Kalmykia in 3 Russian words

1. ЗОЛОТАЯ ОБИТЕЛЬ БУДДЫ ШАКЬЯМУНИ (The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni)

This Buddhist temple is 63 meters high and is the largest in Europe. The 14th Dalai Lama himself gave his blessing for the construction during his visit to Kalmykia in 2004. Under its arches is a nine-meter Buddha statue – the second largest in Europe. 

2. ЭЭЛЯН ОВЛА (Eelyan Ovla)

Eelyan Ovla is a Kalmyk storyteller and performer of the folk heroic epic ‘Dzhangar’. It was from his words that this monumental work of Kalmyk folk culture was recorded at the beginning of the 20th century. In Ovly's homeland, in the village of Iki-Bukhus, there is a museum dedicated to him and, in 1990, a monument to the storyteller was unveiled in Elista.

3. УЛАН ЗАЛА (Ulan zala)

‘Ulan zala’ is a tassel or pompom made of red silk threads and is an important element of the national male headdress of the Kalmyks. It is with its help that they emphasize their difference from other Mongolian peoples.