Nikolai says that the temple of Tashi Gomang was built in Tsagan-Nur in 1911, but was destroyed by the Soviets in the 1930s. Two statues of Buddha from that temple are today kept in the village of Tsagan-Nur. Nikolai wrote a poem about the temple. When the Soviets were pulling the temple apart, one Kalmyk man volunteered. He climbed to the roof only to fall down and break his legs. At that time Nikolai’s father, who later relayed this story to Nikolai, was about 13. He saw the sky turn red before the destruction of the temple. The local people salvaged whatever they could. Some took the relics with them to Siberia when the Kalmyks were deported.