The Buryat of Russian Federation

The Buryat of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 461,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Mongolic ethnic group indigenous to southeastern Siberia. They are an Indigenous people in the Mongolian people cluster of the East Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Buriat, Russia and their primary religion is Tibetan Buddhism.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Buryat

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Mongolian
Primary Language(s): Buriat, Russia (bxr)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 461,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000905
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Buryat of Russian Federation

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

48%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Buriat, Russia
Language Family: Mongolic-Khitan

75%
%
Buriat, Russia Speakers

Bible Resources in Buriat, Russia:

Or check out the Buriat, Russia bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Buryat:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Buryat are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Buryat:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Buryat are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Buryat:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Buryat of Russian Federation

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
readMatthew 6:16

Pray that those who live to please men and not God will turn from the emptiness of seeking approval from others and find true satisfaction in the treasure of a personal relationship with God.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.
read1 Corinthians 9:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hearts that want to serve the lost around them so that many might come to faith in Jesus.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Buriat, Russia Across Countries (ROP3 - 115059) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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