Kalmyk Khanate Research Articles

Сведения из тибетских источников о титуле Дайчин Аюки-хана

Introduction. Data from Tibetan-language sources on Ayuka’s full title ― Daichin Khan Ayuka ― have never been introduced into scientific circulation, nor have those been subject to any essential analysis. Goals. So, the article introduces a variety of messages dealing with the ruling era of Khan Ayuka and narrating how the latter received the title of Daichin Khan from the then Dalai Lama. Materials. The paper investigates Tibetan-language biographies of the Fifth Dalai Lama Lobsang Gyatso, Sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, and Fifth Panchen Lama Lobsang Yeshe. Results. The study figures out the date when the mentioned ruler did receive the title of Daichin Khan, and specifies the dates of embassies that delivered the Kalachakra seal and that of Khan from the Sixth Dalai Lama. Conclusions. The article examines materials contained in various Tibetan-language texts, such as the autobiography of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama and that composed by Desi Sangye Gyatso, biography of Fifth Panchen Lama, etc. The work ascertains the ruler of the Kalmyk Khanate received the title of Daichin Khan Ayuka from the Sixth Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso in 1697. The paper also reveals some data on Khan Ayuka’s embassy to Tibet led by Arabjur and on the latter’s mother Tsojal. Another newly identified and important historical fact is that the Dalai Lama did send an embassy to Khan Ayuka to deliver a secret message about the Great Fifth’s death.

Countering the escapes of Orenburg and Stavropol baptized Kalmyks to the Kalmyk Khanate in 1737–1771

Countering the escapes of Orenburg and Stavropol baptized Kalmyks to the Kalmyk Khanate in 1737–1771

О состоянии грамотности в Калмыцком ханстве в XVIII в.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that there is still an opinion, at least among the masses, that in pre-revolutionary times literacy was poorly developed among the Kalmyks. It was believed that representatives of the clergy and noble classes ― Noyons and Zaisangs — were literate. The clergy accounted for the largest percentage of literates, which was due to their type of activity. Nevertheless, there was an opinion that even among them the bulk was mired in drunkenness and deception of the ignorant masses of the people. The purpose of the proposed work is, as far as possible, to answer some of the above questions, although the study and coverage of the content of the problem as a whole is not a matter of one article. Materials and methods. To solve these problems, archival material, which is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, is mainly involved. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to approach the resolution of certain emerging problems, abandoning the recent habit of approaching the analysis of a diverse historical panorama with a single pre-regulating theoretical attitude. Descriptive, historical-comparative, historical-genetic and analytical methods were used in the study. Results. In Kalmyk society, representatives of the Noyono-Zaisang environment were primarily literate. The Noyons were almost all literate, including their wives. The Zaisangs had a fairly high literacy rate; there were also women among the literate, but their number was small. There are no specific data on commoners, but it can be assumed that the number of literate among them was small. In the XVIII century. literacy education in general in the Kalmyk Khanate went in two directions. Russian Russian was taught to the representatives of the Kalmyks, and the Russians — Kalmyk. This training was initiated by the Russian government (translators, interpreters, etc. were needed) and spontaneously, in the process of everyday communication between representatives of neighboring peoples.

Дороги в жизни калмыцкого ханства XVIII в. (на материале документов Национального архива Республики Калмыкия)

