perfilyev ( (b. 1580 – d. 1638) was a Cossack explorer of Eastern Siberia and the first Russian to reach Transbaikalia. He was renowned for his diplomatic skills in negotiations with Tunguses, Mongols and Chinese.
In 1618–19 Perf ...
(1626 and 1627–28) explored
Tungus country on the lower Angara. To the west,
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...
on the upper Yenisei was founded in 1627. A number of ill-documented expeditions explored eastward from Krasnoyarsk. In 1628,
Pyotr Beketov first encountered a group of Buryats and collected ''
yasak'' (
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
) from them at the future site of
Bratsk
Bratsk (, ; ) is a Types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara, Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir. It had population of .
Etymology
The name of the city, which is from the same ro ...
. In 1629, Yakov Khripunov set off from Tomsk to find a rumored silver mine. His men soon began plundering both Russians and natives. They were joined by another band of rioters from Krasnoyarsk, but left the Buryat country when they ran short of food. This made it difficult for other Russians to enter the area. In 1631, Maksim Perfilyev built an ''
ostrog'' at Bratsk. The pacification was moderately successful, but in 1634, Bratsk was destroyed and its garrison killed. In 1635, Bratsk was restored by a punitive expedition under Radukovskii. In 1638, it was besieged unsuccessfully.
In 1638, Perfilyev crossed from the Angara over the Ilim portage to the
Lena River
The Lena is a river in the Russian Far East and is the easternmost river of the three great rivers of Siberia which flow into the Arctic Ocean, the others being Ob (river), Ob and Yenisey. The Lena River is long and has a capacious drainage basi ...
and went downstream as far as
Olyokminsk. Returning, he sailed up the
Vitim River into the area east of Lake Baikal (1640) where he heard reports of the Amur country. In 1641, Verkholensk was founded on the upper Lena. In 1643,
Kurbat Ivanov
Kurbat Afanasyevich Ivanov (; died 1667) was a Cossack explorer of Siberia. He was the first Russian to encounter Lake Baikal, and to create the first map of the Russian Far East. He also is credited with creation of the early map of Chukotka a ...
went further up the Lena and became the first Russian to see Lake Baikal and
Olkhon Island. Half his party under Skorokhodov remained on the lake, reached the
Upper Angara at its northern tip, and wintered on the
Barguzin River on the northeast side.
In 1644, Ivan Pokhabov went up the Angara to Baikal, becoming perhaps the first Russian to use this route, which is difficult because of the rapids. He crossed the lake and explored the lower
Selenge River
The Selenga ( ) or Selenge is a major river in Mongolia and Buryatia, Russia. Originating from its headwater tributaries, the Ider and the Delger mörön, it flows for before draining into Lake Baikal. The Selenga therefore makes up the most ...
. About 1647, he repeated the trip, obtained guides, and visited a 'Tsetsen Khan' near
Ulan Bator. In 1648, Ivan Galkin built an ''ostrog ''on the Barguzin River which became a center for eastward expansion. In 1652, Vasily Kolesnikov reported from Barguzin that one could reach the Amur country by following the Selenga, Uda, and Khilok Rivers to the future sites of
Chita and
Nerchinsk. In 1653,
Pyotr Beketov took Kolesnikov's route to Lake Irgen west of Chita, and that winter his man Urasov founded Nerchinsk. Next spring, he tried to occupy Nerchensk, but was forced by his men to join
Stephanov on the Amur.
Modern times
The
Trans-Siberian Railway was built between 1896 and 1902. Construction of the
scenic railway around the southwestern end of Lake Baikal required 200 bridges and 33 tunnels. Until its completion, a
train ferry
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry Railroad car, railway vehicles, as well as their cargoes and passengers. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with Track (rail transport), railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the f ...
transported railcars across the lake from
Port Baikal to
Mysovaya for a number of years. The lake became the site of the minor
engagement between the
Czechoslovak legion and the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
in 1918. At times during winter freezes, the lake could be crossed on foot—though at risk of frostbite and deadly hypothermia from the cold wind moving unobstructed across flat expanses of ice. In the winter of 1920, the
Great Siberian Ice March occurred, when the retreating White Russian Army crossed frozen Lake Baikal. The wind on the exposed lake was so cold, many people died, freezing in place until spring thaw. Beginning in 1956, the impounding of the
Irkutsk Dam on the Angara River raised the level of the lake by .
References
{{coord missing, Russia
Lake Baikal
Regions of Russia
Historical regions