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Kalmyk Youth Shine at "Lotus in Bloom" - First Annual Concert of the Lotus Kalmyk Dance Ensemble
On Saturday, May 24, 2026, the Lotus Kalmyk Dance Ensemble proudly presented its First Annual Concert "Lotus in Bloom" at 125 N Hope Chapel Road in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The event marked a milestone for the ensemble and the broader Kalmyk community in the United States.
Organized by talented choreographer and community leader Liudmila Badmaeva, the recital brought together young Kalmyk dancers to showcase the beauty, grace, and power of traditional Kalmyk dance. Performers wore vibrant national costumes and delivered energetic pieces that reflect centuries of nomadic heritage, Buddhist devotion, and the spirit of the Kalmyk steppe.
The performance highlighted how the new generation is actively keeping Kalmyk culture alive.
"Lotus in Bloom" was more than a dance show — it was a heartfelt celebration of identity, unity, and the continuation of tradition. For many Kalmyk families in the American diaspora, such events are vital for passing on language, music, movement, and values to their children.
The success of this first major concert shows the growing strength and enthusiasm of Kalmyk cultural life in New Jersey and beyond. Congratulations to the Lotus Dance Ensemble, and all the young performers who made the evening unforgettable!
Full event details:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1577127353349659Posted on May 25, 2026 at 02:17 PM by Kalmyks.com
ALBUM
Posted on May 23, 2026 by Kalmyks.com | Album | 12 photos
Photos From Munich, Germany. Contributed by Purma Muschajew
Open AlbumKalmyks Celebrate Urs Sar: the Sacred Summer Month of Merit and Renewal
JialiangGao www.peace-on-earth.org, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Urs Sar (also spelled Ur Sar or Үрс Сар in Kalmyk, also known as Saka Dawa) is one of the most spiritually significant periods in the Kalmyk Buddhist calendar. Known as the sacred summer month, it falls in the first month of summer according to the traditional lunar calendar and is dedicated to accumulating merit, performing good deeds, and honoring the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni.
In 2026, Urs Sar begins on May 17 and continues until June 15. The most important day of the month - the full moon day commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and passing into parinirvana (known as Saka Dawa) - falls around early June. Many Kalmyks observe this entire month with special practices, making it a time of reflection, generosity, and spiritual renewal.
Historically, Urs Sar marked the transition from spring to summer for nomadic Kalmyk herders. It was a joyful period when fresh milk became abundant after the long winter, pastures turned green, and communities gathered for horse races, wrestling, singing, and traditional games. While these joyful elements remain, the modern celebration has a strong Buddhist focus. Many people take monthly vows to abstain from meat and alcohol, perform prostrations, light butter lamps, make offerings, and engage in acts of kindness and generosity.
In the Republic of Kalmykia, the Central Khurul (Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni) in Elista organizes special prayers, teachings, and rituals throughout the month. Monks and lamas lead ceremonies, and believers visit temples to accumulate merit. The month is seen as especially powerful for spiritual practice because positive actions are believed to bring multiplied benefits.
Urs Sar beautifully complements Tsagaan Sar (White Month), the winter New Year celebration. While Tsagaan Sar welcomes the renewal of spring, Urs Sar celebrates the fullness of summer and encourages Kalmyks to live according to the Buddha’s teachings through daily kindness and mindful living.
As the Fire Horse year of 2026 gallops forward, Urs Sar offers Kalmyks everywhere a sacred pause - a time to slow down, give back, and strengthen both their spiritual practice and cultural identity.
May this Urs Sar bring peace, merit, and blessings to all Kalmyk families! Сар шүүдэр мөргөе!- [1] Урс Сар - Kalmykia Tour
- [2] Ur(s) Sar - Kalmyk Heritage Documentation Project
- [3] Священный месяц Үрс Сар - Kalmyk National Library
Posted on May 14, 2026 at 07:07 AM by Kalmyks.com
Bharat Utsav - Days of Indian Culture Festival Opens in Elista, Kalmykia
Source: Official X post from India in Russia Embassy account. Fair use for news reporting and cultural documentation; credit to Embassy of India in Russia / ICCR. Original images shared publicly for promotion of the event.