Introduction. The object of the analysis is the ways in which the Kalmyk Khanate of the 18th century used communication routes and movements along these paths for a specific purpose. Methods and materials. The official correspondence of Kalmyk khans and owners with representatives of different government levels of the Russian state of the 18th century from the funds of the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia is considered, data on the movements of representatives of the Kalmyk Khanate is revealed, and a typology of these movements is proposed. Analysis. It is shown that ways differ in place, time, and purpose of movement. In the life of the Kalmyks, internal and external ways stood out. The internal ones are seasonal migrations within the khanate in order to change pastures for livestock. The documents report on the places of nomads, folk traditions, holidays, and various difficulties. External ways connected the Kalmyks with the world outside the khanate and were divided into postal (communication between different subjects), official (delivery of salaries, trips on judicial and other matters), diplomatic (visits to the court, trips to other states to conclude and maintain peace), military (military campaigns, border protection), trade (trips to Russian and other cities for the purchase and sale of livestock and various goods), and religious (pilgrimage to Tibet, trips for baptism to Stavropol-on-the-Volga). Results. The conclusion is made about the great importance of both internal ways, which determined the mode of life of the nomadic people, and external ones, thanks to which interaction with the Russian state and other countries was carried out. Sources of Kalmyk and Russian origin reveal facts from different points of view and show the actions of both sides as the realization of their complex, multifaceted interaction. Authors’ contribution. D.A. Suseeva proposed the classification principles, identified the main way types, and analyzed the letters of the Kalmyk khans and owners. O.A. Gorban supplemented the classification with individual species and analyzed V.N. Tatishchev’s letters and other documents of the Kalmyk Commission.

“Arrived in Astrakhan under the protection of His Imperial Majesty”. The political choice between Russia and the Crimea of the Astrakhan Yurt Murzas

The article examines the situation in the Lower Volga region during the internecine struggle of the Kalmyk owners, which unfolded after the death of Khan Ayuka. It is noted that the result of this struggle was the departure from the Kalmyks of the Turkic peoples subject to them. Against the background of the migration to the Kuban under the rule of the Crimean Khan of the majority of Jetisans and Dzhemboyluk, part of the former Kalmyk subjects preferred to return to Astrakhan to their former nomads. Murzas Tinbaevs, Allaguatovs, Bimurzins, Tinokpatovs are at the center of the study. The circumstances under which they were involved in the events of 1715 and subsequently found themselves in the Kalmyk Khanate are considered. The reasons that prompted the Yurt Murzas to decide to leave the Kalmyks under the rule of the Astrakhan voivodes are analyzed. An assessment is given of the actions of the local authorities who decided to accept the Murz with their people into Russian citizenship. For citation: Toropitsyn I.V. “Arrived in Astrakhan under the protection of His Imperial Majesty”. The political choice between Russia and the Crimea of the Astrakhan Yurt Murzas. From the history and culture of the peoples of the Middle Volga region. 2023, vol.13, no.2, pp.21–29. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2023-13-2.21-29 (In Russian)

Three Fragments of an Oirat <i>Sungdui</i> Manuscript in the Collection of the IOM, RAS

The paper introduces three fragments of an Oirat manuscript of the Sungdui, or Collected Dharani, preserved at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. The fragments became part of the collection of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 18th c., but had not been described until 2022. The manuscript is of special value, as only three other specimens of the Sungdui in Clear Script have been accounted for (these three manuscripts are preserved in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia). The St. Petersburg fragments come from a manuscript that was created between 1748 and 1795, presumably, in the Kalmyk Khanate. The dates were established based on the watermark found on the paper of one of the folios, and an inscription that was left on the same folio by Johannes Jhrig, the first scholar to catalogue the Mongolian and Tibetan collection of the Academy. In this paper, the text of the folios is published along with a commentary on the content and possible origin of the manuscript.

Первая печать тайши Аюки (1684 г.)

