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Altai-Sayan Region
The Altai-Sayan region is an area of Inner Asia proximate to the Altai Mountains and the Sayan Mountains, near to where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together. This region is one of the world centers of temperate plant diversity. Its biological, landscape, historical, cultural and religious diversity is unique. 3,726 species of vascular plants are registered in the region including 700 threatened or rare species, 317 of which are endemic; fauna consists of 680 species, 6% of which are endemic. Its ecosystem is comparatively unchanged since the last ice age, and it is the host of endangered species that include the saiga, nerpa, and snow leopard. It is the focus of ongoing international and regional environmental conservation initiatives. The area is also culturally diverse, with four language groups (Russian, Mongolian, Sinitic and Turkic, formerly Samoyedic and Yeniseian as well) and more than 20 indigenous ethnic groups practicing traditional land use systems. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inner Asia
Inner Asia refers to the northern and landlocked regions spanning North, Central and East Asia. It includes parts of western and northeast China, as well as southern Siberia. The area overlaps with some definitions of 'Central Asia', mostly the historical ones, but certain regions that are often included in Inner Asia, such as Manchuria, are not a part of Central Asia by any of its definitions. Inner Asia may be regarded as the western and northern "frontier" of China proper of the former Qin dynasty and as being bounded by East Asia proper, which consists of China, Japan and Korea. The extent of Inner Asia has been understood differently in different periods. "Inner Asia" is sometimes contrasted to "China Proper", that is, the original provinces, those with majority Han Chinese populations. In 1800, Inner Asia consisted of four main areas, namely Manchuria (modern Northeast China and Outer Manchuria), Mongolia (Inner and Outer), Xinjiang (East Turkestan), and Tibet. These areas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samoyedic Languages
The Samoyedic () or Samoyed languages () are spoken around the Ural Mountains, in northernmost Eurasia, by approximately 25,000 people altogether. They derive from a common ancestral language called Proto-Samoyedic, and form a branch of the Uralic languages. Having separated perhaps in the last centuries BC, they are not a diverse group of languages, and are traditionally considered to be an outgroup, branching off first from the other Uralic languages. Etymology The term ''Samoyedic'' is derived from the Russian term ''samoyed'' (russian: самоед) for some indigenous peoples of Siberia. The term has come to be considered derogatory because it has been interpreted by some ethnologists as originating from Russian ''samo-yed'' meaning 'self-eater', i.e. 'cannibal'. An earlier ethnologist had rejected this etymology, and instead traced the term's origin to the expression ''saam-edne'', meaning the Land of the Sami peoples. The word ''Samodeic'' has been proposed as an alte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast — Kuzbass (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть — Кузба́сс, translit=Kemerovskaya oblast — Kuzbass, ), also known simply as Kemerovo Oblast (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть, label=none) or Kuzbass (russian: Кузба́сс, label=none), after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Kemerovo is the administrative center of the oblast, though Novokuznetsk is the largest city in the oblast, in terms of size. Kemerovo Oblast is one of Russia's most urbanized regions, with over 70% of the population living in its nine principal cities. Its ethnic composition is predominantly Russian, but Shors, Ukrainians, Tatars, and Chuvash also live in the oblast. The population recorded during the 2010 Census was 2,763,135. Geography Kemerovo Oblast is located in southwestern Siberia, where the West Siberian Plain meets the South Siberian Mountains. The oblast, which covers an area of , shares a bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oblasts Of Russia
An oblast (russian: область) is a type of federal subject in Russia. Overview Oblasts are constituent political entities in a federal union with representation in the Federation Council, and serve as a first-level administrative division. Each oblast features a state government holding authority over a defined geographic territory, with a state legislature, the ''Oblast Duma'', that is democratically elected. The governor is the highest executive position of the state government in an Oblast, and is elected by people. Oblasts are divided into '' raions'' (districts), cities of oblast significance (district-equivalent independent cities), and autonomous okrugs, which are legally federal subjects equal to an oblast but are administratively subservient to one. Two oblasts have autonomous okrugs: Arkhangelsk Oblast ( Nenets Autonomous Okrug) and Tyumen Oblast ( Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug). The term ''oblast'' can be translated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of Russia since the latter half of the 16th century, after the Russians Russian conquest of Siberia, conquered lands east of the Ural Mountains. Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over , but home to merely one-fifth of Russia's population. Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Omsk are the largest cities in the region. Because Siberia is a geographic and historic region and not a political entity, there is no single precise definition of its territorial borders. Traditionally, Siberia extends eastwards from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and includes most of the drainage basin of the Arctic Ocean. The river Yenisey divides Siberia into two parts, Western Siberia, Western and Eastern Siberia, Eastern. Siberia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ob River
