Kalmykia or Republic of Kalmykia-Khalmg-Tangeh, constituent republic (1990 est. pop. 329,000), c.29,400 sq mi (76,150 sq km), SE European Russia, on the Caspian Sea. Elista is the capital. Land and People Lying mostly in the vast depression of the N Caspian lowland, Kalmykia is largely a steppe and desert area. There are salt lakes but no permanent waterways. Stock raising (horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and some pigs and camels) is by far the leading economic activity, and fishing is important. Irrigation has made limited agriculture possible; winter wheat, corn, and fodder crops are grown. Industry revolves primarily around the processing of agricultural products, fish, and minerals. The population is primarily Kalmyk (45%) and Russian (37%). Buddhism and Orthodox Christianity are the main official religions. The republic has a 130-member parliament. History A seminomadic branch of the Oirat Mongols, the Kalmyks migrated from Chinese Turkistan to the steppe W of the Volga's mouth in the mid-17th cent. They became allies of the Russians and were charged by Peter I with guarding the eastern frontier of the Russian Empire. Under Catherine II, however, the Kalmyks became vassals. In 1771 about 300,000 Kalmyks E of the Volga set out to return to China but were decimated en route by Russian, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz attacks. The Kalmyks west of the Volga remained in Russia, where they retained their Lamaist Buddhist religion and their seminomadic life. The word Kalmyk in...
Kalmykia or Republic of Kalmykia-Khalmg-Tangeh, constituent republic (1990 est. pop. 329,000), c.29,400 sq mi (76,150 sq km), SE European Russia, on the Caspian Sea. Elista is the capital. Land and People Lying mostly in the vast depression of the N Caspian lowland, Kalmykia is largely a steppe and desert area. There are salt lakes but no permanent waterways. Stock raising (horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and some pigs and camels) is by far the leading economic activity, and fishing is important. Irrigation has made limited agriculture possible; winter wheat, corn, and fodder crops are grown. Industry revolves primarily around the processing of agricultural products, fish, and minerals. The population is primarily Kalmyk (45%) and Russian (37%). Buddhism and Orthodox Christianity are the main official religions. The republic has a 130-member parliament. History A seminomadic branch of the Oirat Mongols, the Kalmyks migrated from Chinese Turkistan to the steppe W of the Volga's mouth in the mid-17th cent. They became allies of the Russians and were charged by Peter I with guarding the eastern frontier of the Russian Empire. Under Catherine II, however, the Kalmyks became vassals. In 1771 about 300,000 Kalmyks E of the Volga set out to return to China but were decimated en route by Russian, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz attacks. The Kalmyks west of the Volga remained in Russia, where they retained their Lamaist Buddhist religion and their seminomadic life. The word Kalmyk in...
