Kyakhta (russian: Кя́хта, ; bua, Хяагта, Khiaagta, ; mn, Хиагт, Hiagt, ) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
and the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of
Kyakhtinsky District
Kyakhtinsky District (russian: Кя́хтинский райо́н, ; bua, Хяагтын аймаг, Khiaagtyn aimag) is an administrativeResolution #431 and municipalLaw #985-III district (raion), one of the twenty-one in the Republic of Burya ...
in the
Republic of Buryatia
Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, located on the
Kyakhta River
Kyakhta (russian: Кя́хта, ; bua, Хяагта, Khiaagta, ; mn, Хиагт, Hiagt, ) is a town and the administrative center of Kyakhtinsky District in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the Kyakhta River near the Mongolia–Russi ...
near the
Mongolia–Russia border
The Mongolia–Russia border ( mn, Монгол-Оросын хил, Mongol-Orosiin hil, ; russian: Российско-монгольская граница, Rossijsko-mongoljskaja granica) is the international border between Mongolia and the Rus ...
. The town stands directly opposite the Mongolian border town of
Altanbulag. Population: From 1727 it was the border crossing for the
Kyakhta trade
The Kyakhta Trade (russian: История кяхтинской торговли, ''Istorija kjahtinskoj torgovli'', zh, 恰克图商路) refers to the trade between Russia and China through the town of Kyakhta on the Mongolian border south of L ...
between Russia and China.
Etymology
The
Buryat name means ''place covered with
couch grass Couch grass, as a vernacular common name, may refer to:
* ''Cynodon dactylon'', known as couch grass in Australia and South Africa, often planted as a turf grass
* ''Elymus repens'', known as couch grass in the United Kingdom and North America, of ...
,'' and is derived from
Mongolian word , meaning ''couch grass''.
Geography
The region where Kyakhta stands is advantageous for Russo-Chinese trade. The
Siberian River Routes
Siberian River Routes were the main ways of communication in Russian Siberia before the 1730s, when Siberian Route, roads began to be built. The rivers were also of primary importance in the process of Russian conquest of Siberia, Russian conquest ...
connect the fur-bearing lands of Siberia to
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...
. From there, the
Selenga River
The Selenga or Selenge ( ; bua, Сэлэнгэ гол / Сэлэнгэ мүрэн, translit=Selenge gol / Selenge müren; russian: Селенга́, ) is a major river in Mongolia and Buryatia, Russia. Originating from its headwater tributarie ...
valley is the natural route through the mountains southeast of Lake Baikal out onto the plains of Mongolia.
History
Kyakhta was founded in 1727 soon after the
Treaty of Kyakhta
The Treaty of Kyakhta (or Kiakhta),, ; , Xiao'erjing: بُلِيًاصِٿِ\ٿِاكْتُ تِيَوْيُؤ; mn, Хиагтын гэрээ, Hiagtiin geree, along with the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), regulated the relations between Imperial ...
was negotiated just north at
Selenginsk
Selenginsk (russian: Селенги́нск; bua, Сэлэнгын, ''Selengyn'', mn, Сэлэнгэ, ''Selenge'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Kabansky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located at the head ...
. It was the starting point of the boundary markers that defined what is now the northern border of Mongolia. Kyakhta's founder, the
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
Sava Vladislavich
Count Sava Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinsky (russian: Са́вва Луки́ч Рагузи́нский-Владиславич; sr, Сава Владиславић Рагузински, ''Sava Vladislavić Raguzinski''; 16 January 1669 – 17 June ...
, established it as a
trading point between Russia and the Qing Empire.
The Manchus built
Maimaicheng just south of Kyakhta on their side of the border. Before 1762, state caravans traveled from Kyakhta to
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. After that date, trade was mostly by barter at Kyakhta-Maimaicheng, with merchants crossing the border to make their business.
Kyakhta and Maimaicheng were visited by the famous English adventurer and engineer
Samuel Bentham
Sir Samuel Bentham (11 January 1757 – 31 May 1831) was a noted English mechanical engineer and naval architect credited with numerous innovations, particularly related to naval architecture, including weapons. He was the only surviving siblin ...
in 1782. He related that he was entertained by the commander of the Chinese city "with the greatest politeness which a stranger can meet with in any country whatever". At that time, the Russians sold furs, textiles, clothing, hides, leather,
[ hardware, and cattle, while the Chinese sold ]silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
, cotton stuffs, tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
s,[ fruits, ]porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
, rice, candles, rhubarb
Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of ''Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhizo ...
, ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
, and musk
Musk (Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial sub ...
. Much of the tea is said to have come from , a major center of tea production and trade near today's Chibi City
Chibi most often refers to:
* Chibi (style), a super-deformed style of Japanese-influenced caricature
*Chibi, Hubei (赤壁 lit. Red Cliff), a county-level city in southeastern Hubei, China.
Chibi may also refer to:
Places
* Chibi Subdistrict, H ...
, Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
.
Kyakhta was crowded, unclean, ill-planned, and never came to reflect the wealth that flowed through it, although several Neoclassical buildings were erected in the 19th century, including a tea bourse (1842) and the Orthodox cathedral (1807–1817), both of which still stand. In 1996 the Voskreskenskaya church was being used as a stable. It was from Kyakhta that Nikolay Przhevalsky
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (or Prjevalsky;; pl, Nikołaj Przewalski, . – ) was a Russian geographer of Polish descent (he was born in a Polish noble family), and a renowned explorer of Central and East Asia.
