PSCRP-BESA Reports No 23 (December 30, 2023)
Located in the very southeast of Europe, Kalmykia, a subject of the Russian Federation in the lower Volga region, has almost never been in the spotlight of the global community.
The historical fate of the Kalmyk autonomy
Kalmykia is the only territory in this part of the world where Buddhism prevails. Since 1920 it has had the status of an autonomous oblast, and since 1935 it has enjoyed the status of an autonomous republic. This status was the result of the policy of “autonomization” and “korenizatsiya” (indigenization) of ethnic groups implemented by the Soviet communist authorities on the territory of the USSR. Autonomy was granted to the Kalmyks who had migrated here from Central Asia in the 16th17th centuries.
The first version of the Kalmyk autonomous republic existed only 8 years, until its liquidation by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on December 27, 1943. At the same time about 100,000 Kalmyks were deported to Siberia on charges of collaboration with the German occupiers in 19431944, which led to the loss of one third to one half of the ethnic group. After Stalin’s death, 14 years later, in 1957, the Kalmyks were rehabilitated. In 1957, Kalmyk autonomy was restored as an autonomous oblast within Stavropol Krai, and in 1958 as the Autonomous Soviet Republic (ASSR).
Today, the population of Kalmykia (with an area of 74731 square kilometers) is just over a quarter of a million people. According to the 2010 census, Kalmyks make up 57.4% of the population, Russians — 30.2%. Since the beginning of 1989, the number and percentage of Russians in the population have been decreasing, while the number and percentage of Kalmyks have been steadily increasing since 1959.
Kalmyk and Russian are considered the official languages in the Republic of Kalmykia. However, in reality, in most regions the Kalmyk language has been replaced by Russian. According to the 2010 census, of the 183,000 ethnic Kalmyks, only 80,500 speak their own language. The Kalmyk language is included in the list of endangered languages according to the UNESCO assessment. Despite efforts to preserve the language, its transfer to younger generations takes place mainly in rural areas, where Kalmyks are in the majority. The Kalmyk language retains its strongest presence in the Ketchenerovsky district, where 91.73% of the population are Kalmyk; however, this district, according to the 2020 census, tends to have a declining population of only 8,746.
Despite the difficult situation with the national language, Kalmyks are barely assimilated by Russians. In 1959 they were a minority in their republic, but now they are its absolute majority, and their share in the population continues to grow. The main factors preventing assimilation are:
- In the North Caucasus and Lower Volga region, where the overwhelming majority of the population is Caucasian, Kalmyks, who are East Asians, are a notable minority.
- In a region where all surrounding peoples are either practicing Christianity or Islam, the majority of Kalmyks remain, at least nominally, adherents of Buddhism.
Declaration of State Independence of Kalmykia
In the late Soviet and early post-Soviet period, Kalmyk nationalism focused on religious, linguistic and territorial aspects. After the restoration of Kalmyk autonomy in 1957, a significant part of the territory (390,000 ha) remained within Astrakhan Oblast, Stavropol Krai and Dagestan ASSR. The Limansky district, formerly part of the Dorbansky ulus of the Kalmyk ASSR, remained within the Astrakhan Oblast. Narimanovsky district, which includes the now obsolete Privolzhsky district, also has a small number of Kalmyks (1.57%). The preserved monument of the 19th century Kalmyk architecture, the Khosheutovsky hurul, located in the village of Rechnoye (before 1947 — Aktobeevsk), is the only heritage of this era in Kharabalinsky district of Astrakhan Oblast.
In the early 1990s, the Movement of the Oirat-Kalmyk people made a demand to restore the pre-1943 borders of Kalmykia, citing the law “On the Rehabilitation of Repressed Peoples” adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR in 1990. However, in the spring of 1993, newly elected president of the republic Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced Kalmykia’s renunciation of territorial claims to neighboring regions[1].
Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, which unites Kalmyk intellectuals and opposition politicians, emerged in 2015. It organized “chuulgans” — conventions of activists in Elista. Its members considered it the only legitimate representative body of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, elected at their conventions. In 2021, Russian police detained several activists during a chuulgan, and the convention leadership in February 2022 condemned Russian aggression and called on Kalmyks not to participate in the war against Ukraine. In response, Russian authorities imposed administrative measures against members of the Congress, leading to their forced departure from the Russian Federation[2].
