Vasiliy bemoans that Kalmyks in urban areas ceased to speak Kalmyk: My maternal grandmother was illiterate and spoke only Kalmyk. She died at 90. She told me many fairy tales and recited many poems. Now we, who became old ourselves, have forgotten how to tell fairy tales to our grandchildren. At home we use Kalmyk minimally. In small villages and farms, in contrast, people still speak Kalmyk. In urban areas families that use Kalmyk on a daily basis are rare. When I go to weddings I rarely hear Kalmyk speech. Sometimes one side speaks Kalmyk, but the other side does not. A half Russian, half German family called the Shatkos live in the village of Shin-Mer. Despite their ethnicity, they speak Kalmyk better than Russian.