Gusinoozyorsk is a town and the administrative center of Selenginsky District

Selenginsky District

Selenginsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the twenty-one in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of Gusinoozyorsk. District's population: 50,632 ; Population of Gusinoozyorsk accounts for 52.9% of...

 of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, located on the northeastern shore of Lake Gusinoye

Lake Gusinoye

Lake Gusinoye is the name of a body of fresh water in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. It is located about 120 kilometers from Ulan-Ude, the capital of the republic, and is close to the border with Mongolia. The town of Gusinoozyorsk is located on the northeastern shore of the lake...

, 110 kilometres (68.4 mi) southwest of Ulan-Ude

Ulan-Ude

Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga...

. Population: 13,800 (1970).

History

It was founded in 1939 under the name Shakhty , in connection with the commencement of exploitation of brown coal deposits in the area. In 1953 it was granted town status and given its present name, derived from Gusinoye Ozero (Goose Lake), the Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 name for the lake on which the town stands.

The 245th Motor Rifle Division of the Russian Ground Forces

Russian Ground Forces

The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...

 was located in the town until it was reduced to a Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment in 2006.

Economy

The main focus of the town's economy remains brown coal production and the associated power station, although mining activities on the nearby deposits slowed during the economic crisis of the 1990s.

The railway station Zagustay on the Trans-Mongolian Railway

Trans-Mongolian Railway

The Trans-Mongolian Railway connects Ulan-Ude, on the Trans-Baikal railway in Russia, with the Chinese city of Jining, by way of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia....

is 5 km east of the town.