The Buryats are a Mongolic ethnic group whose historical homeland is centred on the Lake Baikal region and areas of southern Siberia and northern Mongolia. They speak the Buryat language. Historically, the Buryats formed part of the wider Mongol cultural and political world while retaining numerous Mongol clan and tribal identities, including the Bulagad, Ekhirid, Khori, Khongodor, Songool, Ashibagad and Barga. However, today the Buryats within Russia function as a separate people, distinct from the Mongols.