township and capital of the former Ust-Ordyn Buryat autonomous okrug (district), now merged with Irkutsk oblast (region), eastern Siberia, Russia. It lies on the Kuda River and on the road from Irkutsk to Kachug, west of Lake Baikal. It is a small settlement of administrative significance and a centre of an ethnic Buryat exclave detached from the major area of Buryat settlement in the republic of Buryatia, east of Lake Baikal. Industry is not significant but includes food processing and timberworking. An important coalfield is located nearby. Pop. (2002) 13,300.