Introduction. Sphragistic sources play an important role in the historical study of the Kalmyk Khanate. Seals of the Kalmyk nobility gain particular importance for further insights into the shaping of the institution of khanship, genesis of Kalmyk nationhood, and religious-political ties between the Khanate and Tibet. Goals. The article introduces into scientific circulation a previously unknown seal of the Kalmyk Taishi (future Khan) Ayuka put by him in early 1684 on a shert manuscript. Materials and methods. The original document has been discovered at the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. It rarely attracted the attention of historians who preferred to use its outdated publication of 1830. The study employs a set of research methods inherent to historical science, philology, and linguistics. Results. The paper investigates the circumstances that witnessed Ayuka’s use of the seal when the Kalmyk nobility were taking an oath of allegiance to the Russian Tsar, analyzes its appearances and Sanskrit-language legend. As compared to similar ceremonies in 1673 and 1677, the fact that Ayuka certified his oath with a seal in 1684 was a novelty in the oath taking procedure. Conclusions. The work suggests this seal be the earliest one of Ayuka’s personal seals known to date. The presence of the Indian title ‘rāja’ in the seal’s legend makes it possible to presume that even then Ayuka tended to position himself as supreme ruler of all Kalmyks in the status of Khan, although he received this title from the Dalai Lama over the subsequent years.

МАТЕРИАЛЫ ПО ИСТОРИИ КАЛМЫЦКОГО НАРОДА XVII - НАЧАЛА XX В. В ФОНДАХ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО АРХИВА АСТРАХАНСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

The article presents the systematized study results of the significant set of documents on the history and culture of the Kalmyk people of the 17th – 20th centuries, deposited in the funds of the State Archive of the Astrakhan Region (SAAR) due to the fact that the administrative regulation of socio-political processes in the Kalmyk Khanate in the 18th century and in the Kalmyk steppe in the XVIII – early 20th centuries was carried out by Astrakhan officials. The Astrakhan archival collections are historically a place of concentration of documents relating to the history and culture of the Kalmyk people, which have been insufficiently researched to date. Introduction to scientific circulation, research, clarification of attribution, publication of information on this source database will stimulate historical research and give a new incentive for the intensification of research activities. The research object is documentary material related to the history and culture of the Kalmyk people in the funds of the State Archive of the Astrakhan Region. As a result, a significant complex of archival documents was studied, files related to the history and culture of the Kalmyk people were identified. Besides in some instances additional attribution and clarification of the chronological framework and scope of documents were carried out. The work was done to form a systematized, comprehensive database on the history of the Kalmyk people in the 17th – 20th centuries on the SAAR material. The identified files formed the basis for the forthcoming collection of documents on the SAAR funds

Хотоны Калмыцкого ханства XVIII в.

Introduction. The article analyzes a little–studied problem in historiography – khotons (nomadic settlements) the Kalmyk Khanate of the XVIII century, which at the same time were the smallest administrative units. Materials and methods. The study is based on an extensive set of archival materials, primarily clerical correspondence, which somehow deposited information about the khotons of the Kalmyk Khanate of the XVIII century, the number of people in them, the degree of kinship, etc. Historical-genetic, comparative-historical, functional and descriptive methods were used in the analysis of source and bibliographic material and in writing the text of the article. Analysis. The analysis showed that a significant part of khotons consisted of 10-15 kibits (families), which were connected with each other by kinship relations, including those who were at different levels of kinship relations. However, archival documents show that in the 18th century, in addition to ordinary khotons consisting of related families, nomadic settlements began to appear in the Kalmyk Khanate, consisting of families or individuals not related by kinship and even belonging to different sub-ethnic groups. Sometimes, for various reasons, several khotons could unite and form a separate group of several dozens of kibits, and in some cases, due to extraordinary circumstances, they could form groups even of several hundred kibits, though for a short period. In addition to the official authorities, khotons and other nomadic groups of khoton type had their own internal public self-government built on the life experience and authority of their managers. Results. Thus, it can be concluded that in the socially stratified Kalmyk society of the XVIII century tribal relations began to deform under the influence of the prevailing circumstances.

