National archives of the Republic of Kalmykia: Letters of the Kalmyk Khans

Abstract

The article analyzes Kalmyk Khan Ayuka̓s letters kept at the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia. Until the 18th century, the Kalmyk archives was part of the Astrakhan provincial archives, subsequently, in the late 18th – early 19th centuries it developed into a structural unit of the local government of Kalmykia. After the October revolution of 1917, the archives of the Kalmyk people administration became the basis for the creation of the Kalmyk archives. This institution is now a unique repository of documents since 1713.
The letters of the Kalmyk Khans are located in Fund 36 “Attached to Kalmyk affairs under the Astrakhan governor”. Some of them have been published. The letters are written in old Kalmyk (Oirat) language with the translation into Russian. The language of the letters is extremely laconic, much has been left unsaid, the most important information must have been transmitted orally through envoys. Letters of the Kalmyk Khans, preserved in the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia, are a valuable sources that provide the opportunity to consider not only the Russian-Kalmyk relations, the nuances of the relationship between the Kalmyk Khans and the Russian authorities, but also the relationship within the Khanate, between the Khan and his children and grandchildren, between the Khan and the Kalmyk noyons.