The Bharat Utsav (Days of Indian Culture) festival officially launched on May 10, 2026, at Victory Square (Ploshchad Pobedi) in Elista, the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia. This multi-day event (May 10–12) celebrates Indian-Kalmyk cultural ties, featuring dance, films, music, yoga masterclasses, and a sand sculpture exhibition. It highlights the deep Buddhist connections between the two regions, as Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist-majority republic with strong historical and spiritual links to India.
The opening ceremony included high-profile guests: Head of the Republic of Kalmykia Batu Khasikov, ICCR Director General K. Nandini Singla, Shajin Lama of Kalmykia Geshe Tenzin Choydak, and Indian filmmakers. A sand sculpture by artists from Odisha was unveiled, and the Indian Film Festival began at the October Cinema with screenings including "Humans in the Loop" (directed by Aranya Sahay).
Attendees enjoyed performances and noted cultural similarities between Kalmyk steppes and Indian landscapes. The event builds on prior initiatives like the 2025 International Buddhist Forum in Elista and plans for reciprocal Kalmyk culture days in India. It underscores ongoing India-Russia people-to-people ties, especially in Buddhism.
- [1] India in Russia Embassy X Post on Festival Opening
- [2] RIA Kalmykia Article on Indian Film Festival Launch
Posted on May 11, 2026 at 06:29 AM by Kalmyks.com
Kalmykia: Tulips, Steppes, and Buddhism Drive Surge in Tourism
Instead of expensive foreign cars there are camels, bows and arrows instead of gadgets, and no metropolitan traffic jams but free herds of wild horses, and of course the blooming of delightful steppe tulips - this is just part of what Kalmykia offers the first spring travelers opening the travel season. Horseback rides, target shooting, traditional meals of kumis and boiled mutton - what better time jump into Asian medieval times, where agility, strength and endurance are valued most and no one cares about deadlines, messenger notifications, news feeds or the endless race for results, performance indicators, ratings and endless KPIs. Because here only the steppe is infinite, along with the throat songs of the Oirats and the eternal Buddha, whose monumental statue greets tourists in Elista itself.
The wind in the steppe knows no barriers, the horizon line nowhere breaks - only rare islands of salt marshes, herbs, wide southern sky and mesmerizing seas of tulips, beautiful and wild like everything with which the steppe is filled: wild and wonderful. The Tulip Festival in April serves as a symbol of the awakening of all living things in the vast Kalmyk expanses.
Interest in the republic grows year by year. The Yandex.Travel service rates it exponentially at 300 percent. Kalmykia already receives about 1 million visitors a year, and the forecast for 2026 is 1.5 million guests. That is a very large number considering the republic’s entire population is 267,000 people.
But not only the beautiful flowers attract travelers - the republic has about 30 tourist sites including ethnographic complexes and demonstration areas. The secret of the successful strategy is effective use of natural originality, emphasis on national traditions and promotion of cultural and natural heritage. At the same time infrastructure for accommodation is developing: more hotels, recreation bases and glampings. Today 51 facilities offering more than 900 rooms are available and the tourist market is supported by dozens of specialized companies.
In Elista’s ethno-park "Tseren" the nomadic way of life is consistently and authentically reproduced. Built with love, the historical space in living, organic form captivates guests with the colorful everyday life and original culture of the Kalmyk people. Everything here is thematically linked: the museum of nomadic peoples, expositions of Kalmyk Cossacks and the ethno-café "Nomad" where jomba (traditional Kalmyk tea) and local pastries are served together with other national cuisine dishes.
"The History of Kalmyk Cossacks" is both an open-air museum and an interactive platform - here they do not limit themselves to static demonstration of artifacts. Visitors are invited to study carefully the geography of the historical settlement of the Don Kalmyks and are acquainted with a map of 13 Cossack villages.
