View source for Kalmykia

{{use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Short description|Republic of Russia in the Volga Region}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Republic of Kalmykia
| subdivision_type   = Country
| settlement_type    = [[Republics of Russia|Republic]]
| image_skyline      = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = Flag of Kalmykia.svg
| image_map          = Locator map of Kalmykia, Russia (2014–2022).svg
| mapsize            = 300px
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-wikidata  = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 5
| mapframe-height    = 250
| mapframe-stroke-width = 1
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Russia}}
| coordinates        = {{coord|46|34|N|45|19|E|type:adm1st_region:RU|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| subdivision_type2  = [[Federal districts of Russia|Federal district]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Southern Federal District|Southern]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Economic regions of Russia|Economic region]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Volga economic region|Volga]]
| leader_title       = [[Head of Kalmykia|Head]]<ref name="Head">Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article&nbsp;25</ref>
| leader_name        = [[Batu Khasikov]]<ref name="HeadName">Official website of the Head of the Republic of Kalmykia. [http://glava.region08.ru/ru/orlov.html Alexey Maratovich Orlov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216153125/http://glava.region08.ru/ru/orlov.html |date=16 February 2019 }} {{in lang|ru}}</ref>
| total_type         = Total
| area_total_sq_mi   = 
| area_total_km2     = 74,731
| population_rank    = [[List of federal subjects of Russia by population|78th]]
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_as_of   = [[Russian Census (2021)|2021 Census]]
| population_total   = {{increase}} 267,133
{{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap;
| 62.5% [[Kalmyks]]|25.7% [[Russians]]|11.8% others/not stated}}<ref name=2021census>{{cite web|title=Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/tab-5_VPN-2020.xlsx|publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]|access-date=1 September 2022}}</ref>
| timezone1          = [[Moscow Time|MSK]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?docbody=&prevDoc=102483854&backlink=1&&nd=102148085 |script-title=ru:"Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации |language=ru |access-date=19 January 2019 |archive-date=22 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622151333/http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?docbody=&prevDoc=102483854&backlink=1&&nd=102148085 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| native_name        = {{native name|xal-RU|Хальмг Таңһч}}<br/>{{native name|ru|Республика Калмыкия}}
| image_shield       = Coat of Arms of Kalmykia.svg
| iso_code           = RU-KL
| registration_plate = 08
| utc_offset         = +3
| anthem             = {{center|"{{lang|xal-RU|[[Khalmg Tanghchin chastr|Хальмг Таңһчин частр]]|italics=no}}"<ref name="Anthem">Law #44-I-Z</ref><br />{{small|"Anthem of the Republic of Kalmykia"}}<br />[[File:Kalmykia_anthem_(short_instrumental).ogg]]}}
| flag_size          = 120px
| shield_size        = 75px
| flag_link          = Flag of the Republic of Kalmykia
| shield_link        = Coat of arms of the Republic of Kalmykia
| seat_type          = Capital
| seat               = [[Elista]]<ref name="Capital">Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article 19</ref>
| population_urban   = 46.7%
| population_rural   = 53.3%
| blank_name_sec1    = [[Official language]](s)
| blank_info_sec1    = [[Kalmyk language|Kalmyk]]<ref name="Languages">Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article&nbsp;17: {{lang|ru|Государственными языками в Республике Калмыкия являются калмыцкий и русский языки.}} [The official languages of the Republic of Kalmykia are the Kalmyk and Russian languages.]</ref>{{*}}[[Russian language|Russian]]<ref name="Russian">Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article&nbsp;68.1 of the [[Constitution of Russia]].</ref>
| area_footnotes     = 
| government_type    = [[People's Khural of Kalmykia|People's Khural]]<ref name="Legis">Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article&nbsp;33</ref>
| website            = {{URL|http://kalmregion.ru/}}
}}

'''Kalmykia''',{{notetag|{{IPAc-en|k|ɑː|l|ˈ|m|iː|k|i|ə}} {{respell|kahl|MEEK|ee|ə}}; {{langx|ru|Калмыкия|Kalmykiya|Land of the [[Kalmyks]]}}, {{IPA|ru|kɐlˈmɨkʲɪjə}}; {{langx|xal-RU|Хальмг|Khalmg}}, {{IPA|xal|χalʲˈməq|}}}} officially the '''Republic of Kalmykia''',{{notetag|{{lang-rus|Республика Калмыкия|p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə kɐlˈmɨkʲɪjə}}; {{langx|xal-RU|Хальмг Таңһч}}, ''Khalmg Tanghch'' {{IPA|xal|χalʲˈməq tʰaɴʁə̆ˈt͡ɕʰɪ̃|}}}} is a [[republics of Russia|republic]] of Russia, located in the [[Volga_Economic_Region|Volga region]] of [[European Russia]]. The republic is part of the [[Southern Federal District]], and borders [[Dagestan]] to the south and [[Stavropol Krai]] to the southwest; [[Volgograd Oblast]] to the northwest and north and [[Astrakhan Oblast]] to the north and east; [[Rostov Oblast]] to the west and the [[Caspian Sea]] to the east. Through the [[Caspian Depression]], the [[Kuma (Russia)|Kuma]] river forms Kalmykia's natural border with Dagestan. Kalmykia is the only [[polity]] within [[Europe]] where the [[Dharmic religion]] of [[Buddhism]] is the predominant religion; the majority of [[Kalmyk people]] are [[Vajrayana]] [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhists]] of the [[Gelug]] and [[Kagyu]] lineages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rbth.com/arts/327646-kalmykia-buddhism-russia|title=Check out Russia's Kalmykia: The only region in Europe where Buddhism rules the roost|work=[[Russia Beyond]]|author=Nikolay Shevchenko|date=21 February 2018|access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref>

The Kalmykia republic covers an area of {{convert|76100|km2|abbr=off}}, with a small population of about 275,000 residents.<ref name="2010Census">{{ru-pop-ref|2010Census}}</ref> The republic of Kalmykia is home of the [[Kalmyks]], a people of [[Oirat Mongols|Oirat Mongolian]] origin who are mainly of [[Tibetan Buddhist]] faith. The capital of the republic is the city of [[Elista]].

