The article examines the thematic group ‘titles’ in the context of development of the Definition Dictionary of the Kalmyk Heroic Epic of Jangar, and analyzes the title lexemes khan, khān, khatn.
The frequency of use of the titles allows to identify their place in the language of the Oirats — ancestors of the Kalmyks, a detailed study of the titles helps determine the meanings of some rare titles (e.g., söltg ‘prince possessing no subjects’), as the Jangar epic is probably the only remaining source they can be borrowed from for studies.
Compilation of dictionary entries containing title denoting lexemes as header words with application of all illustrative examples from songs of the epic might be useful for researchers of the Kalmyk language and folklore, it may also be used in supplements to lexicographical works.
In modern Kalmyk, the title lexemes act as historicisms.

In Kalmyk linguistics, significant attention is paid to color adjectives while other groups of adjectives remain understudied. Appearance adjectives comprise lexemes denoting age (old — young), height (high — short), bodily structure (fat — slim), facial features (snub-nosed, flap-eared), body parts (long-armed, deep-chested), state of health (healthy — ill), aesthetic features (beautiful — ugly).
The work aims to study the lexical compatibility of adjectives denoting bodily structure in view of the development of lexical entries for the Definition Dictionary of the Language of the Kalmyk Jangar epic.

The article considers a number of plots about wise riddle solvers widespread enough in world folklore. The plot is based on the setting and solving of original riddles reflecting the specificity of the nomadic way of life and the Kalmyks’ daily household activities. The texts depict conflict situations between opposing parties and social disparity. The main fairy tale character is a man of the people who is wise enough to solve the riddles and overcome any difficulties; he is confronted by a hostile representative of the upper class. The tense verbal competition between the opposing characters contributes to further distinction between the two and, as a rule, those in power get beaten. The basic artistical devices applied in the studied texts are as follows: allusion, metaphor and alogism — which underline the main characters’ wisdom, acumen and wit.

The article studies the genre composition of children’s folklore of the Kalmyks, i. e. folklore dealing with children, an integral part of traditional culture. Children’s folklore comprises children’s creative works, samples of oral tradition created exactly for children as well as those ‘re-categorized’ as childish.

The article studies archival materials of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS. It provides data on a classification of ‘good wishes’ (Kalm. yӧrӓl), contains texts of such good wishes and information concerning the rituals inherent to the 1960–1970s Kalmyk culture. The paper concludes that good wishes – one of the most ancient genres of ceremonial poetry – were initially connected with the magic of word and rituals.

The article deals with the Kalmyk emigrants’ repatriation in the context of studies of realia reflected in the then literary activities that took place abroad. With evidence from historical materials and archival documents, the paper examines the repatriation of Kalmyk emigrants to Russia in the 1920s. As is known, separate groups of Kalmyks fled to Western Europe and later to the United States during the Russian Civil War. In exile the emigrants well understood that the point of no return had been passed and, thus, those were forced to adapt to the harsh living conditions. However, some of the emigrants chose to be repatriated. The paper illustrates the positions of the two groups of emigrants that split on the point of returning to homeland territories, and shows that political views of Kalmyk expatriates remained completely anti-Soviet to the last. This was aggravated by repressions and ambiguous policies conducted by the Soviet regime: the decision on amnesty was soon followed by purges towards the repatriated individuals.

The paper contains memoirs about life and activities of Tügmüd-Gavji (O. M. Dordzhiev, 1887–1980), one of last Kalmyk Buddhist priests of the senior generation. 
The data in the form of an interview relate about some little-known pages of Tügmüd-Gavji’s biography: we have to acknowledge that there is no complete biography of the gelong (Tib. ‘ordained monk’) for the time being, and the available data is insufficient enough. The article contains stories told by relatives and friends of the Buddhist priest, relations with him became part of their spiritual life and helped them designate themselves as Buddhists.

“The history of Unicer Torlictu Khan” is a popular product of ancient Kalmyk written language was used widely in oral form among the Oirats of Mongolia, China and Kalmyks of Russia. In this paper, on the basis of different time records of oral versions of a text identified the preservation of certain elements of ancient beliefs in the oral version of the text.

The article attempts to trace the evolution of state religious policy in Kalmykia, highlight issues of religious activities and interaction between the local Protestant organizations and governmental authorities during the reconstruction period of church-state relations (1985–1991), review the process of establishment of Protestant missions by diverse religious and public organizations in the territory of the republic and the first results of their work.

At the beginning of the 19th century nomads of the South of Russia found themselves within the Russian Empire, which led to the beginning of processes of modernization in conditions of social, political, economic and cultural transformations. As a result, the traditional nomadic societies of Kalmyks, Nogais and Turkmen, during the 19th century, managed to form new public institutions and structures in the course of complex and contradictory changes.

