Buryat language and literature are not among the programmes of study for which Irkutsk State University will be recruiting students this summer, Buryat Irkutsk noted.
Previously, there were state-funded places for this specialty. In 2025, there were three, and in 2022, there were five.
The Buryat department at Irkutsk State University opened a century ago, then moved to Ulan-Ude and established what is now Dorzhi Banzarov University. Buryat language teaching resumed at Irkutsk State University in 1944, in the Faculty of History and Philology, and since 1989, the university has had a Department of Buryat Philology.
Starting this school year, Russia has reduced the number of hours for first-graders to study their native language, despite objections from Mari El, Yakutia, Tatarstan, and other ethnic republics. According to the Ministry of Education, native language classes can be held outside of school hours.
Blogger Guro Batuev launched the Buryat Films project and dubs films, podcasts, and songs in the Buryat language. He and his fellow actors have completed full-length dubbings for “Kung Fu Panda,” “Ice Age,” and “Rapunzel.”
Anton Ekimov, a Buryat language competition winner adopted by a Buryat family, died in the war in Ukraine in 2025. He was drafted into the army after graduating from college.
