The article is devoted to the study of early ethnic history of Cis-Baikal Buryats, which was the study subject by many scientific research, starting with ethnic and cultural genesis, ending with historical, archaeological and ethnographic aspects. But despite the illumination of this side of the study in the scientific literature, many issues are not addressed to date. In particular, there was no focused study of the history of Buryat tribal communities, the early composition of their tribal structure, the relationship between them and the socio-political system. Therefore, this article deals with this problem, the resolution of which allows to reveal many unknown aspects of the early history of the Buryat ethnic group, in particular, its local component associated with the territory of Cis-Baikal region. This explains the relevance of the study, which for the first time paid attention to the formation of this ethno-local component, especially the Bulagats tribe and its political association, which played an important role in its emergence and formation. On the basis of the correlation of oral traditions, the Cis-Baikal Buryat and the results of decoding the generic ethnonym shows the formation of the tribal community, caused by the actions of its ethnic nucleus, representing the alien Mongol element and named as Bulagats (“invaders”). It is determined that these actions were of a military nature, which led to the disintegration of pre-existing ethnic communities and, of which parts, the Bulagats organized new formations, which became their constituent components of the near and far circle. Accordingly, the newly formed community was structurally divided into three parts and hierarchically into proper levels, which indicates the presence in the past of the Buryats socio-political structure, hence the association. Based on this, the existence of ethno-political space created under the auspices of the Bulagats in 15^th‒16^th centuries and including many tribal and ethnic groups of the Cis-Baikal region is proved.

Bolkhosoev Stanislav Borisovich, Candidate of Sciences (History), Associate Professor, East-Siberian State Institute of Culture; 1, Tereshkova st., Ulan-Ude, 670031, Russian Federation, e-mail: stanislav_bolhos@mail.ru

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