Steppe dwellers have always been one on one with harsh, heartless nature and the weak simply did not survive here. In addition - and not everyone knows this - Kalmyk warriors from time immemorial served in the Don Host together with all the south-Russian Cossacks and the quiet Don is not just a river for them either.
But the main thing is that guests are awaited not only by thematic excursions but also by horse and camel rides, stage and musical programs.
There is the opportunity to try on the clothing of nomads, put on armor of the 17th–18th centuries, take weapons in hand and try oneself in archery. Excursions are accompanied by stories about steppe life, demonstrations of crafts and the sound of traditional instruments. The live sound is flawless.
Usually the route begins at the ethno-park and after the first impressions guests are offered communion with the Buddha - he, majestic and 9 meters high, one of the largest sculptures, cannot fail to strike the imagination. And the Central khurul "Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni" itself, where the deity’s statue is located, is a large-scale structure and can easily compete with other Buddhist complexes in Europe. The Buddha statue in Elista is covered with gold leaf.
But in Kalmykia they did not stop there - an even more grandiose Buddha figure was installed in Lagan: a statue 13.5 meters high and weighing about 30 tons located on the territory of the khurul complex "Lagan Dargyeling Khurul".
The architectural composition of the Central khurul in Elista is built on the principle of a mandala: the temple complex is surrounded by 108 stupas and 17 pagodas with images of outstanding Buddhist teachers. The khurul includes seven levels housing museum expositions, a library, a conference hall, prayer halls and rooms for individual receptions.
The temple today is not only a religious center but also a seat of enlightenment: lectures, educational programs and exhibitions devoted to the history and philosophy of Buddhism are held here.
The tulip exposition lasts a whole month - essentially all of April - but what is worth coming for, the peak of blooming of wild tulips, falls in the second half. Much depends on the weather: excess moisture accelerates blooming and therefore the buds fade earlier, while in a dry spring blooming may not even begin. A cold snowy winter and warm sunny spring - tulip paradise, the most favorable option.
Guessing the best place of the tulip season can sometimes be very difficult. Locations where steppe flowers push toward the sun are unimaginably many, but where the main blooming will unfold is nature’s secret. In a sense it is a surprise: in one place the steppe can unexpectedly flare with bright colors and in another remain almost empty. Why? It is not known to the end.
There are, of course, locations people head to first. The most famous and accessible is Five-Hundred Island on Lake Manych-Gudilo in the "Black Lands" reserve. In good years it turns into a flowering endless carpet. But nature has its own rules often hidden from us; sometimes the tulips "move".
Posted on April 25, 2026 at 11:54 AM by Kalmyks.com
Kalmyk Chess Prodigy Roman Shogzhiev Wins World Blitz Championship
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A talented young chess player from Kalmykia, Roman Shogzhiev, triumphed at the World Blitz Championship for players under 18 years old, held in Serbia.
This victory underscores the strong chess tradition in the Republic of Kalmykia, where the sport holds cultural significance and Elista has historically hosted major international tournaments.
- [1] Vesti Kalmykia - Roman Shogzhiev from Kalmykia became the winner of the World Blitz Championship
- [2] MK-Kalm.ru - Kalmyk wunderkind won the world championship
Posted on April 22, 2026 at 06:40 AM by Kalmyks.com
Dzungaria: The Ancestral Homeland of the Kalmyks
Dzungaria, also known as Zungharia or Junggar Basin, is a vast semi-arid region in northwestern Inner Asia, roughly corresponding to northern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, parts of eastern Kazakhstan, and western Mongolia. Bounded by the Altai Mountains to the north, the Tian Shan to the south, and the Ili River valley, it features steppe grasslands, deserts, and oases ideal for nomadic pastoralism. Historically, it served as the heartland of the Oirat Mongols, western branches of the Mongolic peoples who practiced Tibetan Buddhism and maintained distinct confederations separate from eastern Mongols.
