Kalmykia

Squeezed between the Caspian and the Caucasus, near Russia’s southernmost border, Kalmykia is a dun swathe of land covered border-to-border in the densely woven scrub of the central Asian deserts. It appears to the first time visitor as distinctly different even from Russia, let alone Europe, and yet the geography of the place is a constant point of pride to the people there. The only Buddhist nation in Europe, it is home to the Kalmyks, a Mongol people who migrated to Russia on horseback over 300 years ago from Northwest China. Deported to Siberia under Stalin, the Kalmyks have now returned to their true home.

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