Kalmykia

This article is devoted to the formation of the Kalmyk National District on the Don and the problem of determining its administrative center at the turn of the 1920–1930s. The author, noting the positive phenomena that occurred in the life of the Don Kalmyks as part of the national district (education, preservation of national identity), draws attention to the artificial nature of the creation of this national district in the absence of compact residence of the Don Kalmyks.

The article is devoted to the relevant topic connected with the coverage of the policy of Imperial Russia in its marginal South-Eastern territories. The author introduces new documents from the archive of foreign policy of the Russian Empire and the National archive of the Republic of Kalmykia. The paper analyzes external and internal factors, special historical conditions and prerequisites for relations between the Kalmyk khanate and the countries of Central Asia.