Kalmykiya - Атлас этнических региональных автономий - Сеть по исследованию идентичности

Description of the autonomy

One of the 22 republics of the Russian Federation. It is located in the southeast of the European part of Russia. It borders on the South with the Republic of Dagestan, in the south-west - with the Stavropol Krai, in the west - with the Rostov Oblast, in the northwest - with the Volgograd Oblast, in the east - with the Astrakhan Oblast.

Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast was established in 1920, and in 1935 it was transformed into a republic. In December 1943 the Kalmyk ASSR was liquidated, and some of the Kalmyks were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan. The republic was reconstituted in 1957 after rehabilitation. In 1992 the Republic of Kalmykia was proclaimed.

The titular ethnic group is Kalmyks (Halimag). Kalmyks are descendants of Oirat tribes which migrated in the late 16th and early 17th centuries from Central Asia to the Lower Volga and the Northern Caspian. The defining markers of their differences from the titular nation of the country are language and religion. The Kalmyk language belongs to the Mongolian language family. The most widespread religion among the Kalmyks is Buddhism. The Republic is the only region in Europe where Buddhism is the dominant religion.

According to the All-Russia Population Census of 2010, Kalmyks make up 57.4% of the republic's population, Russians - 30.2%.

The situation in interethnic relations in the republic is assessed as stable. Characterized by short-term conflicts between Kalmyks and Dagestanis (Dargins) living in the southern regions of the republic.

Autonomy's characteristics

Year of the creation of the autonomy:

Geographic

Where is the autonomy situated:
Autonomy area: km²
Share of the autonomy in the area of the country: %
Autonomy population:the latest census thousands of people
Share of the autonomy in the population of the country: %

Country's characteristics

Level of economic development of the country:GDP per capita in 2015 in current price in $ in $
Political regime in the country:It is based on the Freedom House Index, 2015. All countries of the world are located on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). Countries whose ratings fall between 1.0 and 2.5 are “Free”, between 3.0 and 5.0 are "Partly Free," and those between 5.5 and 7.0 are "Not Free."

Economic

Share of the autonomy in the economy of the country:GRP of the autonomy divided to GDP of the country (%) %
Level of economic development of the autonomy:relative to the country (%): GRP per capita of the autonomy divided to GDP per capita of the country %

Ethnic

Share of the dominant in the country ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the dominant in the country ethnic group divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Share of the titular ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Ethnic peculiarity:It indicates a key characteristic of autonomy's ethnic identity - language or religion or both
Diversity of ethnic composition:The presence of other (in addition to the titular group in the autonomy and the dominant group in the country) significant ethnic groups in the population of the autonomy

Political

Degree of self-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_selfrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of self-rule: institutional depth; policy scope; fiscal autonomy; borrowing autonomy; and the extent to which a region has an independent legislature and executive. The index takes value from 0 to 18
Degree of shared-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_sharedrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of shared-rule: participation of a region in national law-making; intergovernmental meetings; the distribution of national tax revenues; borrowing; and constitutional change. The index takes value from 0 to 12
The presence of the "kin-state":"Kin-state" is a state whose main population shares the ethnic characteristics of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy
Linguistic preferences:It indicates how the language of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy is learned in secondary schools in the autonomy
Ethnic conflicts:It indicates whether the serious conflicts between the autonomy and the central government as well as between ethnic groups within the authority take place in 2001-2015. The level of conflict is determined on the basis of the annual reports of Conflict Barometer