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Lev Antonov, About myself and my native village


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Authors

Terbish, Baasanjav 

Abstract

Lev talks about himself and his village of Esto-Altai in Yashaltinskiy rayon. This is what he says: I am from Bolshederbetovskiy ulus, which is today Yashaltinskiy rayon. I am 84 years old, from the Gakhan Avgnr clan. My ancestors all lived in that place where the soul is very fertile. The war (World War II in the Soviet Union) started when I was 9. Soon afterwards we were all exiled to Siberia where we stayed for 13 years. Our elders believed that eventually we would return home to Kalmykia. Not everyone returned home, many died there in Siberia. I got married in Siberia. In Siberia all Kalmyk clans got mixed. Those who survived would never forget what they had to go through. Today people talk about the loss of the Kalmyk language. I think this is a consequence of the Siberian exile because young people did not learn their language then. We went through Siberia, and if you look at our history, including the revolution of 1917, the ensuing civil war and so on, the Kalmyks have suffered a lot. Upon returning from Siberia, we nevertheless lifted our republic, built new houses, and today Elista is becoming more and more beautiful with each passing year.I want young people to study and develop themselves. Although we are a small nation, we are very smart. Kalmyks today live everywhere and well represent their nation.In the past our village self-sufficient. People were calm and educated. My grandfather worked for a long time as a warehouse manager. In 1933 my father was appointed the postmaster in Maly Derbet. My father was born in 1910, and my mother in 1914. In the 1930s, she graduated from a medical school in Rostov. Her older brother worked in the police station in Rostov. The village Esto-Altai was called so because there were Estonians and Germans who lived side by side with Kalmyks. These people introduced the sewing machines, pots, copper cups, and more to the Kalmyks. My eldest son died. My youngest son lives in Moscow. I have three grandchildren. My daughter works here in Elista. One granddaughter graduated from the local Music College, and now she is studying a foreign language.My wife is 82, and I am 84. We are already preparing ourselves for the afterlife. Elders in our village often recounted a fairy tale about ‘the old man called Keedya’. It is a fairy tale about a man who has one goat only. When I was little, there was no electricity for poor people. It was only wealthy who could afford electric bulbs. Elders also used to sing long songs. I knew only few songs myself.

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Keywords

Village Esto-Altai, family, parents

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Publisher

Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge

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