Among a large number of national republics with their tragic stories of conquest by the empire and numerous victims of colonization, Kalmykia stands apart. Its people clashed with the central authority of the Russian Empire as early as the 18th century, when no one even thought about the Caucasian wars. This period was not the easiest for Kalmyks and forever remained in their historical memory.
Where is Elista
Russia is distinguished by a wide variety of landscapes, landscapes, and natural and ecological zones. From the taiga in the East and Siberia to the steppes and deserts in the foothills of the Southern Urals and on the Caspian lowland. The region where Elista is located - the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia, is characterized by an arid desert or steppe climate, with little rainfall, and therefore is not suitable for agriculture. This, by the way, greatly influenced the economic structure and lifestyle of local residents.
Even the proximity of the great Russian Volga River, which flows through the territory of Kalmykia, does not save the climate of the republic from dry seasons. But despite this, the flora here is more than diverse and represented by a wide variety of plant species, from feather grass and wormwood, the least demanding amount of moisture, to rare tulip species such as Schrenk tulip.
In total, eight hundred plant species grow on the territory of Kalmykia, and 130 of them are rare and endangered. 15 species are forbidden to be collected, and sixteen are listed in the Red Book. There are many among the Kalmyk herbs, those that are used both in folk and professional medicine.
Kalmyks on the banks of the Volga
Kalmyk tribes appeared on the banks of the Volga and in the foothills of the Caucasus in the 16th century, cramped by the Russians who had conquered Siberia at that time and fought with the local khanates.
Arriving on the Volga, they founded their khanate, which was liquidated in 1771, which led to the tragic events known as the Torgutsky escape. As a result, many thousands of people died who did not want to surrender to imperial power.
Kalmyks, after consulting with Buddhist monks and astrologers, decided to migrate to the north of China, but Catherine II tried to prevent this by ordering not to let the nomads out of the empire. However, they could not be stopped, and an expedition was sent for them, which, however, was unsuccessful.
As a result, the population of the Volga steppes has decreased markedly, but it has become more loyal, and this greatly simplified the further development of land, which will be actively held in the XIX century.
The base of the capital
In the area where Elista is located, already in the XVII century. there were sites of Kalmyks who roamed along the coast of the Manych River, which is a tributary of the Don. However, being a nomadic people, Kalmyks did not need a permanent capital.
The need for the organization of a permanent settlement arose for technical reasons and was directly related to the will of Tsar Nicholas I, who decided to establish forest stands in the steppe, which required enormous expenditures of money and human labor.
It was for the workers who worked on forest plantations that the village was built in the Elistinskaya beam, the first dugouts in which appeared in 1862, and three years later there were already fifteen yards in the village.
Where is the city of Elista on the map
At the end of the XIX century, Elista still belonged to the Astrakhan province and was not the center of national autonomy. Significant changes in the life of the villagers began in the 20th century, when the administration building was built in the village, and later the telegraph station.
The region where Elista is located was called the Kalmyk steppe after the ancestors of modern Kalmyks migrated there in the 17th century. This is an arid region located between the Volga and Manych rivers, with access to the Caspian Sea.
For a long time, these lands were controlled by officials sent from central Russia, but after the 1917 revolution, everything changed dramatically.
Soviet period and national autonomy
Already in February of the eighteenth year, power was established in the Kalmyk steppe, and two years later, on November 4, 1920, national Kalmyk autonomy was proclaimed, but the state bodies of the newly created autonomy were based in Astrakhan until 1925.
The decision to transfer them to Elista was made at the Fifth Congress of Councils of Kalmykia, and already in 1928 the actual relocation and transfer of all Kalmyk authorities to the named city took place.
The region where Mr. Elista is located was occupied during the Second World War, and this time was a new test for local residents. The occupying authorities, following orders from Berlin, shot civilians, among whom were about six hundred Jews. However, on December 31, 1942, Elista was freed from the Nazis, who, retreating, set fire to her, but the tests did not end there.
Like many other peoples of the Caucasus, the Kalmyks were accused by Stalin of treason and sentenced to deportation to the Far East and Central Asia. Elista was renamed Stepnaya, and national autonomy was eliminated. The former capital lay in ruins until the cult of personality of Stalin was debunked. The decision to restore autonomy was made in 1957, and then began the restoration of Elista, who regained its former name.