Contested Terrain: Changing Boundaries and Identities in Southeastern Siberia

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Abstract
A boundary dispute between two rayons in East Siberia's Buryat Republic is described and analyzed as an example of how changing cultural identities among Russia's peoples are reflected in efforts to renegotiate power relationships in favor of enhanced local autonomy and/or indigenous rights. Baunt Rayon has based its claim to a contested area on the priority of protecting indigenous modes of economic activity and lifestyles, whereas newly created Muya Rayon's claim is based on increasing the effectiveness of local self-government in the interests of a modernizing society. The ways in which this ongoing dispute has been influenced by the Buryat Republic's efforts to increase its autonomy within the Russian Federation are explored as well. 1 figure, 30 references.