Kalmyk people

The Kalmyks, Oirats of the Volga steppe, are the only Mongolic nation of Europe and its only traditionally Buddhist people. Their Torghut, Dörbet, Khoshut and Dzungar ancestors rode out of Dzungaria in early modern times and founded the Kalmyk Khanate in the 17th century on the Caspian's northwestern shore; Buzava cousins settled among Don Cossacks. Camel and sheep herds, felt gers and the Jangar epic carried Dzungaria west; lamas blessed khans who played Russia, Crimea and Khiva against one another. Catherine dissolved the khanate, half the nation trekked back to Dzungaria in 1771, and Stalin deported the rest to Siberia in 1943. Returned, rebuilt, Elista's Golden Abode temple crowns Europe's Buddhism; chess, Jangar recitation and tsagan sar keep the Volga Mongols Mongol. Torghut, Dorbet and Khoshut clans still gather. Buzava cousins still ride with Don Cossacks. American, French and German exiles keep the temples. Europe's only Buddhists still pray in Elista.