Kalmyk
Republic in the southwest of the Russian Federation; area 75,900 sq km/29,305 sq mi; population (1996) 319,000 (39% urban) (45% Kalmyks, 38% Russians). The capital is Elista, and Yashkul is another city. The republic is west of the lower Volga and has a short coastline on the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. Physical features include dry steppe and semi-desert lowland, and there is a continental climate. Industries include machine building, metalworking, food processing, fish canning. Sheep, pigs, and cattle are reared.
History
The Kalmyk people were originally a Mongolian people who migrated westward from Central Asia to the lower Volga area in the 17th century. They formed a frontier khanate (territory ruled by a kahn (Mongol ruler)) that swore allegiance to Russia in return for protection against Tatar attack. The khanate became absorbed into the Russian province of Astrakhan in the 18th century. The Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast was established in 1920 and raised to the status of an autonomous republic in 1938. Collectivization and deportation severely depleted the Kalmyk people in the 1930s and 1940s. They were rehabilitated in 1958, and, with the collapse of the USSR, their culture and Buddhist faith have undergone a revival. The province was declared an independent republic of the Federation in 1991.
Kalmyk
| Member of a Mongolian-speaking people living in the Kalmyk Autonomous Republic. Traditionally they were seminomads, raising horses, cattle, sheep, and a few camels, and living in yurts (tents made out of felt). They had classes of commoners, aristocrats, and princes, and were mainly Tibetan Buddhists, although some were Muslims. |
| In the 17th century they moved west and, pushing the Nogay people further south-west, occupied the area between the rivers Don and Ural. In 1771 the majority (about 300,000) attempted to return, but most perished on the way, fighting the Kazakhs. Of those who remained west of the Volga, some later became Cossacks. All the Kalmyks were deported to central Asia after World War II for allegedly collaborating with the Germans. They were allowed to return 1957. |
