Kalmykia: From Oblivion to Reassertion?
Publisher: ECMI Volume: 38 pages, pdf Description: Kalmykia may be described as a nation back from the brink. Until a recent past, when the personality of an eccentric leader generated media attention, the Kalmyks were known essentially for one reason: they were one of the peoples deported under Stalin,and permitted to return in the wake of Khrushchev’s famous speech at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party in 1956. However, Kalmykia deserves attention for other reasons. Apart from its highly original cultural, religious and linguistic traits, recent developments in these areas indicate a remarkably modern (some would say "post-modern") perspective on identity. This paper provides an account of this process, with particular emphasis on Kalmykia’s new language legislation.