Introduction. The Oirats are Western Mongols, today living between the Altai mountains, the river Volga, the Kukunor Area, the Ili River and Kyrgyzstan. In 1648, Zaya Pandita from the Hoshut (Hoshud) tribe of the Oirats created the ‘Clear Script’ (Oir. Todo Bičig), nowadays also known as Oirat Script. This script was originally meant to be used as a reformed script by all Mongols, but it caught on with the Western Mongols, the Dzungars (Oirats, Kalmyks), only. The 20th century witnessed the introduction of new writing standards for individual groups of Oirats/Kalmyks in the Soviet Union (Russia), China and Mongolia, which led to a weakening of the West Mongolian identity. Three of the most influential Kalmyk scholars, who worked on the reform of the written language and who were active as teachers and researchers in Tashkent, Sinkiang and Western Mongolia in the 1920s and 1930s, were Aksen Suseev, Iǰil Čürüm and Ceren Dorži Nominhanov. Goals. The study aims to investigate the connection between ethnic identity and (written) language against the background of global political upheavals. The work focuses on the change of the Oirat written language in Sinkiang (Xinjiang) in a multi-ethnic region compared to the Kalmyk written language in Russia, as well as the Oirat language in Mongolia over the past 100 years.
Materials. The research project, given as an outline in the following article, analyzes schoolbooks, dictionaries, grammars and other printed materials of the 20th and 21st centuries in the West Mongolian Oirat script collected in Sinkiang Kalmykia since 1986. Results. Since the 1940s, the Oirats in Sinkiang have been taking up a development in their reformed written language that was originally initiated in Kalmykia by Kalmyk scholars during the period of 1915–1938, but was not carried on there due to the political conditions which resulted in the deportation of the Kalmyks to Siberia in 1943. After the return of the Kalmyks to Kalmykia since 1957/58 the old traditions were broken, and the development of the written language focused solely on the use of a modified Cyrillic alphabet. The community based on a common script of the Kalmyks and Oirats – in China, Russia (Kalmykia) and Western Mongolia – broke up, and the three or four groups went their separate ways. For example, the orthography and grammar of the Oirat written language in reformed Todo Bičig in Sinkiang is not standardized until today. The Oirats in Mongolia, like the Oirats in Kyrgyzstan, no longer have their own written language in which they can express themselves in writing. Another desideratum is a textbook of modern Kalmyk and modern Sinkiang Oirat for Western students and scholars. Although some institutions and scholars have some Oirat language archives, like the State and University Library Goettingen has good collection of Kalmyk-Oirat and Mongolian literature, there are a lot of aspects to deal with.

Introduction. In the 20th century, Mongolia witnessed the emergence of a number of party activists and statesmen whose formally differing life paths and careers largely resulted in essentially similar repressions experienced. Those included a group of party executives with monastic backgrounds and good command of foreign languages. And it is D. Luvsansharav who had spent twenty years in Mӧrӧn Monastery that attracts special attention. It is unknown what (and whether at all) he had studied at the monastic college ― a largest one in the country ― but his party comrades (and himself) considered him to be an expert in the Lamaist question. On graduation from the Communist University of the Toilers of the East (1928–1929), he begins a political career, the pinnacle of which being his work at the Lamaist Commission that primarily aimed to eradicate reactionist Lamaist elements (i.e., the whole of Buddhist clergy as such), and his participation in the Plenipotentiary Commission (a so called ‘troika’) that put to death hundreds and even thousands of citizens, destroyed some precious items of material and traditional culture. Goals. The paper seeks to reveal the ex-monk’s impact in party arrangements, interpret certain personal motives to have underlain the transformation. Materials. The work analyzes materials stored at the Central Archive of the Federal Security Service and contained in Mongolia in Documents of the Comintern (vols. 1, 2), other scholarly sources. Results. The Mongolian Revolution of 1921 uncovered the lack of competent personnel which lead to a search of ‘individuals suitable for administrative, economic, and military work’ not only among commoners but also monks and nobility, resulting in that the recruited executives differed both in skills and worldviews. The context proved favorable enough to D. Luvsansharav who ― according to archival notes ― was quite an ambiguous and contradictive figure. His party comrades and official secretaries of the Eastern Executive Committee of the Communist International characterized him as a definitely ambitious but short-tempered, awkward, and irresolute person in a supporting role. However, the ex-cleric became a leading party activist, and such a dramatic change in his life and career may have stemmed from religious underachievement, dissatisfaction with the position he had held in the large Mongolian monastery, or some psychological aspects. Still, the harsh and severe period of national history could actually give rise to changes in his ideological views and mentality (when personal benefits and career opportunities were viewed by some as priorities).

