Ulger, Puppet theatre in Ulan-Ude, Russia

Ulger is a puppet theatre at 46 Lenina Street in Ulan-Ude, founded in 1967 by artist V. A. Zakatov. Its first production was "Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka". The building it occupied from 1983 is the former Buryat Drama Theatre, where the 1920 Congress of the Labouring Population of Transbaikalia proclaimed the Far Eastern Republic.

Founded in 1967 by actor V. A. Zakatov, Ulger began as a touring troupe without its own building; its first production was "Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka". In 1983 it received the former Buryat Drama Theatre building at 46 Lenina Street, where the 1920 congress that proclaimed the Far Eastern Republic had met. The building was declared unsafe in 2017, and in 2018 the theatre moved temporarily to 6V Sverdlova Street.

The repertoire mixes world classics and Russian fairy tales with plays by Buryat dramatists Tsyren-Bazyr Badmayev, Zhan Zimin, Ts. Dondukov and G. Bashkuev. Performances are given in Russian and Buryat; Buryat-language staging began in the mid-1970s, when Buryat actors joined the troupe. Since 2007 the theatre organises the international puppet festival "Path of the Nomad".

The theatre offers regular performances with tickets available at the box office or online. Visitors should check local transport options beforehand and arrive early for better seating choices.

The theatre's building at 46 Lenina Street hosted the 1920 Congress of the Labour Population of Transbaikalia, which adopted the declaration founding the Far Eastern Republic. In December 1923 the first Congress of Soviets of the Buryat-Mongol ASSR met there and elected its first government. The venue later housed Buryatia's first professional theatres.