==Geography==
The republic is located in [[Southern Russia]], lying north of the North Caucasus. A small stretch of the [[Volga River]] flows through eastern Kalmykia. Other major rivers include the [[Yegorlyk River|Yegorlyk]], the [[Kuma River (Russia)|Kuma]], and the [[Manych River|Manych]]. [[Lake Manych-Gudilo]] is the largest lake; other lakes of significance include [[Lake Sarpa|Lakes Sarpa]] and [[Lake Tsagan-Khak|Tsagan-Khak]]. The highest point in Kalmykia is shared, with an elevation of {{convert|222|m|ft}}; it is located in the [[Yergeni]] hills.<ref name="GE">[[Google Earth]]</ref>

Kalmykia's natural resources include [[coal]], [[petroleum|oil]], and [[natural gas]].

===Climate===
The average January temperature is {{convert|-5|C}} and the average July temperature is {{convert|24|C}}. Average annual [[precipitation]] ranges from {{convert|170|mm|sp=us}} in the east of the republic to {{convert|400|mm|sp=us}} in the west. The small town of Utta is the hottest place in Russia. On 12 July 2010, during a significant heatwave affecting all of Russia, an all-time record-high temperature was observed at {{convert|45.4|C}}.

=== Flora and fauna ===
[[File:Цветение тюльпанов.jpg|Bamb Tsetsg (Tulip) Island national park|thumb]]
The republic's wildlife includes the [[saiga antelope]], whose habitat is protected in [[Chyornye Zemli Nature Reserve]].

==== National Parks ====
*Bamb Tsetsg Tulip Island

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Kalmykia03.png|thumb|Map of the Republic of Kalmykia.]]
[[File:Golden Temple Elista.jpg|thumb|The [[Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume|Golden Temple]] in Elista]]

According to the [[Kurgan hypothesis]], the upland regions of modern-day Kalmykia formed part of the cradle of [[Proto-Indo-European society|Indo-European culture]]. Hundreds of [[kurgan]]s can be seen in these areas, known as the [[Proto-Indo-European homeland|Indo-European]] ''[[Urheimat]]'' ([[Samara culture]], [[Sredny Stog culture]], [[Yamnaya culture|Yamna culture]]).

Some of the first recorded peoples to move into this territory were the [[Scythians]] and [[Sarmatians]] from the central Eurasian steppe, bringing [[Scythian religion|their respective religious systems]] with them. Later on, all three major Abrahamic religions also took root, with the [[Khazar]] conversion to [[Judaism]] being a notable (if historically contested) episode in the religion's history. The [[Alans]] were a major Muslim people group, who faced the invading [[Mongolian Empire|Mongols]] and their [[Tengrist]] practices, with some of the latter settling permanently. The later [[Nogais]] were [[Muslim]]s, but were replaced by the contemporaneous [[Oirats|Oirat]] [[Kalmyks]], who practice [[Mongolian Buddhism]]. With the annexation of the region by the [[Russian Empire]], there was an influx of the [[East Slav]]ic-speaking [[Russian Orthodox]] settlers. Many religious institutions were suppressed in the wake of the [[Russian Revolution]].

===Kalmyk autonomy===

The ancestors of the [[Kalmyks]], the [[Oirat Mongols]], migrated from the steppes of [[southern Siberia]] on the banks of the [[Irtysh River]], reaching the Lower [[Volga region]] of [[Eastern Europe]] by the early 17th century. Historians have given various explanations for the move, but generally recognise that the Kalmyks sought abundant pastures for their herds. Another motivation may have involved escaping the growing dominance of the neighbouring [[Dzungar people|Dzungar]] Mongol tribe.<ref name="locmongolia">
{{cite web|title= Caught Between the Russians and the Manchus|url= http://countrystudies.us/mongolia/24.htm|work= Mongolia a Country Study|publisher= GPO for the Library of Congress|access-date= 13 February 2011|author1=Robert L. Worden |author2=Andrea Matles Savada }}
</ref>
They reached the lower Volga region in or about 1630. That land, however, was not uncontested pastures, but rather the homeland of the [[Nogai Horde]], a confederation of [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking nomadic tribes. The Kalmyks expelled the Nogais, who fled to the Caucasian plains and to the [[Crimean Khanate]], areas (at least theoretically) under the control of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Some Nogai groups sought the protection of the Russian garrison at [[Astrakhan]]. The remaining nomadic Mongol Oirat tribes became vassals of the [[Kalmyk Khanate|Kalmyk Khan]].

The Kalmyks settled in the wide-open steppes – from [[Saratov]] in the north to Astrakhan on the Volga delta in the south and to the [[Terek River]] in the southwest. They also encamped on both sides of the Volga River, from the [[Don River (Russia)|Don River]] in the west to the [[Ural River]] in the east. Although these territories had been recently annexed by the [[Tsardom of Russia]], Moscow was in no position to settle the area with Russian colonists. This area under Kalmyk control would eventually be called the [[Kalmyk Khanate]].

Within twenty-five years of settling in the Lower Volga region, the Kalmyks became subjects of the [[Tsar of Russia]]. In exchange for protecting Russia's southern border, the Kalmyks were promised an annual allowance and access to the markets of Russian border settlements. The open access to Russian markets was supposed to discourage mutual raiding on the part of the Kalmyks and of the [[Russians]] and [[Bashkirs]], a Russian-dominated Turkic people, but this was not often the practice. In addition, Kalmyk allegiance was often nominal, as the Kalmyk Khans practised self-government, based on a set of laws they called the Great Code of the Nomads (''Iki Tsaadzhin Bichig'').

The Kalmyk Khanate reached its peak of military and political power under [[Ayuka Khan]] (ruled 1672–1724, khan 1690–1724). During his era, the Kalmyk Khanate fulfilled its responsibility to protect the southern borders of Russia and conducted many military expeditions against its Turkic-speaking neighbours. Successful military expeditions were also conducted in the Caucasus. The Khanate experienced economic prosperity from free trade with Russian border towns, with China, with Tibet and with Muslim neighbours. During this era, the Kalmyks also kept close contacts with their Oirat kinsmen in [[Dzungaria]], as well as with the [[Dalai Lama]] in [[Tibet]].

===Russian Civil War===

[[File:Kalmyk Khurul Tsagan Aman (restored photo).jpg|thumb|Kalmyk Khurul Tsagan Aman]]

After the [[October Revolution]] in 1917, many Don Kalmyks joined the [[White Movement|White Russian]] army and fought under the command of Generals [[Anton Ivanovich Denikin|Denikin]] and [[Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel|Wrangel]] during the [[Russian Civil War]].  Before the [[Red Army]] broke through to the [[Crimean Peninsula]] towards the end of 1920, a large group of Kalmyks fled from Russia with the remnants of the defeated White Army to the Black Sea ports of Turkey.

