KALMYKS

Kalmyks: translation

Ethnic group. The Kalmyks (or Kalmucks) are the western branch of the Oyrats, a Mongolic people whose origins lie in the Dzungaria region of western China. In the Russian Federation, there are approximately 174,000 ethnic Kalmyks. Arriving in theCaspianbasin in the 17th century, the Kalmyks represent the last instance of nomadic Asians permanently migrating to the European continent. After settling in the Volgasteppe, they were integrated into the Russian empire and served as buffer between theOrthodoxSlavs and theMuslimpeoples of theNorth Caucasus.They are the titular majority of the Republic ofKalmykiya, but also live in small diasporic communities in Western Europe and theUnited States. The Kalmyklanguageis the only major member of the western branch of the Mongolian language family. Due toRussificationpolicies and the social disruptions of the mid-20th century, many Kalmyks—including the president of Kalmykiya,Kirsan Ilyumzhinov—have limited mastery of the language; less than 10 percent of Kalmyk youth are fluent.

The Kalmyks are the only indigenous European ethnic group that professesBuddhism; like other Mongolic peoples of the Russian Federation, they are Lamaist. While the Kalmyk’sreligiousinfrastructure was almost totally destroyed by the 1940s, a revival, which began underglasnostand is now monetarily supported by Ilyumzhinov, is currently under way.

In 1943, the entire nation, some 92,000 strong, was deported from their homeland to various locales in southernSiberia; the mortality rate during transit or during the immediate aftermath of resettlement is estimated to be between one-third and half of all deportees.Nikita Khrushchevdenounced the deportation in the 1950s, opening the way for repatriation to Kalmykiya. In recent years, Kalmyks emerged as a majority in their ethnic republic, partly as a result ofethnic Russianemigration.