} The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins in the Altai Mountains. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Yenisei and the Lena). Its flow is north-westward, then northward. The main city on its banks is Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia, and the third-largest city in Russia. It is where the Trans-Siberian Railway crosses the river. The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary. Names The internationally known name of the river is based on the Russian name ''Обь'' (''Obʹ'' ). Possibly from Proto-Indo-Iranian '' *Hā́p-'', "river, water" (compare Vedic ''áp-'', Persian ''āb'', Tajik ''ob'', and Pashto ''obə'', "water"). Katz (1990) proposes Komi ''ob'' 'river' as the immediate sourc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irtysh River
The Irtysh ( otk, 𐰼𐱅𐰾:𐰇𐰏𐰕𐰏, Ertis ügüzüg, mn, Эрчис мөрөн, ''Erchis mörön'', "erchleh", "twirl"; russian: Иртыш; kk, Ертіс, Ertis, ; Chinese: 额尔齐斯河, pinyin: ''É'ěrqísī hé'', Xiao'erjing: عَعَرٿِسِ حْ; ug, إيرتيش, Әртиш, ''Ertish''; tt-Cyrl, Иртеш, , , Siberian Tatar: Эйәртеш, ''Eya’rtes’'') is a river in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. It is the chief tributary of the Ob and is also the second longest tributary river in the world after Paraná River. The river's source lies in the Mongolian Altai in Dzungaria (the northern part of Xinjiang, China) close to the border with Mongolia. The Irtysh's main tributaries include the Tobol, Demyanka and the Ishim. The Ob-Irtysh system forms a major drainage basin in Asia, encompassing most of Western Siberia and the Altai Mountains. Geography From its origins as the ''Kara-Irtysh'' (Vast Irtysh, kara means Vast in Turkic lang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecoregions
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation (largely undefined at this point). Three caveats are appropriate for all bio-geographic mapping approaches. Firstly, no single bio-geographic framework is optimal for all taxa. Ecoregions reflect the best compromise for as many taxa as possible. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world for the purpose of healing, divination, or to aid human beings in some other way. Beliefs and practices categorized as "shamanic" have attracted the interest of scholars from a variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archeologists, historians, religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists. Hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. In the 20th century, non- Indigenous Westerners involved in countercultural movements, such as hippies and the New Age created modern magicoreligious practices influenced by their ideas of various Indigenous religions, creating what has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tengrism
Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turko- Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and generally centered around the titular sky god Tengri. Tengri was not considered a deity in the usual sense, but a personification of the universe. The purpose of life is, according to the Tengris view, to live in harmony with the universe. It was the prevailing religion of the Turks, Mongols, Bulgars, Xiongnu, Huns and possibly the Hungarians, and the state religion of several medieval states: First Turkic Khaganate, Western Turkic Khaganate, Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Old Great Bulgaria, First Bulgarian Empire, Volga Bulgaria, and Eastern Tourkia (Khazaria), Mongol Empire. In '' Irk Bitig'', a ninth century manuscript on divination, Tengri is mentioned as (God of Turks). According to many academics, Tengrism was a predominantly polytheistic religion based on shamanistic concept of an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majority regions surrounding the Himalayan areas of India (such as Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and a minority in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand), in much of Central Asia, in the southern Siberian regions such as Tuva, and in Mongolia. Tibetan Buddhism evolved as a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism stemming from the latest stages of Indian Buddhism (which also included many Vajrayāna elements). It thus preserves many Indian Buddhist tantric practices of the post-Gupta early medieval period (500 to 1200 CE), along with numerous native Tibetan developments. In the pre-modern era, Tibetan Buddhism spread outside of Tibet primarily due to the influence of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), founded by Kublai Khan, which had ruled Chin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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