Repository logo
 

Konstantin Naktanov, The History of Kalmyks


Change log

Authors

Gedeeva, Darina 

Abstract

Konstantin is a Torghut, of the Keryad clan. He was born in Lagan’, Kalmykia. He is a lawyer and a colonel in the police. He travelled to Mongolia and Xinjiang where he talked to people about Mongol-Oirat history. According to Konstantin, the Kalmyks are genetically related to the Mongols. In the beginning the Mongol tribes lived separately. It was Chingis Khan who united all the tribes and gave them a single identity – the Mongols. Among various clans the Keryads stood out as strong warriors. Chingis Khan’s father Esugei and Ulan Khan were second cousins through their mothers. Later Chingis Khan fought and defeated Ulan Khan to become the sole ruler of the steppes. Chingis Khan gathered around himself many clans and conquered many countries, including China. He survived three assassination attempts. Although he had eight armies, his mother insisted that he set up another one, but this time consisting of his own people. The ninth army was referred to as ‘soldiers in silk shirts and red ribbons’. The Kalmyks have been called ‘Kalmyks with red ribbons’ ever since. Following the death of Chingis Khan, a union of four tribes emerged, including the Khoshud, the Torghut, the Derbet and the Oold who founded the Dzungar Khanate. One of the Dzungar lords Kho Orlyuk took 2,000 of his people and migrated to the Volga river. When they arrived there, the Russians wanted to drive the Kalmyks away from the river. The Kalmyks settled in the steppes. After a quarrel with a Russian nobleman the Kalmyk Ubashi Khan decided to return to Dzungaria. He set out on his return journey on 1 January 1771 which was 5 days after Tsagan Sar. When crossing Kazakhstan, the returnees divided into two groups. One group which was headed by Ubashi Khan went north of Balkhash lake, whereas his younger brother took a route south of the lake. A lot of Kalmyks died on their way to Dzungaria. To please the Tsarina, Russian noblemen brought Kazakhs to Kalmykia and reported that many escapees had been successfully intercepted and brought back to Russia. Today the descendants of these Kazakhs live in many parts of Kalmykia, including Yashkul'skiy, Laganskiy, Chernozemel’skiy and Yustinskiy rayons. In 2014 a group of Kalmyks, including Konstantin, went to Balkhash lake to perform a ritual for their ancestors who perished there. Kalmyks from Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang were also invited. The Kyrgyz Kalmyks, who are Muslims, performed Muslim rituals. Konstantin also talks about various clans in Kalmykia.

Description

Keywords

history, Oirats, Chingis Khan, Dzungar khanate, 1771 exodus, Kalmyk clans

Is Part Of

Publisher

Publisher DOI

Publisher URL

Sponsorship
Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.

Collections