Mikhail talks about his mother and grandmother:My mother Maria Petrovna was baptized. She was born in the village Krasnomikhailovka, and wore a kerchief in the Russian manner. My grandmother Elizaveta was born in the stanitsa Shpakovskaya in Stavropol province. They were both baptized formally, but celebrated Kalmyk holidays such as Tsagan Sar and Zul. They also celebrated Easter. My grandmother was not religious herself, but made use of the fact that she was baptized. In Siberia, during Easter she went to the cemetery and collected food, which she brought to us. I remember how my brother and I sat and waited for her to come. Then she appeared carrying a handkerchief behind her back with food, eggs, cakes, and sweets. She had gone around the cemetery of the Kormilovka village and collected food. We ate the food for a whole month. There is a book by Yakov Dubrova that describes the relationship between the Kalmyks and the Russians, the colonizers.