Kalmykia

Kalmykia is a federal republic of Russia on the northwest coast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Elista, and it is home to the Kalmyk people, a Mongolic ethnic group.

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Elista: Elista is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Kalmykia in southwestern Russia. The republic’s government and best-known urban landmarks are centered in Elista.
Oirats: The Oirats are a western Mongolic peoples historically associated with Dzungaria and the Mongol west. Kalmyk ancestors belonged to Oirat groups that migrated toward the Caspian region.
Deportation of the Kalmyks: The deportation of the Kalmyks was the Soviet mass removal of the Kalmyk population to Siberia in 1943. It abruptly emptied the republic and profoundly disrupted Kalmyk society.
Buddhism in Kalmykia: Buddhism in Kalmykia is a major religious tradition centered on Tibetan Buddhism and practiced by many Kalmyks. The republic is a prominent center of Buddhism in European Russia.
Kalmyk people: The Kalmyk people are a Mongolic ethnic group whose historic homeland is Kalmykia. Their language, history, and traditions shape the republic’s distinct identity.
Kalmyk migration: Kalmyk migration was the westward movement of Oirat groups from Central Asia to the lower Volga region, beginning in the seventeenth century. It established the population whose homeland became Kalmykia.
Operation Ulusy: Operation Ulusy was the Soviet security operation that deported the Kalmyks in December 1943. It was the state operation that carried out the mass deportation.
Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni: The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni is a Buddhist temple in Elista, opened in 2005. It is a major contemporary religious landmark in the republic’s capital.
Kalmyk language: Kalmyk is a Mongolic language traditionally written in the Cyrillic alphabet. It is the historic language of Kalmykia’s titular people.
Kalmyk Khanate: The Kalmyk Khanate was a seventeenth- and eighteenth-century polity of Oirat people in the lower Volga region. Its political history preceded Russian rule over the Kalmyk lands.