Although he never reache ...
, Grigory Potanin
Grigory Nikolayevich Potanin (alt. Grigorij Potanin) (russian: Григорий Николаевич Потанин; 4 October 1835 – 6 June 1920) was a Russian ethnographer and natural historian. He was an explorer of Inner Asia, and was the ...
, Pyotr Kozlov
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (russian: Пётр Кузьми́ч Козло́в; 3 October 1863 in Dukhovshchina – 26 September 1935 in Peterhof) was a Russian and Soviet traveller and explorer who continued the studies of Nikolai Przhevalsky in ...
, and Vladimir Obruchev
Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев; , Klepenino near Rzhev, Tver Oblast, Russian Empire – June 19, 1956, Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Моск ...
set off on their expeditions into the interior of Mongolia and Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
.
Town status was granted to Kyakhta in 1805.
After the entire Russian-Chinese frontier was opened to trade in 1860 and the Trans-Siberian and the Chinese Eastern Railway
The Chinese Eastern Railway or CER (, russian: Китайско-Восточная железная дорога, or , ''Kitaysko-Vostochnaya Zheleznaya Doroga'' or ''KVZhD''), is the historical name for a railway system in Northeast China (als ...
s bypassed it, Kyakhta fell into decline. The town was renamed Troitskosavsk during the first part of the 20th century, but the original name was restored in 1935. Other sources[ have Troitskosavsk as a fort a short distance north, Troitskosavsk being the administrative and military center while Kyakhta was the trading post on the border.
In the mid-20th century, a branch railway was built from ]Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...
(on the Trans-Siberian) to Mongolia's Ulan Bator
Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north cen ...
, and, eventually, to China, paralleling the old Kyakhta trade route. However, this railway crosses the Russian-Mongolian border not in Kyakhta itself, but in nearby Naushki
Naushki (russian: На́ушки; bua, Наашхи, ''Naashkhi'') is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Kyakhtinsky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located near the Mongolia ...
.[Rolf Potts]
Stranded in Siberia: At an obscure border town, our correspondent discovers the biggest obstacle in negotiating the next 4,000 miles: The train has left without him
(''Salon'' Magazine, 1999-11-10)
Kyakhta Pidgin
As the first market town on the border between the Russian and Chinese Empires, Kyakhta gave its name to the so-called Kyakhta Russian–Chinese Pidgin, a contact language
Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. When speakers of different languages interact closely, it is typical for the ...
that was used by Russian and Chinese traders to communicate.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kyakhta serves as the administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of Kyakhtinsky District
Kyakhtinsky District (russian: Кя́хтинский райо́н, ; bua, Хяагтын аймаг, Khiaagtyn aimag) is an administrativeResolution #431 and municipalLaw #985-III district (raion), one of the twenty-one in the Republic of Burya ...
.[Resolution #43] As an administrative division, it is, together with one rural locality
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
(the settlement of Sudzha), incorporated within Kyakhtinsky District as the Town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of Kyakhta. As a municipal division, the Town of Kyakhta is incorporated within Kyakhtinsky Municipal District as Kyakhta Urban Settlement.[Law #985-III]
Economy
Kyakhta's economy today relies mainly on its status as an important center for trade between Russia, China, and Mongolia, located on the highway from the republic's capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...
to the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator
Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north cen ...
. It also has textile, lumber, and food-processing plants.
Culture
Kyakhta is home to the Damdin Sükhbaatar
Damdin Sükhbaatar ( mn, Дамдины Сүхбаатар, Damdinii Sühbaatar, ; February 2, 1893 – February 20, 1923) was a Mongolian communist revolutionary, founding member of the Mongolian People's Party, and leader of the Mongolia ...
memorial museum.
Climate
Kyakhta has a humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dwb'') with dry, severely cold winters and warm, moist summers.
Town name in other languages
* (''Khiagt'')
*Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
: Kiyaktu
*Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: 恰克图 / 恰克圖 (''Qiàkètú'') or 恰克土 (''Qiàkètǔ'')
* (''Khyaagta'')
In Mongolian, Kyakhta was formerly known as (''Ar Khiagt'', lit. "North Kyakhta"); Altanbulag (then, Maimaicheng) across the border was (''Övör Khiagt'', lit. "South Kyakhta"). When the town was known as Troitskosavsk, its name in Mongolian was (''Deed Šhivee'').
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
*Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Географические названия мира" (''Geographic Names of the World''). Moscow, 1998.
*Christie, Ian R. (1993). ''The Benthams in Russia 1780–1791''. Oxford, UK; Providence, RI: Berg Publishers
Berg Publishers was an academic publishing company based in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England and Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in the United Kingdom in 1983 by Marion Berghahn. Berg published monographs, textbooks, referen ...
Limited. . .
{{Use mdy dates, date=January 2013
Cities and towns in Buryatia
Mongolia–Russia border crossings
Populated places established in 1727
1727 establishments in the Russian Empire
Transbaikal Oblast