The article attempts to establish a correlation between two processes: a decrease in the quantitative indices of the number of camels and sedenterization using the example of history and ethnography of the Kalmyks. The dynamics of the decrease in the number of camels from the Kalmyks during the 17th–20th centuries. directly reflects the ongoing social, economic and political transformations. The author comes to the conclusion that the number (and the very presence in the household) of Kalmyks of this kind of transport animals, like a camel, is a marker and an indicator of the processes of saddentization, which began from the first third of the eighteenth century, transformation and adaptation to the changing conditions of life at the end of XIX — the beginning of XX centuries.

The system of Kalmyks’ objects of religious worship comprises landscape and anthropogenic complexes developed over a few centuries. The history of such objects is closely connected with the history of the people, and their studies help identify stages as follows. The period from the arrival of the Kalmyks in the Volga territories to the 18th century was the initial stage in the formation of sacred environment within the new natural and landscape conditions: the people were adapting their view of the world to the new terrain. The stage is characterized by mythologization of natural objects, establishment of sacred places in the new territories — the so-called ‘places of power’. From the 18th century another stage characterized by cult construction activities began — the first stationary cult buildings appeared in the late 18th c. At the second stage, the bulk of the people decamped which resulted in dramatic changes in the territorial boundaries of the nation and its ethnic composition. Those were accompanied by corresponding changes in the system of Kalmyks’ objects of worship. The established system existed as late as the 1930s when within the framework of militant atheism policies, a deliberate process of elimination of sacral objects was initiated, which was further aggravated by the forced deportation of the Kalmyks (1943–1957). The modern stage of development began in the 1990s.

Works of applied and decorative arts of Mongolian peoples are represented in a number of Russia’s museum collections, such as Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), the Russian Museum of Ethnography, Palmov National Museum of the Republic of Kalmykia, Zaya Pandita Museum of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS. The article studies felts from Russia’s museums exhibiting household utensils and objects of traditional culture of Mongolian nomads. Investigating Kalmykia’s cultural heritage, the author turns to museum collections of Russia. The latter require comprehensive studies that would combine methods and practices of art criticism, history and ethnoculturology. The study is relevant enough since it examines ethnic traditions of felt crafts. 

The author analyzes the features of the cut of the female dress, which was inherent in the traditional culture of the Western Mongols (Oirats) and Kalmyks, which were formed on the basis of Oirat ethnic groups who migrated to the Russian Volga region in the 17th century.

The article deals with the concept of ‘ulan zala’ (Kalm. ‘red tassel’) among the Kalmyks. The significance of the term as an ethnic symbol resulted in its inclusion in the ethnonym. For modern Kalmyks, the ulan zala acts as an ethnic identity marker. The connection of the ulan zala to the traditional Kalmyk mindset contributed to its preservation as a sacred symbol in modern realia. 

The article reviews the period from the beginning of market agrarian reforms to the present days, summarizes some results of the transformation of Kalmykia’s agrarian sector. It analyzes social consequences of the reforms in the agrarian sector as well as the fundamental causes of the current changes in the rural areas of Kalmykia. Results of the 1996 and 2016 sociological surveys conducted by the Kalmyk Institute for Humanities of the Russian Academy of Sciences (at present — Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS) were used extensively.

The article considers the main demographic trends through the prism of analysis of statistical data on Kalmykia’s rural population. One major trend is the rural population’s decline, and the process is more intense than that in the city. The data on the distribution of the population throughout the districts of the republic show a sufficiently large population density in the naturally and climatically favorable territories as well as the district adjacent to the capital of the region. Studies of the age structure of the rural population indicated a reduction in the proportion of children aged 14 and below. One favorable trend is a growth in the expected lifespan of rural dwellers though it is still consistently shorter than that of urban residents.

The article examines the labor potential of Kalmykia’s rural population and the different adversely affecting factors, such as the demographic one, unemployment and low wages. The analysis showed that the decrease in rural population below working age, general rural population decrease, high migration rates as well as the increase in the share of retired people throughout population groups jointly intensify the demographic pressure and have negative impacts on the labor potential of the region’s rural population.

With evidence from the Republic of Kalmykia, the article studies the nature of statehood of the federal subject of Russia, “ethnic” aspect of the region’s statehood, rights, duties and guarantees for the preservation and development of Kalmyk national culture and language. The paper defends the thesis that ethnic statehood is an organic part and the basis for the wider concept “statehood of the Republic of Kalmykia” where the ethnic culture and language serve as the corner stone of ethnocultural self-determination of the Kalmyk people – the subject bearer of ethnic statehood.