The majority of the refugees chose to resettle in [[Belgrade]], [[Yugoslavia]]. Other, much smaller, groups chose [[Sofia]] ([[Bulgaria]]), [[Prague]] ([[Czechoslovakia]]) and Paris and [[Lyon]] (France). The Kalmyk refugees in Belgrade built a Buddhist temple there in 1929.

===Soviet period===

[[File:Coat of arms of Kalmyk ASSR.svg|thumb|Coat of arms of Kalmyk ASSR]]

In July 1919, Bolshevik leader [[Vladimir Lenin]] issued an appeal<ref>Isvestia, Moscow, 24 July 1919</ref> to the Kalmyk people, calling for them to revolt and to aid the Red Army.  Lenin promised to provide the Kalmyks, among other things, a sufficient quantity of land for their own use. The promise came to fruition on 4 November 1920, when a resolution was passed by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee proclaiming the formation of the [[Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast]].  Fifteen years later, on 22 October 1935, the Oblast was elevated to republic status, [[Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]].

In line with the policy of ''[[Korenizatsiya]]'' based on the concept of [[titular nation]]s, the government of the Soviet Union adopted a strategy of [[national delimitation in the Soviet Union|national delimitation]], while at the same time enforcing the [[Leninism|Leninist]] principle of [[democratic centralism]]. According to Dorzha Arbakov, decentralized governing bodies were a tool the Bolsheviks used to control the Kalmyk people:

{{blockquote|... the Soviet authorities were greatly interested in Sovietizing Kalmykia as quickly as possible and with the least amount of bloodshed. Although the Kalmyks alone were not a significant force, the Soviet authorities wished to win popularity in the Asian and Buddhist worlds by demonstrating their evident concern for the Buddhists in Russia.<ref>Dorzha Arbakov, 'The Kalmyks' in Nikolai Dekker and Andrei Lebed, (Eds) ''Genocide in the USSR, Chapter II, Complete Destruction of National Groups as Groups'', Series I, No. 40, (Institute for the Study of the USSR, 1958), p. 90.</ref>}}

After establishing control, the Soviet authorities did not overtly enforce an anti-religion policy, other than through passive means, because it sought to bring Mongolia<ref>Bawden, C.R. ''The Modern History of Mongolia'', Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, New York, (1968).</ref> and Tibet<ref>Meyer, Karl E. and Brysac, Shareen Blair. ''Tournament of Shadows'', Counterpoint, Washington, D.C., (1999)</ref> into its sphere of influence.  The government also was compelled to respond to domestic disturbances resulting from the economic policies of [[War Communism]] and the [[Russian famine of 1921|1921 famine]].
The passive measures that were taken by Soviet authorities to control the people included the imposition of a harsh tax to close places of worship and religious schools. The Cyrillic script replaced [[Todo Bichig]], the traditional Kalmyk vertical script.

On 22 January 1922, [[Mongolia]] proposed to migrate the Kalmyks during the famine in Kalmykia. Russia refused help; 71–72,000 Kalmyks died during the famine.<ref name="Munkhbayar">[http://sonin.mn/blog/Munkhbayar/21142 XX зууны 20, 30-аад онд халимагуудын 98 хувь аймшигт өлсгөлөнд автсан] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031003919/http://sonin.mn/blog/Munkhbayar/21142 |date=2013-10-31 }} '''(Mongolian)'''</ref>{{dubious|date=April 2017}} Revolts erupted among the Kalmyks in 1926 and 1930 (on 1942–1943, see the next section). In March 1927, Soviet deported 20,000 Kalmyks to the [[tundra]]s of [[Siberia]] and [[Karelia]].<ref name="Munkhbayar"/>

The Kalmyks of the [[Don Voisko Oblast]] were subject to the policies of [[Decossackization|de-cossackization]] where villages were destroyed, [[khurul]]s (temples) and monasteries were burned down and executions were indiscriminate.  At the same time, grain, livestock and other foodstuffs were seized.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}  
In December 1927 the Fifteenth Party Congress of the Soviet Union passed a resolution calling for the "voluntary" [[collectivization|collectivization of agriculture]].  The change in policy was accompanied by a new campaign of repression, directed initially against the small farming class. The objective of this campaign was to suppress the resistance of farming peasants to the full-scale collectivization of agriculture.

===World War II===
On 22 June 1941, the German army invaded the Soviet Union.  By 12 August 1942, the German [[Army Group South]] captured [[Elista]], the capital of the Kalmyk ASSR.  After capturing the Kalmyk territory, German army officials established a propaganda campaign with the assistance of anti-communist Kalmyk nationalists, including [[white emigre]], Kalmyk exiles. The total Jewish dead numbered between 100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freitag.de/2004/03/04031801.php |title=Freitag 03 – eine Karawanserei |website=www.freitag.de |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20051124062258/http://www.freitag.de/2004/03/04031801.php |archive-date=24 November 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and upwards of 700, according to documents held in the Kalmyk State Archives.<ref name="USHMM">{{cite web | url=http://www.ushmm.org/information/press/press-releases/united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum-receives-lost-archives-from-kalmyk- | title=USHMM Receives Lost Archives from Kalmyk Republic of the Russian Federation Detailing Previously Unknown Atrocities | publisher=[[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]] | date=22 December 2000 | access-date=9 March 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144907/http://www.ushmm.org/information/press/press-releases/united-states-holocaust-memorial-museum-receives-lost-archives-from-kalmyk- | archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> The campaign was focused primarily on recruiting and organizing Kalmyk men into anti-Soviet militia units.

*Kalmüken Verband Dr. Doll (Kalmukian Volunteers)
*Abwehrtrupp 103 (Kalmukian Volunteers)
*Kalmücken-Legion or [[Kalmücken-Kavallerie-Korps]] (Kalmukian Volunteers)

The Kalmyk units were extremely successful in flushing out and killing [[Soviet partisans]]. But by December 1942, the Soviet Red Army retook the Kalmyk ASSR, forcing the Kalmyks assigned to those units to flee, in some cases with their wives and children in hand.

The Kalmyk units retreated westward into unfamiliar territory with the retreating German army and were reorganized into the Kalmuck Legion, although the Kalmyks themselves preferred the name Kalmuck Cavalry Corps. The casualty rate also increased substantially during the retreat, especially among the Kalmyk officers. To replace those killed, the German army imposed forced conscription, taking in teenagers and middle-aged men. As a result, the overall effectiveness of the Kalmyk units declined.

