From the 13th to the 17th century, the area now known as the Buryat Autonomous Republic was part of the Mongolian empire. The Buryats were originally nomadic herders, with cultural and language similarities to the Mongolians and religious similarities to Tibetan Buddhists. The city was founded in 1666.
In the 18th century, Tsarina Elizabeth officially recognized Buddhism as a religion in Russia. Unfortunately for the Buryats, future generations of Russian/Soviet leaders were not so tolerant. In the 1930's, Buryat culture and religion were practically stamped out by Stalin during the years of repression. Mongolian script was replaced by Latin, then Cyrillic, and Buddhist temples were razed or put to other uses.
In the past several years, there has been a resurgence in Buryat culture. Despite the repression of the Soviet years Buryats and Russians live peacefully, with little of the ethnic conflict that plagues other regions in Russia.