ABSTRACT
This chapter presents all basic political, economic, and demographic data on a territorial unit of the Russian Federation, Republic of Buryatia. Buryatia President Leonid Potapov is best known for the variety of scandals that have followed him through his career. The agrarian sector of Buryatia’s economy has experienced considerable difficulties adapting to market conditions. On 29 August 1995 Potapov signed a power-sharing agreement with Yeltsin. Potapov is against the sale of farmland, and organized a referendum on this question that was held 5 July 1998. Potapov claims that relations between the center and Buryatia are good, although he has criticized the Kremlin in the past for ignoring the needs of the regions. Buryatia and Chita support the draft law for the special economic zone, since it would induce economic growth in their regions, but Irkutsk is against it since the oblast will lose tax revenue for the exploitation of mineral deposits in the Baikal-Amur Railway zone.
