"Territories and Regions" (BBC)
The Republic of Kalmykia is a constituent republic of the Russian Federation situated south of the Volga on the north-western shores of the Caspian Sea. It shares its south-eastern border with Dagestan.
Kalmyks account for about 45% of the population. The rest are mostly ethnic Russians.
The Kalmyk people are descended from nomadic Mongol herdsmen who travelled westwards in the 16th and 17th centuries in search of pasture land, eventually settling around the Volga river. After an oath of allegiance to the tsar they were granted a khanate in exchange for services in guarding Russia's eastern frontierland.
Their fortunes were less favorable in the 18th century and many set off eastwards again. The word Kalmyk is derived from the Turkish for remnant and refers to those who remained.
The Kalmyks live in the only Buddhist nation in Europe and revere the Dalai Lama, who visited the republic in 2004.
In 1943 Stalin accused the Kalmyks of collaboration with the Nazis and deported them en masse to Siberia where around half of them died. They were only allowed to return home in 1957 after Khrushchev came to power in the Kremlin.
Now one of Europe's poorest and most underdeveloped regions with a crumbling infrastructure, Kalmykia was once a land of fertile if fragile steppe whose black soil was cherished by the herdsmen.
Soviet times changed all that. The land was ploughed and intensive grazing became the norm. Much of the steppe has now turned to desert.
Livestock raising remains the main economic activity and there is also some fishing and arable farming.
Facts
Their fortunes were less favorable in the 18th century and many set off eastwards again. The word Kalmyk is derived from the Turkish for remnant and refers to those who remained.
The Kalmyks live in the only Buddhist nation in Europe and revere the Dalai Lama, who visited the republic in 2004.
In 1943 Stalin accused the Kalmyks of collaboration with the Nazis and deported them en masse to Siberia where around half of them died. They were only allowed to return home in 1957 after Khrushchev came to power in the Kremlin.
Now one of Europe's poorest and most underdeveloped regions with a crumbling infrastructure, Kalmykia was once a land of fertile if fragile steppe whose black soil was cherished by the herdsmen.
Soviet times changed all that. The land was ploughed and intensive grazing became the norm. Much of the steppe has now turned to desert.
Livestock raising remains the main economic activity and there is also some fishing and arable farming.
Facts
- Status: Semi-autonomous region of Russia
Population: 329,000 (1990)
Area: 29,400 square miles (76,150 sq km)
Capital: Elista
Status: Republic within Russian Federation
Main ethnic groups: Kalmyks, Russians
Languages: Kalmyk, Russian
Religions: Buddhism, Christianity
Resources: Agriculture, wool, caviar
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