By the end of the war, the remnants of the Kalmuck Cavalry Corps had made their way to Austria where the Kalmyk soldiers and their family members became post-war refugees.

Those who did not want to leave formed militia units that chose to stay behind and harass the oncoming Soviet Red Army.

Although a number of Kalmyks chose to fight against the Soviet Union, the majority by and large did not, fighting the German army in regular Soviet Red army units and in partisan resistance units behind the battlelines throughout the Soviet Union. Before their removal from the Soviet Red Army and from partisan resistance units after December 1943, approximately 8,000 Kalmyks were awarded various orders and medals, including 21 Kalmyk men who were recognized as a [[Hero of the Soviet Union]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://postomania.ru/post157884767/|title=Регистрация в букмекерской конторе Винлайн с телефона и компьютера|website=postomania.ru}}</ref>

[[File:Мемориал жертвам депортации, Троицкое в Калмыкии.jpg|thumb|Memorial to the deportation in [[Troitskoye, Republic of Kalmykia|Troitskoye]]]]

On 27&nbsp;December 1943, Soviet authorities declared that "many Kalmyks" were guilty of cooperation with the German Army<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ru.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B7_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D0%92%D0%A1_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0_%D0%BE%D1%82_27.12.1943_%D0%BE_%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BC%D1%8B%D1%86%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%90%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0_%D0%B8_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%90%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8_%D0%B2_%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5_%D0%A0%D0%A1%D0%A4%D0%A1%D0%A0|title=Указ Президиума ВС СССР от 27.12.1943 о ликвидации Калмыцкой АССР и образовании Астраханской области в составе РСФСР — Викитека|website=ru.wikisource.org}}</ref> and cited that as a justification to order [[Kalmyk deportations of 1943|the deportation of the entire Kalmyk population]], including those who had served with the Soviet Army, to various locations in Central Asia and Siberia.  In conjunction with the deportation, the Kalmyk ASSR was abolished and its territory was split between adjacent [[Astrakhan Oblast|Astrakhan]], [[Rostov Oblast|Rostov]] and [[Volgograd Oblast|Stalingrad Oblasts]] and [[Stavropol Krai]].  To completely obliterate any traces of the Kalmyk people, the Soviet authorities renamed the former republic's towns and villages.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Polian |editor-first=P.M. |editor-link=Pavel Polian |editor2=Pobol', N.L. |title= Stalinskie deportatsii 1928–1953 |series=Rossiia. XX vek. Dokumenty |year=2005 |publisher=Mezhdunarodnyi fond "Demokratiia"; Maternik |location=Moscow |language=ru |isbn=5-85646-143-6 |oclc=65289542 |pages= 410–34}}</ref>

===Post-war Kalmykia===
[[File:Игра в шахматы на площади около пагоды Семи Дней, Элиста.jpg|thumb|Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, 9 May 2015.]]
Due to their widespread dispersal in Siberia, their language and culture suffered a possibly irreversible decline. [[Nikita Khrushchev|Khrushchev]] finally allowed their return in 1957, when they found their homes, jobs, and land occupied by imported [[Russians]] and [[Ukrainians]], who remained.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}  On 9 January 1957, Kalmykia again became an autonomous oblast, and on 29 July 1958, an autonomous republic within the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]].

In the following years, bad planning of agricultural and irrigation projects resulted in widespread [[desertification]]. On orders from Moscow, sheep production increased beyond levels that the fragile steppe could sustain, resulting in 1.4 million acres (5666&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of the artificial desert.<ref>National Geographic Society, "Caspian Sea." March 1999.</ref> To ramp up output, economically nonviable industrial plants were constructed.

After the dissolution of the USSR, Kalmykia kept the status of an autonomous republic within the newly formed [[Russian Federation]] (effective 31 March 1992).

==Politics==
[[File:Парламент Калмыкии.jpg|thumb|Parliament of Kalmykia in Lenin Square, Elista.]]

The head of the government in Kalmykia is called "The Head of the Republic". After a reform in 2006 that made the governors of the federal subjects appointable by the President, the [[President of Russia]] selected a candidate for the Head of the Republic position and presented it to the Parliament of Kalmyk Republic, the [[People's Khural of Kalmykia|People's Khural]], for approval.  If a candidate was not approved, the President of the Russian Federation could dissolve the Parliament and set up new elections. Since the reform was revoked in 2011, the Head of the Republic has been elected by a direct vote, the first such election happening in 2014.
[[File:Flag of Kalmykia (1992).svg|thumb|right|230px|Flag of Kalmykia in 1992–1993]]
From 1993 to  2010, the Head of the Republic was [[Kirsan Ilyumzhinov|Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov]]. He also was the president of the world chess organization [[FIDE]] until 2018. He has spent much of his fortune on promoting chess in Kalmykia—where chess is compulsory in all primary schools—and also overseas, with Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, hosting many international tournaments.

In the late 1990s, the Ilyumzhinov government was alleged to be spending too much government money on chess-related projects. The allegations were published in Sovietskaya Kalmykia, the opposition newspaper in Elista. [[Larisa Yudina]], the journalist who investigated these accusations, was kidnapped and murdered in 1998. Two men, Sergei Vaskin and Tyurbi Boskomdzhiv, who worked in the local civil service, were charged with her murder, one of them having been a former presidential bodyguard. After prolonged investigations by the Russian authorities, both men were found guilty and jailed, but no evidence was discovered that Ilyumzhinov himself was in any way responsible.<ref>[http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/freedom_detail.html?country=/KW0001/KW0003/KW0078/&year=1998 World Press Freedom Review] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309132411/http://www.freemedia.at/cms/ipi/freedom_detail.html?country=%2FKW0001%2FKW0003%2FKW0078%2F&year=1998 |date=9 March 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/msj/courage.summer2000/t04.html |title=In Russia, many conform, few resist |access-date=25 February 2007 |archive-date=10 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110093448/http://www.freedomforum.org/publications/msj/courage.summer2000/t04.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Kalder. Lost Cosmonaut, p70.</ref>

On 24 October 2010, Ilyumzhinov was replaced by [[Aleksey Orlov (politician)|Alexey Orlov]] as the new Head of Kalmykia. Since September 2019 the acting President of Kalmykia is [[Batu Khasikov]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Republic of Kalmykia » Batu Khasikov won the election of the head of Kalmykia|url=http://www.kalmykia.net/2019/batu-khasikov-won-the-election-of-the-head-of-kalmykia/|access-date=2021-02-28}}</ref>