Introduction. The paper deals with repressions against Kalmykia’s Komsomol in the late 1930. It examines archival materials of the Kalmyk ASSR, and explores a definitely troubled period in the development of the regional organization of All-Union Leninist Young Communist League. From the earliest days Komsomol communities had been regularly cleansed. In official discourse, such measures were interpreted as essentials aimed to exclude unreliable individuals, improve community cohesion, and facilitate further Socialist construction activities. According to documents issued by the 4th Plenary Assembly of Komsomol Central Committee and 14th Kalmyk Oblast Komsomol Conference, those were Komsomol executives and activists who were actually repressed. Goals. The article aims to analyze the repressive procedures initiated. Materials and Methods. Considered are unpublished documents held by National Archive of Kalmykia (Collection П-22 — archives of Kalmyk Oblast Komsomol Committee), and some other published materials. The work employs the chronological and problem-chronological research methods that proved instrumental in identifying features specific for repressive measures against local Komsomol members. Results and Conclusions. The 1930s political repressions against Komsomol in Kalmykia were directly related to ones against party-state and economic executives of the region. Admitting to ‘have participated in a bourgeois-nationalist organization’, Communist and Komsomol executives gave rise to further mass and dramatic cleanses.

Introduction. The period of perestroika was a time of active reform in all spheres of the Soviet state and society, which was reflected in changes in administrative and territorial structures throughout the country and its regions. Goals. The paper examines Kalmykia and provides an insight into administrative-territorial transformations across the republic in 1990–1991 that resulted from political democratization in the USSR and RSFSR, rehabilitation of repressed peoples, and economic reforms of perestroika. This process is studied from two perspectives: transformation of urban-type working settlements into rural ones, and renaming of localities to restore historical names. Materials and Methods. The work analyzes official (published and unpublished archival) documents of regional and federal authorities dealing with administrative and territorial reorganization, statistical data, scientific works of domestic researchers discussing Russia’s population geography and toponymy of Kalmykia. Results. The article considers the administrative and territorial structure of Kalmykia in the early 1990s focusing on changes in statuses of ‘working’ settlements, and reasons underlying their transformation back to ‘rural’ ones. The paper draws examples of respective processes in Kalmykia during 1990-1991. Conclusions. Since the early 1990s, Kalmykia — like the rest of Russia — initiated administrative ruralization, which manifested itself in transformation of urban-type settlements to rural ones due to socioeconomic reasons. Another trend of administrative -territorial changes was the active restoration of historical names explained by the de-ideologization of Soviet society and ethnocultural factors.

Introduction. Traditional Buddhist communities are well aware of prominent Buddhist scholars to have further disseminated and developed the Buddha’s Teaching. The most famous are Dalai and Panchen Lamas. Since the beginnings of Buddhism’s prevalence in Mongolia, it is Bogd Gegeen who is revered most of all nationwide. To date, there have been nine reincarnations of Bogd Gegeen that immensely contributed to the development of Buddhism in the country. Goals. The paper seeks to analyze visits of the 9th Bogd Gegeen Jebtsundamba Khutuktu to the Volga Kalmyks (as members of the Mongolian world) and his delivered teachings. Results. The article highlights key points of the Bogd Gegeen’s biography, narrates about his six visits to Kalmykia in the late 1900s and early 2000s. Special focus is laid on that most significant efforts to arrange the visits were undertaken by Kalmykia’s government executives and Shajin Lama Telo Tulku Rinpoche. Those events proved fruitful enough and facilitated further strengthening of Buddhism in the region.

Introduction. Mobility, and less so immobility, has been always in the focus of socio-cultural analysis of Mongolian societies given their nomadic way of live and the interconnectedness of its various communities scattered all over Eurasia particular in the apogee of the Mongol Empire during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Yet, what are the concrete manifestations and the limits of mobility, how can we measure them? Goal. This article will briefly readdress some well and perhaps lesser known topics of the medieval Mongolian world generally related to mobility in a wider sense before fuller attention is given to the epistemological arenas of culture transfer and long-distance trade. In the first part the dialectics of mobility is discussed as socio-cultural mobility, e.g. carrier making, loyalty, integration by difference, models of inclusive ethnicity and exclusive descent (the ‘Chinggisid Principle’), invention of genealogies, marriage alliances, and religious tolerance (until Islamisation). The second part deals with spatial mobility particularly in terms of tribute relations and military service, culture transfer and travelling ideas, movement control and population transfer, the flow of goods and peoples.

