ABSTRACT
This article presents the overview of the history of the Kiran health resort located in the Kyakhta district of the Republic of Buryatia at the shore of Lake Kiran. The Kiran health resort which has the 167-year history is one of the oldest resorts in Siberia and the Far East. The foundation of the resort dates back to 1850 when the first clinic for the soldiers and Cossacks of the Siberian Linear Battalion was set up on the lake shore. It existed till 1862. In 1885, the industrial use of the lake waters began for the extraction of table salt and caustic soda. This practice lasted for more than forty years and ceased only in 1928 when the further production of these substances was considered to be unprofitable and the resources of raw materials became depleted. During the Soviet period, the Kiran health resort has been functioning on the lake shore since 1924 until 1949 when the mud baths were constructed and opened. At present, the resort is going through bad times, and its modernization is urgently needed if its valuable curative factors are to be preserved. It will require the adequate governmental and private investments. To evaluate the prospects for the functioning of the health resort in the future, it is necessary to carry out a series of comprehensive investigations aimed at the assessment of its present-day potential. The Kiran health resort has the promising prospects for the further development, taking into consideration the demands for the treatment and rehabilitation of the population of Siberia and the Far East based on the available experience with the management of various pathological conditions.
