Kalmyk

Republic in the southwest of the Russian Federation; area 75,900 sq km/29,305 sq mi; population (1996) 319,000 (39% urban) (45% Kalmyks, 38% Russians). The capital is Elista, and Yashkul is another city. The republic is west of the lower Volga and has a short coastline on the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. Physical features include dry steppe and semi-desert lowland, and there is a continental climate. Industries include machine building, metalworking, food processing, fish canning. Sheep, pigs, and cattle are reared.

History
The Kalmyk people were originally a Mongolian people who migrated westward from Central Asia to the lower Volga area in the 17th century. They formed a frontier khanate (territory ruled by a kahn (Mongol ruler)) that swore allegiance to Russia in return for protection against Tatar attack. The khanate became absorbed into the Russian province of Astrakhan in the 18th century. The Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast was established in 1920 and raised to the status of an autonomous republic in 1938. Collectivization and deportation severely depleted the Kalmyk people in the 1930s and 1940s. They were rehabilitated in 1958, and, with the collapse of the USSR, their culture and Buddhist faith have undergone a revival. The province was declared an independent republic of the Federation in 1991.