Since 2008, [[Anatoly Kozachko]] has been President of the Parliament, the People's Khural. The current{{when|date=April 2014}} Prime Minister of Kalmykia is [[Lyudmila Ivanovna]]. All the three top politicians belong to the [[Kremlin]]'s "[[United Russia]]" Party.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100905184322/http://gov.kalmregion.ru/] –
See the web site of the Government of Kalmykia with links.</ref>

==Administrative divisions==
{{Main|Administrative divisions of the Republic of Kalmykia}}
{{clear}}Republic of Kalmykia is administratively divided into 13 [[Raion|districts]], 3 [[List of cities and towns in Russia|cities]] or towns and 111 [[Selsoviet|selsoviets]].<ref name="OKATO">{{OKATO reference|85}}</ref>

==Demographics==
[[File:Life expectancy in Russian subject -Kalmykia.png|thumb|300px|Life expectancy at birth in Kalmykia]]
'''Population''': {{ru-census|p2021=267,133|p2010=289,481|p2002=292,410|p1989=322,589}}

'''Life expectancy''':<ref name="rosstat">{{cite web|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/folder/210/document/13207 |title=Демографический ежегодник России |publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service of Russia]] (Rosstat) |access-date=28 June 2022 |language=ru |trans-title=The Demographic Yearbook of Russia}}</ref><ref name="uiiss">{{cite web |url=https://www.fedstat.ru/indicator/31293 |title=Ожидаемая продолжительность жизни при рождении |website=Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System of Russia |access-date=28 June 2022 |language=ru |trans-title=Life expectancy at birth |archive-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220124657/https://www.fedstat.ru/indicator/31293 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{|style="text-align: center;"
!
! style="width:7em;"|2019
! style="width:7em;"|2021
|-
| style="text-align: left;"|Average:
| 74.8 years
| 71.4 years
|-
| style="text-align: left;"|Male:
| 69.3 years
| 67.3 years
|-
| style="text-align: left;"|Female:
| 80.3 years
| 75.4 years
|}
{{clear}}

===Vital statistics===
{{collapse top | '''Vital statistics'''}}
:Source: [http://www.gks.ru/dbscripts/Cbsd/DBInet.cgi#1 Russian Federal State Statistics Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412011659/http://www.gks.ru/dbscripts/Cbsd/DBInet.cgi#1 |date=12 April 2008 }}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! style="width:70pt;"|Average population (x 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|Live births
! style="width:70pt;"|Deaths
! style="width:70pt;"|Natural change
! style="width:70pt;"|Crude birth rate (per 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|Crude death rate (per 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|Natural change (per 1000)
! style="width:70pt;"|Fertility rates
|-
| 1970
| style="text-align:right;"| 269
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,801
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,661
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,140
| style="text-align:right;"| 17.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.7
|
|-
| 1975
| style="text-align:right;"| 283
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,923
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,228
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,695
| style="text-align:right;"| 20.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 7.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 13.1
|
|-
| 1980
| style="text-align:right;"| 299
| style="text-align:right;"| 7,062
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,735
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,327
| style="text-align:right;"| 23.6
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 14.5
|
|-
| 1985
| style="text-align:right;"| 314
| style="text-align:right;"| 7,945
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,832
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,113
| style="text-align:right;"| 25.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 16.3
|
|-
| 1990
| style="text-align:right;"| 326
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,828
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,669
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,159
| style="text-align:right;"| 20.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 8.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 12.7
|  style="text-align:right; color:blue;"| 2,66
|-
| 1991
| style="text-align:right;"| 327
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,369
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,755
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,614
| style="text-align:right;"| 19.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 8.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.1
|  style="text-align:right; color:blue;"| 2,58
|-
| 1992
| style="text-align:right;"| 323
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,865
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,806
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,059
| style="text-align:right;"| 18.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 8.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.5
|  style="text-align:right; color:blue;"| 2,57
|-
| 1993
| style="text-align:right;"| 319
| style="text-align:right;"| 5,027
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,167
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,860
| style="text-align:right;"| 15.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 5.8
|  style="text-align:right; color:blue;"| 2,30
|-
| 1994
| style="text-align:right;"| 317
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,684
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,226
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,458
| style="text-align:right;"| 14.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.6
|  style="text-align:right; color:blue;"| 2,20
|-
| 1995
| style="text-align:right;"| 316
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,321
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,359
| style="text-align:right;"| 962
| style="text-align:right;"| 13.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.6
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,03
|-
| 1996
| style="text-align:right;"| 314
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,929
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,232
| style="text-align:right;"| 697
| style="text-align:right;"| 12.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,82
|-
| 1997
| style="text-align:right;"| 313
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,845
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,072
| style="text-align:right;"| 773
| style="text-align:right;"| 12.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,77
|-
| 1998
| style="text-align:right;"| 311
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,858
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,279
| style="text-align:right;"| 579
| style="text-align:right;"| 12.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,76
|-
| 1999
| style="text-align:right;"| 309
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,598
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,356
| style="text-align:right;"| 242
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.6
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,62
|-
| 2000
| style="text-align:right;"| 308
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,473
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,439
| style="text-align:right;"| 34
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.1
|  style="text-align:right; color:red;"| 1,55
|-
| 2001
| style="text-align:right;"| 302
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,530
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,357
| style="text-align:right;"| 173
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.6
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,57
|-
| 2002
| style="text-align:right;"| 295
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,729
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,637
| style="text-align:right;"| 92
| style="text-align:right;"| 12.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 12.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,70
|-
| 2003
| style="text-align:right;"| 291
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,874
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,437
| style="text-align:right;"| 437
| style="text-align:right;"| 13.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,77
|-
| 2004
| style="text-align:right;"| 291
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,923
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,184
| style="text-align:right;"| 739
| style="text-align:right;"| 13.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,77
|-
| 2005
| style="text-align:right;"| 290
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,788
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,350
| style="text-align:right;"| 438
| style="text-align:right;"| 13.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,69
|-
| 2006
| style="text-align:right;"| 289
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,820
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,207
| style="text-align:right;"| 613
| style="text-align:right;"| 13.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,69
|-
| 2007
| style="text-align:right;"| 289
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,146
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,141
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,005
| style="text-align:right;"| 14.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,83
|-
| 2008
| style="text-align:right;"| 289
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,354
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,976
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,378
| style="text-align:right;"| 15.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,93
|-
| 2009
| style="text-align:right;"| 289
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,270
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,115
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,155
| style="text-align:right;"| 14.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,81
|-
| 2010
| style="text-align:right;"| 289
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,432
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,191
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,241
| style="text-align:right;"| 15.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,88
|-
| 2011
| style="text-align:right;"| 288
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,194
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,920
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,274
| style="text-align:right;"| 14,5
| style="text-align:right;"| 10,1
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,81
|-
| 2012
| style="text-align:right;"| 286
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,268
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,870
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,398
| style="text-align:right;"| 15,0
| style="text-align:right;"| 10,1
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,89
|-
| 2013
| style="text-align:right;"| 283
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,126
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,805
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,321
| style="text-align:right;"| 14,6
| style="text-align:right;"| 9,9
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,88
|-
| 2014
| style="text-align:right;"| 281
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,969
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,787
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,182
| style="text-align:right;"| 14,1
| style="text-align:right;"| 9,9
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,85
|-
| 2015
| style="text-align:right;"| 280
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,823
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,743
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,080
| style="text-align:right;"| 13,6
| style="text-align:right;"| 9,8
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,83
|-
| 2016
| style="text-align:right;"| 278
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,492
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,709
| style="text-align:right;"| 783
| style="text-align:right;"| 12.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.72(e)
|-
| 2017
| style="text-align:right;"| 277
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,028
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,755
| style="text-align:right;"| 273
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 
|-
| 2018
| style="text-align:right;"| 275
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,043
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,649
| style="text-align:right;"| 394
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.6
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 
|-
| 2019
| style="text-align:right;"| 
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,814
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,561
| style="text-align:right;"| 253
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 
|-
| 2020
| style="text-align:right;"| 
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,758
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,013
| style="text-align:right; | -255
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.1
| style="text-align:right; | -0.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 
|-
| 2021
| style="text-align:right;"| 
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,650
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,633
| style="text-align:right; | -983
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.8
| style="text-align:right; color:red;"| 13.5
| style="text-align:right; color:red;"| -3.7
| style="text-align:right;"|
|-
| 2022
| style="text-align:right;"| 
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,434
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,778
| style="text-align:right; | -343
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 10.4
| style="text-align:right; | -1.3
| style="text-align:right;"|
|-
| 2023
| style="text-align:right;"| 
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,403
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,517
| style="text-align:right; | -114
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 9.5
| style="text-align:right; | -0.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 
|}
{{collapse bottom}}{{Historical populations|3=1926|4=161176|7=1959|8=184857|9=1970|10=267993|11=1979|12=293528|13=1989|14=322589|15=2002|16=292410|17=2010|18=289481|19=2021|20=267133|type=|footnote=Source: Census data}}