Introduction. In the cultural tradition of Mongolic peoples, there is a rite of sacralizing certain parts of animal bones, and related ritual actions and prohibitions. In this regard, a special place is held by the ancient rite of telling tales and divination on sheep scapula. Goals. The paper seeks to examine the mentioned practice among Bayangol Mongols (Oirats) of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (PRC). Results. The shoulder bone as an important and sacred part of the body is mentioned in many oral and written narratives, including such ancient written monuments as The Secret History of the Mongols and the Epic of Jangar. In the food culture of the Oirats, there is a special tradition of offering a shoulder bone to certain members of the family and clan, by age and social status. In the verse of benevolence to be recited after eating the spatula meat and an obligatory break of the scapula, as well as in the text of the narrative and divination on sheep scapula, there are certain general clichéd formulas that have a deep symbolic meaning. The article examines the rites that exist in the tradition of the Oirats of Bayangol related to storytelling and divination on sheep scapula, as well as the symbolic meaning of the texts.

The article studies some sources that deal with certain aspects inherent to spiritual culture of Hulun Buir Olots (PRC). The work is topical enough since the ethnic group is small, and its size tends to further decrease. Insight into various aspects of history and culture of Hulun Buir Olots may be instrumental in clarifying individual issues of the historical and cultural unity of Western Mongols — Oirats (until the middle of the 18th century) — and reconstructing certain elements of their traditional culture. Goals. The paper aims to identify and investigate sources in Classical and modern Mongolian (Cyrillic) containing data on folklore, religion, and the formation of Olots in Hulun Buir. Results. The study reveals spiritual culture of the ethnic group is still characterized by many features typical for that of the Oirats. So, Olots of Hulun Buir have preserved the folk song Altai Khangai, songs and legends about the Oirat leader Galdan Boshogtu Khan. The lingering folk songs performed by Olots of Hulun Buir are similar to the those of Olots in Khovd (Mongolia). The article also examines pastoral songs, shamanic invocations, legends about the struggle between shamans and Buddhist priests. It is noteworthy that the first Buddhist monastery called Buyan Tsugluulagch was founded in 1785, and contributed a lot to the strengthening of Buddhism in the region. Olots paid great attention to the development of school education. For example, Zhalfun (a common clerk) founded a home school in an ordinary yurt around the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was teaching Mongolian and Manchu writing. Master Buyantogtokh founded an elementary school during the Manchukuo period and his student Ts. Hada grew to become a prominent scientist. The work also analyzes modern poems of some Olot intellectuals about Anu Khatun (Galdan Boshogtu Khan’s wife), school, etc. The study of Olot proverbs shows some of them belong to the general Mongolian cluster, and some have analogies in the Buryat and Barga (Barghut) languages. Moreover, the study discovers that until recently Olots of Hulun Buir have had storytellers that could recite the Jangar epic. Conclusions. Olots of Hulun Buir have a rich spiritual culture, and some elements of the latter go back to the common Oirat cultural heritage. At the same time, the spiritual culture of the ethnic group has its own local characteristics resulting from their long stay in Hulun Buir.

Goals. The article aims to highlight the main results of ethnographic research in Mongolia. The basis for ethnographic studies in Mongolia was laid by the emergence of professional scientists in the late 1950s, development of research methodologies, and the formation of the main research directions. Since the mid-1960s, a new approach to ethnographic research has prevailed, and studies in the evolution of traditional nomadic pastoral culture in Mongolia began. It can be noted that during this period there were works on cultural anthropology. At the same time, the nomadic culture and customs of that time were described formally, with an emphasis on the historical period. The study of works from this period allows us to conclude that the research methodology was based on the fact that the reality of life rested on the source material and remained an ethnocultural fact that never lost its value. During the following decades, the main focus of Mongolian ethnographic research was, firstly, the study of the way of life of Mongolian ethnic groups, and secondly, the identification of the causes of cultural and ethnic changes. Systematic ethnographic research was actively conducted on various issues, such as animal husbandry, nomadic customs, settlements and dwellings, food, dairy products, clothing, family and marriage, religion, crafts and folklore. Results. Currently, the following can be noted. There is a development of theoretical research based on previously achieved scientific results. Field research methods of ethnography, social and cultural anthropology are becoming more complex, and the field of studying the cultural heritage of the Mongolian people is becoming more important.

