Kalmyk

Kalmyk, Mongol people residing chiefly in Kalmykiya republic, in southwestern Russia. Their language belongs to the Oirat, or western, branch of the Mongolian language group. The Oirat dialects are also spoken in western Mongolia, and in Xinjiang and neighbouring provinces of China. The home of the Kalmyk lies west of the Volga River in its lower courses, in an arc along the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. A small number of Kalmyk of the...