=== Ethnic groups ===
{{Main|Demographics of Russia#Peoples of the Caucasus}}According to the 2021 Census, [[Kalmyk people|Kalmyks]] make up 62.5% of the republic's population. Other groups include [[Russians]] (25.7%), [[Dargin people|Dargins]] (2.8%), [[Kazakhs]] (1.7%), [[Turkish people|Turks]] (1.6%), [[Chechens]] (1.1%), [[Caucasian Avars|Avars]] (1.0%), and [[Koreans]] (0.4%).<ref name=census2021>{{cite web|title=Национальный состав населения|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx|publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]|access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Census year
! colspan="2" | Kalmyks
! colspan="2" | Russians
! colspan="2" | Others
|-
! # !! %
! # !! %
! # !! %
|-
| 1926
| 107,026 || {{percentage bar|width=60|75.6}}
| 15,212 || {{percentage bar|width=60|10.7}}
| 19,356 || {{percentage bar|width=60|13.7}}
|-
| 1939
| 107,315 || {{percentage bar|width=60|48.6}}
| 100,814 || {{percentage bar|width=60|45.7}}
| 12,555 || {{percentage bar|width=60|5.7}}
|-
| 1959
| 64,882 || {{percentage bar|width=60|35.1}}
| 103,349 || {{percentage bar|width=60|55.9}}
| 16,626 || {{percentage bar|width=60|9.0}}
|-
| 1970
| 110,264 || {{percentage bar|width=60|41.1}}
| 122,757 || {{percentage bar|width=60|45.8}}
| 34,972 || {{percentage bar|width=60|13.0}}
|-
| 1979
| 122,167 || {{percentage bar|width=60|41.5}}
| 125,510 || {{percentage bar|width=60|42.6}}
| 46,850 || {{percentage bar|width=60|15.9}}
|-
| 1989
| 146,316 || {{percentage bar|width=60|45.4}}
| 121,531 || {{percentage bar|width=60|37.7}}
| 54,732 || {{percentage bar|width=60|17.0}}
|-
| 2002
| 155,938 || {{percentage bar|width=60|53.3}}
| 98,115 || {{percentage bar|width=60|33.6}}
| 38,357 || {{percentage bar|width=60|13.1}}
|-
| 2010
| 162,740 || {{percentage bar|width=60|57.4}}
| 85,712 || {{percentage bar|width=60|30.2}}
| 35,239 || {{percentage bar|width=60|12.4}}
|-
| 2021{{efn|12,370 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.<ref>[http://www.perepis-2010.ru/news/detail.php?ID=6936 Перепись-2010: русских становится больше]. Perepis-2010.ru (2011-12-19). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.</ref>}}
| 159,138 || {{percentage bar|width=60|62.5}}
| 65,490 || {{percentage bar|width=60|25.7}}
| 30,135 || {{percentage bar|width=60|11.8}}
|}
{{notelist}}

[[File:Caucasus-ethnic en.svg|thumb|Ethnic map of Caucasus]]

The population of [[Kalmyks]] in the [[Russian Empire]], [[Soviet Union]] and [[Russian Federation]]:

{{Bar chart
| title       = <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97.php?reg=0|title=Демоскоп Weekly – Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей.|website=www.demoscope.ru}}</ref>
| label_type  = year
| data_type   = population
| data_max    = 200,000
|label1=1897 |data1=190,648
|label2=1926 |data2=128,809
|label3=1939 |data3=129,786
|label4=1959 |data4=100,603
|label5=1970 |data5=131,318
|label6=1979 |data6=140,103
|label7=1989 |data7=165,103
|label8=2002 |data8=174,000
|label9=2010 |data9=183,372
|label10=2021 |data10=179,547
}}