The paper continues a series of works that test materials of the Kalmyk Heroic Jangar Epic Explanatory Dictionary. Goals. The work seeks to examine the role and functions, provide a definition analysis of the lexeme цаг ‘time’ included in the wordlist of the Explanatory Dictionary. Materials. The paper analyzes a total of 28 temporally different Kalmyk Jangar epic texts. Results. The analysis of epic texts concludes the lexeme may be defined as core one, or hyperonym of Jangar epic temporal vocabulary, and is most frequently used throughout the narrative. Epic texts give rise to eleven meanings of the header word цаг within the Explanatory Dictionary, basically in set expressions, including when paired with other temporal lexemes. The word цаг is characterized by extensive co-occurrence with lexemes related to different parts of speech that gain new meanings within set expressions. In the epic narrative, the lexeme цаг appears in such set expressions as арзин сүүр бәрх цаг ‘feast time’; дәәни цаг ‘war time’, both being linguocultural concepts. It also pairs with other elements of time-denoting microfields, namely: natural time (зун ‘summer’, намр ‘autumn’); calendar time (сар ‘month’, җил ‘year’); time of day (хонг ’24-hour period’, өрүн ‘morning’, сө ‘night’, үд ‘noon’). The lexeme цаг is also used in set expressions that include temporal adverbs denoting ― duration of length or process (оньдин ‘constantly, always’); remoteness of action (кезәнә ‘long ago, in ancient times’); certain period (маңһдур ‘tomorrow’). In most cases the lexeme цаг co-occurs with verbs of motion, action, state, and auxiliary verbs. Frequent enough are цаг-stemmed expressions that denote age periods or other periods in lives of epic heroes or war horses.

Introduction. Anthroponyms contain valuable insights into the history of ethnic language and culture. The historical aspect of anthroponymy needs further research to reconstruct a wider panorama of the ethnos-specific anthroponymic system. Goals. The article seeks to consider the anthroponymic elements of Khan Ayuka’s letters in comparison with parallel Russian translated equivalents of theirs. Comparison of the Kalmyk and Russian texts makes it possible to trace traditions of naming people in different ethnocultural societies, thus revealing materials for a Kalmyk 18th-century name list. Methods and Materials. The paper analyzes 1714 letters of the Kalmyk Khan Ayuka and their Russian translations (referred to 1714 as well) housed by the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia. The personal names considered identified through the use of the continuous sampling method. The main research methods employed are the descriptive and comparative ones, and that of contextual analysis. The analyzed texts contain not only Kalmyk anthroponyms but also ones borrowed from other languages, which resulted from socio-political contacts with different peoples and states. Along with Russian, there are Kazakh, Tatar, Khiva, Turkmen, and other anthroponyms. Still, the article focuses on Kalmyk anthroponymic elements. Conclusions. Anthroponymy of each ethnos in each era has its own characteristics. In this regard, the material contained in the official correspondence of Khan Ayuka restores part of the Kalmyk anthroponymic register typical for the 1700–1720s. Restoration of the name list in diachrony requires both original texts and their Russian translations be used, since anthroponyms mentioned in the original documents and translated texts complement each other, which may indicate regularity, reproducibility of such personal names.

Introduction. The paper raises the issues of semantics and functioning of the assistive in the Buryat language. The assistive as a special meaning of causative constructions finds its expression in different languages of the world. Goals. The paper aims to consider some distinctive properties inherent to the functioning of assistivity as a particular meaning of causativity in the Buryat language. The novelty of the work is that this problem has not been studied in the Buryat language. Materials and Methods. The study analyzes speech patterns and fiction texts included in the Electronic Corpus of the Buryat Language. The methods of contextual and distributive analysis are used. Results. The assistive in the Buryat language is identified in accordance with the continuum scale of semantic types of causation which implies three meanings of sociative causation: ‘joint action’, ‘assistive’, and ‘supervision’. The paper notes that the assistive in the Buryat language changes not only the actant structure but also the event-role structure of the causative construction. Our research has shown that a special feature of the role structure of the assistive is that the assistant takes the place of the causer, and the causer here gets the role of a supplement. The work also considers features of constructions with assistive semantics. It is revealed that assistivity in the investigated language is implemented both in mono- and poly-predictive sentence structures. Predicates in mono-predicative constructions are verbs with the affix -lsa, which seems poly-functional in the Buryat language and can express the meaning of sociative causation. The research has shown that polyp-predicative constructions are expressed mainly through the matrix predicate tuhalha and the predicate actant in the form of a future participle with indicators of the dative or accusative case.