After these events, on October 26, 2022, the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people in exile proclaimed the state independence of the Republic of Kalmykia[3]. The Declaration of October 18, 1990, adopted by the Supreme Soviet of the Kalmyk ASSR, proclaimed state sovereignty over the entire territory of the republic with the promise of establishing a democratic state based on the rule of law. Nevertheless, the document notes the subsequent rejection of sovereignty by the Kalmyk authorities, along with the “internationally recognized right of the Oirat-Kalmyk people to self-determination”. It also criticizes the “voluntaristic decision of President Ilyumzhinov” and his supporters, who in 2004 approved a “pseudo-constitution of the Republic of Kalmykia”. According to this document, the republic lost its statehood and became a subject of the Russian Federation. The authors of the Declaration believe that the authorities of Kalmykia have become executors of Moscow’s will, unable to protect the national interests of the people and the republic.
Members of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people declare that under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation has turned into a “criminal dictatorship” that ignores international law and uses Nazi methods to suppress dissenters, including Kalmyks. They demand the return of the Kalmyk lands that remain within the Astrakhan region and accuse the Russian Federation of colonial financial and economic policies that hinder the economic development of the region. Given the poverty of the republic, this is becoming a strong argument in favor of separatist sentiments. It is a logical conclusion that continuing to be part of Russia will lead to Russification, assimilation and degradation of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, jeopardizing their existence. Therefore, they demand “the complete liberation of the Oirat-Kalmyk people from colonial dependence on Russia” and the creation of a sovereign independent state”[4].
Chechen-Kalmyk conflict in Liman district
While the Kalmyk national movement demands the return of the territories transferred to Astrakhan Oblast, this has not caused significant inter-ethnic tension between Russians and Kalmyks on the disputed lands. In Liman district, however, clashes between Kalmyks and Chechen migrants occurred in 2005 over an incident involving a monument on the grave of Kalmyk Eduard Kokmadzhiev. After a Kalmyk was killed during the clashes, the Kalmyks organized a pogrom of the Chechen population with houses being set on fire. It is important to note that the Russian population supported the Kalmyk side in the conflict[5].
The conflict between Kalmyks and Chechens in Liman district reflects relations between Kalmyks and Chechens in Kalmykia in general. The Chechen minority in the republic declined from 8,600 in 1989 to 3,300 in 2010. Dagestani diasporas, including Dargins and Avars, have also shrunk. All these groups experience tensions, although no large-scale inter-ethnic clashes have been recorded in the republic. Attacks on mosques built by people from Dagestan and Chechnya are providing circumstantial evidence of existing tensions[6].
Extremely low standard of living is becoming the most serious problem of Kalmykia, contributing to the growth of nationalist and separatist sentiments. Despite natural gas production and developed agriculture, the republic remains one of the poorest subjects of the Russian Federation[7].
How realistic are the plans of the Kalmyk separatists?
Despite harsh persecution by the authorities and the emigration of a significant part of prominent opposition activists, there are still people in Kalmykia who dare to speak openly against the war. In the autumn of 2023, the Elista court imposed a fine of 150,000 rubles on Valery Badmaev, editor of the opposition newspaper Sovremennaya Kalmykiya (Modern Kalmykia), who was accused of “discrediting the army”[8].
Despite the very impressive activity of the Kalmyk opposition, Kalmykia’s limited human and material resources make it unlikely that even under the most favorable developments Kalmykia will be able to exist as an independent state. Despite this, the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people believes that Kalmykia still has a chance to achieve independence. One of the members of the Congress, lawyer and ethno-linguistic activist Daavr Dorzhin said in an interview with the Idel.Realii website: “For this (Kalmykia’s independence — V.Ch.) to become possible, several factors must coincide, but I believe that their coincidence is almost inevitable. Let’s picture the following scenario: the situation of Russian troops in Ukraine is becoming more and more hopeless. It is already happening: the initial Russian army has been largely destroyed, mobilization has in fact created a second army, but it has even less of a chance. […]
When Russia’s military power is exhausted, says Daavr Dorzhin, “Moscow will be forced to capitulate, and the remnants of the most combat-ready formations will have to face an international tribunal simply as war criminals.” In such a scenario, when Russia loses its last opportunities to advance and hold the occupied territories, the Kalmyk opposition activist concludes, “it will inevitably sign an agreement on Ukrainian terms — it may take some time, but I believe it must happen… This moment will be a window of opportunity for all national movements of the peoples of Russia[9].”
