New Arrivals to Scientific Archives of Kalmyk Scientific Center (RAS): The Zolvanoff Family Collection as a Historical Source of Kalmyk Buddhism

Abstract

Introduction. In 2019, thanks to Dani Savelli, Associate Professor of the University of Toulouse Jean Jaures (Toulouse, France) and Ms. Jacqueline Chasselut, the collection of archival materials of a Kalmyk emigrant family in France was received by the Archive of the Kalmyk Scientific Center. The collection contains unique documents testifying to the life of the Kalmyk diaspora abroad. The purpose of the article is to give a general overview of the collection, as well as to examine it as a source on the history of Kalmyk Buddhism. Results.The Zol´vanovs’ collection, now a part of the records of the Archive of the Kalmyk Scientific Center includes 66 items, such as photographs and copies of photographs, official and personal letters, postcards, Buddhist texts, and images of Buddhist deities (prints, photographs, and postcards). Thus, despite the relatively small size of the collection, it is an important source as an example of a Kalmyk family abroad both in terms of history of Russian emigration and of Buddhism of the Russian peoples. The article publishes some rare photographs illustrative of the ties between the Kalmyk emigrants settled in different parts of the world, as well as of their interaction with Tibetan monasteries.