In the early 17th century, Dzungaria was the origin point for the Kalmyk migration. Facing internal rivalries, pasture shortages, and pressures from emerging Dzungar centralization under leaders like Erdeni Batur, large groups of Oirat tribes - primarily Torghuts under Kho Orluk, along with Dörbets, Khoshuts, and others - departed westward around 1618-1630. An estimated 200,000-250,000 people crossed southern Siberia, raiding Kazakh, Bashkir, and Nogai territories en route, before settling in the lower Volga steppes by the 1630s. This exodus created the Kalmyk Khanate, marking the Kalmyks as the westernmost Mongolic people and Europe's only indigenous Buddhist population.
Dzungaria remained the core of the Oirat confederation, evolving into the powerful Dzungar Khanate (c. 1634-1758) under Choros-led rulers like Galdan Boshugtu Khan and Tsewang Rabtan. The Dzungars expanded aggressively, clashing with Kazakhs, Qing China, and others, while maintaining cultural and religious ties with the distant Kalmyks. The 1640 Great Code of the Nomads (Iki Tsaadzhin Bichig), ratified near the Tarbagatai Mountains in Dzungaria, united Oirat tribes (including Kalmyk forebears) under Gelug Buddhism and common laws, symbolizing shared heritage despite geographic separation.
The region's significance deepened in 1771 during the Kalmyk exodus. Disillusioned by Russian encroachment on pastures, autonomy erosion, and Orthodox pressures, Ubashi Khan led 170,000-200,000 Kalmyks (mostly Torghuts) back to Dzungaria, seeking to restore independence under Qing rule. The Dalai Lama's astrological blessing underscored spiritual links to the ancestral land. The grueling journey across steppes claimed most lives due to Kazakh raids, starvation, and harsh weather, with only 66,000-70,000 survivors arriving. Catherine II abolished the Kalmyk Khanate, and remaining Kalmyks integrated further into Russia. Survivors in Dzungaria dispersed among Oirat remnants, some resettled by the Qing.
Today, Dzungaria holds profound symbolic importance for Kalmyks as their ancestral homeland and origin of their nomadic, Buddhist identity. It represents lost unity with other Oirats (now Torghuts in China/Mongolia), shared epics like Jangar, and resilience through migration. Modern Kalmyks view it as a cultural root, with historical memory preserved in folklore, scholarship, and ties to Mongolian Buddhist traditions amid ongoing revival in Kalmykia.
- [1] Kalmyks - Wikipedia
- [2] Dzungar people - Wikipedia
- [3] Dzungar Khanate - Wikipedia
- [4] Kalmyk Khanate - Wikipedia
- [5] Kalmyk | History, Culture & Language - Britannica
Posted on April 06, 2026 at 02:50 PM by Kalmyks.com
Tulip Festival Kicks Off in Kalmykia with Focus on Kalmyk Culture and Traditions
The annual Tulip Festival, one of the brightest spring events in the region, officially started today in the Republic of Kalmykia.
For the next month, Kalmykia will attract tourists from across southern Russia and beyond with a rich program featuring songs, dances, contests, and special events in the steppe, centered around admiration for the protected red-book tulip.
Ethnographic exhibitions will introduce guests to the culture and traditions of the Kalmyk people, while the gastronomic festival MahanFest will showcase a variety of traditional meat dishes.
The first tourists have begun arriving in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, as the Tulip Festival gets underway.
Guests from various regions of Russia are traveling to the steppe capital to participate in the month-long celebration of spring and local heritage.
- [1] News-Kalmykia.ru: Tulip Festival Starts in the Region Today
- [2] News-Kalmykia.ru: Today in Kalmykia the Tulip Festival Starts - One of the Brightest Spring Events!
- [3] News-Kalmykia.ru: Kalmykia Welcomes First Guests of the Tulip Festival!