===Religion===
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in Kalmykia (2012)<ref name="ArenaAtlas2012">{{cite web|title=Арена: Атлас религий и национальностей|trans-title=Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities|year=2012|publisher=Среда (Sreda)|url=https://docviewer.yandex.com/view/0/?*=rvAv5PGTc%2Fw%2BBFV6QOUZtaf5gYF7InVybCI6InlhLWRpc2stcHVibGljOi8vMWV1aDl5RDFpcnZKeVZNNSswWWFaZktqRFhoOXZDNWhldUlGTU5uQU4zQT0iLCJ0aXRsZSI6IlNyZWRhX2Jsb2tfcHJlc3Nfc20yLnBkZiIsInVpZCI6IjAiLCJub2lmcmFtZSI6ZmFsc2UsInRzIjoxNTI0NDg3NTUzMTcwfQ%3D%3D&page=1|format=PDF}} See also the results' '''[http://sreda.org/arena main interactive mapping]''' and the static mappings: {{cite map|title=Religions in Russia by federal subject|journal=Ogonek|volume=34|issue=5243|date=27 August 2012|url=http://c2.kommersant.ru/ISSUES.PHOTO/OGONIOK/2012/034/ogcyhjk2.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421154615/http://c2.kommersant.ru/ISSUES.PHOTO/OGONIOK/2012/034/ogcyhjk2.jpg|archive-date=21 April 2017}} The Sreda Arena Atlas was realised in cooperation with the [http://sreda.org/arena/maps?mainsection=census All-Russia Population Census 2010 (Всероссийской переписи населения 2010)], the [http://sreda.org/arena/maps?mainsection=minust Russian Ministry of Justice (Минюста РФ)], the Public Opinion Foundation (Фонда Общественного Мнения) and presented among others by the Analytical Department of the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church. See: {{cite journal|title=Проект АРЕНА: Атлас религий и национальностей|trans-title=Project ARENA: Atlas of religions and nationalities|url=http://russ.ru/Mirovaya-povestka/Proekt-ARENA-Atlas-religij-i-nacional-nostej|journal=Russian Journal|date=10 December 2012}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Tibetan Buddhism]]
|value1 = 47.6
|color1 = yellow
|label2 = [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodoxy]]
|value2 = 18
|color2 = Darkorchid
|label3 = Other and undeclared
|value3 = 9.6
|color3 = Gray
|label4 = [[Spiritual but not religious]]
|value4 = 8.2
|color4 = Darkslategray
|label5 = [[Atheist]]
|value5 = 8
|color5 = Black
|label6 = [[Islam in Russia|Islam]]
|value6 = 4.8
|color6 = Green
|label7 = [[Tengrism]] and [[Shamanism]]
|value7 = 3
|color7 = Red
|label8 = Other [[Christianity in Russia|Christians]]
|value8 = 0.8
|color8 = Deepskyblue
}}

[[Tibetan Buddhism]] is the traditional and most popular religion among the [[Kalmyks]], while [[ethnic Russians]] in the country practice predominantly [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodoxy]]. A minority of Kalmyks practice pre-Buddhist [[shamanism]] or [[Tengrism]] (a contemporary revival of the Turkic and Mongolic shamanic religions). Many people are unaffiliated and [[irreligion|non-religious]].

According to a 2012 survey,<ref name="2012ArenaAtlas">[http://sreda.org/en/arena "Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia"]. Sreda, 2012.</ref> 47.6% of the population of Kalmykia adhere to Buddhism, 18% to the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], 4.8% to [[Islam]], 3% to [[Tengrism]] or Kalmyk [[shamanism]], 1% are [[nondenominational Christianity|unaffiliated]] [[Christianity|Christians]], 1% are either Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to a church or are members of non-Russian Orthodox churches, 0.4% adhere to forms of [[Hinduism]], and 9.0% follow other religions or did not give an answer to the survey. In addition, 8.2% of the population declared themselves to be "[[spiritual but not religious]]" and another 8% to be [[atheism|atheist]].<ref name="2012ArenaAtlas"/>{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2025}}

===Education===
[[Kalmyk State University]] is the largest higher education facility in the republic.

==Economy==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:KalmykiaPostcard.jpg|thumb|Kalmykia promotional tourism postcard.]] -->

Kalmykia has a developed agricultural sector.  Other developed industries include the [[food processing]] and oil and gas industries.

As most of Kalmykia is arid, irrigation is necessary for agriculture. The Cherney Zemli Irrigation Scheme ({{lang|ru|Черноземельская оросительная система}}) in southern Kalmykia receives water from the [[Caucasus|Caucasian]] rivers [[Terek River|Terek]] and [[Kuma River (Russia)|Kuma]] via a chain of canals: water flows from the Terek to the Kuma via the [[Terek-Kuma Canal]], then to the [[Chogray Reservoir]] on the [[Manych River|East Manych]] River via the [[Kuma–Manych Canal]], and finally into Kalmykia's steppes over the Cherney Zemli Main Canal, constructed in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kalmykia.evrazia.org/economika.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526043824/http://kalmykia.evrazia.org/economika.html|url-status=dead|title="What Kalmykia's economy is based on"|archive-date=May 26, 2007}}</ref>

The government of Kalmykia spends about $100 million annually. Its annual oil production is about 1,270,000 barrels.

==Emigration and culture==
[[File:Во время репетиции сводного оркестра домбристов в Элисте, 14.06.2015.jpg|thumb|Traditional instruments include the ''[[dombra]].'']]

The Kalmyks of [[Kyrgyzstan]] live primarily in the [[Karakol]] region of eastern Kyrgyzstan. They are referred to as [[Sart Kalmyks]]. The origin of this name is unknown. Likewise, it is not known when, why and from where this small group of Kalmyks migrated to eastern Kyrgyzstan. Due to their minority status, the Sart Kalmyks have adopted the [[Kyrgyz language]] and culture of the majority Kyrgyz population.

Although many Sart Kalmyks are [[Sunni Islam|Muslims]], Kalmyks elsewhere, by and large, remain faithful to the [[Gelugpa]] Order of [[Tibetan Buddhism]]. In Kalmykia, for example, the Gelugpa Order with the assistance of the government has constructed numerous Buddhist temples. In addition, the Kalmyk people recognize [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama]] as their spiritual leader and [[Erdne Ombadykow]], a [[Kalmyk American]], as the supreme lama of the Kalmyk people. The Dalai Lama has visited Elista on a number of occasions.