At the same time, Daavr Dorzhin suggested that the question of how Kalmykia, being one of the poorest subjects of the Russian Federation, will be able to survive as an independent state should be postponed to the future, believing that the economic issue will be solved by solving the territorial issue as well. This is primarily about the aforementioned claims of the republic to some districts of the Astrakhan Oblast, “which should belong to Kalmykia both in the cultural-historical and the legal sense”. This group of opposition Kalmyk politicians seems to reject the question of whether there is a possibility of a forceful solution to the problem. A possible alternative, in their opinion, is the path to “the complete unification of all the territories of our regions into a single state, and this is what both the Kalmykia natives and the Astrakhans are talking about.” Daavr Dorzhin concludes that “purely economically, this is a very favorable scenario. Gas and oil are produced in what is now Astrakhan Oblast, including the neighboring uluses cut off from Kalmykia during Stalin’s deportation. If the money from their production would not go to Moscow, it could drastically change the standard of living both here and in Astrakhan[10].”
Kalmyk activists have so far ignored inherent problems that could make it difficult to implement their project even if the domestic political situation in Russia is favorable. One such problem is the limited demographic resources both in Kalmykia itself and in the Astrakhan Oblast, which has a population of less than 1 million. A possible solution to part of this problem is seen in the migration of Oirats from Mongolia, which is already taking place, for example, in the livestock farming sector of the Republic of Kalmykia[11].
The ethnic composition of the Astrakhan Oblast is also important. According to the 2020 census, Russians make up 57 per cent of the population. The second largest people are Kazakhs (14.97 %), followed by Tatars (5.03 %) and Nogais (0.97 %). In addition, there are Turkic immigrants such as Azeris (0.64 %), Uzbeks (0.33 %), Turkmens (0.29 %), Kumyks (0.13 %) and Turks (0.11 %), totaling another 1.5 %. In the eastern districts bordering Kazakhstan, Turkic peoples constitute an absolute majority, for example in Volodarsky and Krasnoyarsky districts. Significant Turkic minorities are also present in other districts and in the city of Astrakhan.
In the event of a possible break-up of the Russian Federation, an irredenta in favor of Kazakhstan looks realistic, which could lead to the emergence of an independent Kalmykia on the western bank of the Volga and Kazakhstan on the eastern bank. However, these considerations are still purely theoretical, and a major change must occur in Russia before they become a practical reality.
[1] Timur Muzayev, Ethnic Separatism in Russia, Panorama, Moscow, 1999, p. 200.
[2] The second ‘foreign agent’ after the lama, Interview with Kalmyk politician Vladimir Dovdanov,” Idel.Realii, 23.8.2023
[3] Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people published a declaration on the independence of Kalmykia”, Idel.Realii, 28.10.2022
[4] For the full text of the Declaration, see the Facebook page of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk People
[5] On the inter-ethnic clashes in Yandyki see: “Kalmyks in the Astrakhan region fought with Chechens”, Regnum, 19.8.2005; Nikolai Varsegov, “Why Chechen houses are burning in the Volga region”, Komsomolskaya Pravda, 22.8.2005; “Information about the events in the village of Yandyki in the Astrakhan region”, Memorial
[6] “The only mosque burned down in Elista”, Federal Press, 4.7.2014
[7] “Russian regions: Kalmykia”, Radio Liberty, 15.7.2010 and “Kalmykia found itself in 82nd place in the ranking of regions by personal income”, Kalmykia online, 23.6.2022
[8] “Burnt Arrows of Kalmykia. Republic against the background of war”, Radio Liberty, 3.6.2023; “The editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Sovremennaya Kalmykiya” was fined in a criminal case on “discrediting” the army”, Mediazona, 13.11.2023
[9] “‘New Kalmykia’ and National Democracy. On the Declaration of Kalmykia’s Independence”, Idel.Realii, 14.11.2022
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ruslan Melnikov, “In Kalmykia Mongolian nomads have taken over cattle breeding”, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 5.5.2015