Posted on April 05, 2026 at 05:34 PM by Kalmyks.com
The 1998 Visit of Chuck Norris in Kalmykia
Source: (Fair use for illustrative/educational purposes). Чак Норрис в Калмыкии. Июнь 1998 года. https://kalmykia-online.ru/multimedia/photo/25633
Hollywood action legend Chuck Norris visited the Republic of Kalmykia in June 1998. The trip, organized at the personal invitation of then-President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, brought one of the world’s most famous martial artists to the only Buddhist republic in Europe — and left a lasting impression on the Kalmyk people.
The visit coincided with the ambitious construction of "Chess City" (New Vasyuki) near Elista, Ilyumzhinov’s pet project that aimed to put Kalmykia on the world map. Norris, accompanied by American actor Jed Allan (best known for his role as C.C. Capwell in the soap opera *Santa Barbara*), toured the emerging chess complex and the surrounding steppe. Photos from the trip show Norris relaxed and smiling, dressed casually, exploring the vast open landscape that reminded many of his Texas roots.
One of the most memorable moments took place in the village of "Troitskoye" at the Kurdyukovskiye ponds. There, Norris tried his hand at traditional Kalmyk games, including spear throwing — a skill deeply rooted in the nomadic warrior heritage of the Oirat Mongols. Locals recall how the action star approached the activity with genuine enthusiasm and respect, winning hearts not with roundhouse kicks but with his humble and friendly demeanor.
The visit was more than a celebrity photo opportunity. For many Kalmyks, it was a proud moment of international recognition. Norris was warmly received, given traditional gifts, and even made an "Honorary Citizen" of Kalmykia. He rode through the steppe in a Rolls-Royce (another signature Ilyumzhinov touch) and took time to interact with ordinary people, including children who were thrilled to meet the star of *Walker, Texas Ranger* and *The Delta Force*.
At the time, Kalmykia was still recovering from the difficult post-Soviet years. Ilyumzhinov’s strategy of inviting high-profile guests like Norris, Steven Seagal, and other celebrities was designed to shine a positive light on the republic and attract investment and tourism. For the Kalmyk community, Norris’s visit symbolized that their small Buddhist nation on the European steppe mattered on the world stage.
Almost three decades later, those 1998 photos still circulate on Kalmyk websites and social media. They capture a unique moment when the “toughest man on television” stood side-by-side with Kalmyk horsemen and Buddhist monks, bridging Hollywood glamour with the quiet pride of a people who have preserved their Mongol-Buddhist identity for centuries.
Chuck Norris’s brief stay in Kalmykia remains a colorful chapter in our modern history.
Posted on March 31, 2026 at 08:12 AM by Kalmyks.com
Betcity Fight Nights 135 Successfully Held MMA Bout in Kalmykia's Oirat Arena
Yesterday, Kalmykia once again became a hub for athletes from across Russia and other countries as the Betcity Fight Nights 135 tournament took place successfully at the Oirat Arena in Elista.
The event featured nine pairs of fighters competing in various disciplines, with the main bout being a revenge match between Oleg Popov of Kalmykia and Magomed Magomedov. Popov secured victory this time after losing their previous encounter. Kalmyk wrestler Bair Shtepin delivered one of the standout performances, winning his bout in the first round.
The tournament was initiated by the Head of Kalmykia, Batu Khasikov, who also heads the Russian Kickboxing Federation. Honorary guests included Olympic champions Andrey Zubarev and Alexander Volkov. In his post-fight comments, Shtepin thanked the Fight Nights league and Khasikov for the opportunity to compete on home soil, noting that his family was watching and expressing hope that the bout would inspire his young son.
Another highlight was the co-main event where Tuvan fighter Tumer Ondar defeated Timofey Nastyukhin and advanced in the lightweight grand prix. Khasikov emphasized the event’s importance, stating that hosting such tournaments helps showcase Kalmykia’s sporting development and unity. The Oirat Arena’s name highlights the region’s Oirat (Kalmyk) heritage.
Posted on March 30, 2026 at 03:27 PM by Kalmyks.com
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