Introduction. Kazakhs are a Turkic people dominant in present-day Republic of Kazakhstan. The former also reside in adjacent territories of China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and Turkey. Ancient written sources employed quite a number of ethnonyms — including the endonym қазақ (Qazaq) — to denote the ethnos. And the issue of etymology is still debatable. According to the main version, the word қазақ stands for a ‘free, unrestricted, independent person’. Goals. The paper seeks to examine spelling variants of the ethnonym in national languages of bordering countries — Mongolian, Chinese, and Russian. Results. The ethnonym has two spelling variants in Mongolian, namely: хасаг and казак. The former is the traditional spelling adopted by Mongols since ancient times. In Mongolian, the first syllable ка- (ka-) turns into ха- (kha-), which thus gave rise to the mentioned form. The second spelling variant was borrowed in the mid-to-late 20th century from Russian, and is a neologism. The Chinese hasake is as transformed as other ethnonyms, e.g., монгол (Mongol) — menggu, русский (Russian) — eluosi, ойрат (Oirat) — weilate, elute. Russians tended to call Kazakhs ‘Kirghiz-Kaisaks’, or ‘Kirghizes’ till the early 20th century. The latter ethnonym was replaced by қазақ (Qazaq), and further the spelling казах (Kazakh) was officially accepted.

Introduction. Oirats of China, Mongolia and Kalmyks of Russia live in three different countries — but share common ethnic ancestry. Oirats of China primarily reside in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, and Hara-Muren (Amur River valley). In Mongolia, Oirats traditionally inhabit western provinces, such as Uvs, Khovd, Bayan-Ölgii, Zavkhan, and Khӧvsgӧl. In Russia, Kalmyks live in the Republic of Kalmykia and Astrakhan Oblast. Some minor Oirat and Kalmyk groups reside in Kyrgyzstan, Europe, and America. Despite being separated by historical eras, state borders and differing cultural-economic conditions, Oirats and Kalmyks still preserve the common vivid tradition of oral poetry largely represented by folk songs. In Russia and Europe, the earliest recordings of Oirat and Kalmyk folk songs were made 260 years ago. Those divide into lingering and short ones: the former serve to celebrate remarkable events, such as rituals, festivities and holidays; the former are usually sung by young people during regular household activities. Goals. The paper seeks to review the history of recording, investigating and publishing Oirat and Kalmyk folk songs. Results. The article analyzes folk songs of Oirats and Kalmyks, setting forth a coherent historical paradigm of theirs in Russia and European countries throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Introduction. Newspapers and journals that published works of first national writers played a significant role in the formation of modern Xinjiang Oirat literature. The earliest attempts Xinjiang Oirats to establish a national newspaper — Ili Kundan Keln Sonin (‘Newspaper in the Language of Ili [Oirats]’) — date back to 1910. However, regular and mass publication of newspapers began only in the 1940s. The Urn Zokal (‘Fiction’) journal currently known as Öriyin Сolmon (‘Morning Star’) has been published since 1954. Goals. The article aims to show the role of the Öriyin Сolmon (‘Morning Star’) journal in the shaping and development of modern Oirat literature in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Results. The journal has not only published works of ethnic Oirat writers from Xinjiang but also organized the literary process as such. The periodical has published the most famous folklore works and samples of old written Oirat literature for young writers to learn and master the classical literary language. The editorial team has regularly organized training summer schools and creative competitions. This process resulted in the tradition of holding literary conferences to celebrate publications of books, and the trend has survived till nowadays. Such events not only represent a new book but rather serve a platform for constructive discussions over the latter. Over time, the Öriyin Сolmon (‘Morning Star’) journal gave rise to another one — Kel ba Orculγa (‘Language and Translation’). As compared to other Mongolian-language newspapers and magazines published in Xinjiang, the Öriyin Сolmon (‘Morning Star’) journal remains a most popular and influential publication even nowadays.

Kuzmin S. L. Book Review: Vanchikova Ts. P. Buddhism in Mongolia: History, Clergy, Monasteries. Irkutsk: Ottisk, 2019. 292 p. (In Russ.). Mongolian Studies (Elista). 2020. Vol. 12. No. 3. Pp. 574‒580. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.22162/2500-1523-2020-3-574-580