The Kalmyks have also established [[Kalmyk American|communities in the United States]], primarily in [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New Jersey]]. The majority are descended from those Kalmyks who fled from Russia in late 1920 to France, [[Yugoslavia]], [[Bulgaria]], and, later, Germany.  Many of those Kalmyks living in Germany at the end of World War II were eventually granted passage to the United States.

As a consequence of their decades-long migration through Europe, many older Kalmyks are fluent in German, French, and [[Serbo-Croatian]], in addition to Russian and their native [[Kalmyk language]]. There are several Kalmyk Buddhist temples in [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], where the vast majority of American Kalmyks reside, as well as a Tibetan Buddhist [http://www.njskylands.com/clbuddhist.htm Learning Center] and monastery in [[Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey|Washington Township, New Jersey]]. At one point during the 20th century, there was a Kalmyk Buddhist temple in [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]].

The word ''Kalmyk'' means 'those who remained'. Its origin is unknown but this name was known centuries before a large part of the Kalmyks moved back from the Volga River to [[Dzhungaria]] in the 18th century.

There are three cultural subgroups within the Kalmyk nation: ''Turguts'', ''Durbets'' (Durwets), and ''Buzavs'' ([[Oirats|Oirat]]s, who joined the Russian [[Cossack]]s), as well as some villages of Hoshouts and Zungars. The Durbets subgroup includes the ''[[Chonos tribe|Chonos]]'' tribe (literally meaning "a tribe of the wolf", also called "Shonos", "Chinos", "A-Shino", or "A-Chino").

Kalmykia staged the 2006 [[World Chess Championship]] between [[Veselin Topalov]] and [[Vladimir Kramnik]].<ref name="chess">Rohrer, Finlo (2006) [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5377372.stm "Game of kings takes centre stage"]</ref>

Most of the Republic of Kalmykia lies in the [[Caspian Depression]], a low-lying region down to {{convert|27|m|sp=us}} below [[sea level]].

==See also==
* [[Buddhism in Kalmykia]]
* [[Music of Kalmykia]]
* [[Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery]]
* [[Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume]]
* [[Kumykia]]

==References==

===Notes===
==== Explanatory notes ====
{{notefoot}}

==== Citations ====
{{Reflist|35em}}

=== General sources ===
*{{RussiaBasicLawRef|kl}}
*{{Cite Russian law
|ru_entity=Народный Хурал (Парламент) Республики Калмыкия
|ru_type=Закон
|ru_number=44-I-З
|ru_date=14 июня 1996 г.
|ru_title=О государственных символах Республики Калмыкия
|ru_effective_date=с момента опубликования
|ru_published_in="Ведомости Народного Хурала (Парламента) Республики Калмыкия", №2, стр. 113
|ru_published_date=1997 г
|ru_url=
|ru_amendment_type=Закона
|ru_amendment_number=152-IV-З
|ru_amendment_date=18 ноября 2009 г.
|ru_amendment_title=О внесении изменения в Закон Республики Калмыкия "О государственных символах Республики Калмыкия"
|en_entity=People's Khural (Parliament) of the Republic of Kalmykia
|en_type=Law
|en_number=44-I-Z
|en_date=14 June 1996
|en_title=On the Symbols of State of the Republic of Kalmykia
|en_effective_date=the moment of publication
|en_url=
|en_amendment_type=Law
|en_amendment_number=152-IV-Z
|en_amendment_date=18 November 2009
|en_amendment_title=On Amending the Law of the Republic of Kalmykia "On the Symbols of State of the Republic of Kalmykia"
}}
*{{Cite Soviet law
|ru_entity=Президиум Верховного Совета СССР
|ru_type=Указ
|ru_number=
|ru_date=29 июля 1958 г.
|ru_title=О преобразовании Калмыцкой автономной области в Калмыцкую Автономную Советскую Социалистическую Республику
|ru_effective_date=
|ru_published_in=
|ru_published_date=
|ru_url=
|en_entity=[[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]] of the USSR
|en_type=Decree
|en_number=
|en_date=29 July 1958
|en_title=On the Transformation of Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast into the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
|en_effective_date=
|en_url=
}}

==Further reading==
* Arbakov, Dorzha. ''Genocide in the USSR'', Chapter II, "Complete Destruction of National Groups as Groups, The Kalmyks", Nikolai Dekker and Andrei Lebed, Editors, Series I, No. 40, Institute for the Study of the USSR, Munich, 1958.
* Balinov, Shamba. ''Genocide in the USSR'', Chapter V, "Attempted Destruction of Other Religious Groups, The Kalmyk Buddhists", Nikolai Dekker and Andrei Lebed, Editors, Series I, No. 40, Institute for the Study of the USSR, Munich, 1958.
* Bethell, Nicholas. ''The Last Secret'', Futura Publications Limited, Great Britain, 1974.
* Corfield, Justin. ''The History of Kalmykia: From Ancient times to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Aleksey Orlov'', Australia, 2015. The first major history of Kalmykia in English, heavily illustrated, and drawing on interviews with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Nicholas Ilyumzhinov and Aleksey Orlov amongst others.
* Epstein, Julius. ''Operation Keelhaul'', Devin-Adair, Connecticut, 1973.
* Grousset, René. ''The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia'', Rutgers University Press, 1970.
* Halkovic, Stephen A. Jr. ''The Mongols of the West'', Indiana University Uralic and Altaic Series, Volume 148, Larry Moses, Editor, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1985.
* [[Joachim Hoffmann|Hoffmann, Joachim]]: ''Deutsche und Kalmyken 1942 bis 1945'', Rombach Verlag, Friedberg, 1986.
* Kalder, Daniel. ''Lost Cosmonaut: Observations of an Anti-tourist''
* Muñoz, Antonio J. ''The East Came West: Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Volunteers in the German Armed Forces, 1941–1945'', Chapter 8, "Followers of 'The Greater Way': Kalmück Volunteers in the German Army", Antonio J. Muñoz, Editor, Axis Europa Books, Bayside, New York, 2001.
* Tolstoy, Nikolai. ''The Secret Betrayal, 1944–1947'', Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1977.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kalmykia}}
{{wikivoyage|Kalmykia}}
* [http://kalmregion.ru/ Official website of the Republic of Kalmykia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224030721/http://kalmregion.ru/ |date=24 February 2018 }} {{in lang|ru}}
* [https://www.kalmykia.net/news/news/ News from Kalmykia] {{in lang|en}}
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=xal Ethnologue report on Kalmyk language]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,1875583,00.html The Buddhist hordes of Kalmykia], ''[[The Guardian]]'' 19 September 2006

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