Улус Дондуковых в первые годы правления наместника Убаши

Introduction. The article deals with the earliest years of the young Kalmyk Viceroy Ubashi’s reign. Goals. The paper attempts an analysis of the Dondukovs’ arrival in Kalmyk Steppe during the mentioned period. Results. In 1762, Empress Catherine II granted Princess Vera Dondukova and her family a permission to move back to their uluses (estates). But the January 1763 return of Vera Dondukova and her son Alexey destabilized the political situation in Kalmyk Khanate, which resulted from immediate rumors suggesting a soon handover of power to the former to be followed by changes in the ulus system proper. Many would recall how Noyon Donduk-Ombo had led the bulk of the Volga Kalmyks to Kuban somewhat thirty years before, and in those circumstances the imperial government had been forced to forgive him and formalize his actual position as Kalmyk ruler. In fact, the Khanate was facing another wave of feuds. This time the Russian government chose to identify problems before they arose, and sought — with entreaties and threats — to normalize the situation in Kalmyk uluses. This historical fact attests to that the 18th century was witnessing gradual changes in methods of imperial nationalities policies employed.

Princess Anna Taishina, the First Ruler of the Stavropol Baptized Kalmyks, 1737-1742

The involvement of Kalmyk princess Anna Taishina in the process of baptized Kalmyks fitting into the economic, political and administrative-legal space of Russia is examined. Based on extensive documentary data, the author notes that the formation of a separate Kalmyk principality on the Middle Volga was the consequence of the Russian policy of Christianization and purposeful settlement of baptized Kalmyks outside the Kalmyk Khanate. The transfer of territories with a special ad-ministrative status to a sole female administration, albeit being under strict government control, is the only example in the history of Tsarist Russia. In the chronicles of the mid-1720-1730s Anna Taishina was mentioned solely in connection with the active political activities of her husband, Pyotr Taishin, and the interest of the Russian authorities in his services. A. Taishina was granted authority not due to coincidence: it was not only the unexpected death of her husband and the absence of high-born off-spring among the baptized Kalmyks, but also the desire of the Russian government to settle baptized Kalmyks in the remote territory. Within the short period of A. Taishina's reign, there were laid the foundations of the administrative-territorial structure of the Kalmyk settlement, its power structure and order of administration, economic and social development. The high legal status of the Kalmyk princess was evidenced by the transfer of the Kalmyk settlement to the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. It is confirmed that all innovations supported by the government were carried out on the initiative of Anna Taishina, or the Stavropol commandant, but always considering her opinion. The conclusion is that the order that took shape during the life of Anna Taishina set the vector for the development of the Kalmyk settlement until its abolition in 1842.

The Political Situation in the Uluses of the Kalmyk Khanate in the first half of the 60s of the XVIII сentury

The Political Situation in the Uluses of the Kalmyk Khanate in the first half of the 60s of the XVIII сentury

«Прежде по Вашей милости я жил спокойно. Как быть? Рассудите, Ваше Светлейшество». Начало внутриполитического кризиса в Калмыцком ханстве в 1723 г.

Introduction. The article publishes one of the last letters submitted by Khan Ayuka of the Kalmyks to the Russian Emperor Peter the Great. Goals. The work aims at introducing newly discovered correspondence dealing with Russian-Kalmyk relations in the first quarter of the 18th century. Materials. The document analyzed is contained in Collection 119 (‘Kalmyk Affairs’) of Imperial Russia’s Foreign Policy Archive that houses quite a number of written sources in Kalmyk history. The never-published document is the first Kalmyk letter from the mentioned archive to be made available to the public. Results. The paper provides a brief historical review of the events described in Khan Ayuka’s letter. The most precious document sheds light on multiple circumstances to have preceded the outburst of the internal Kalmyk conflict in 1723. Conclusions. The examined 1724 letter is an invaluable source in the history of Kalmyk Khanate that shall essentially add to further understanding of 18th-century Russian-Kalmyk relations. So, the text clarifies Khan Ayuka’s stance on the emerging internal crisis. Having been one of those who wrecked the negotiation process between Chakdorjab’s sons, Ayuka turns to the Russian Emperor for assistance in his letter. The domestic conflict not only significantly weakened his positions as Khan but also resulted in external threats to Kalmyk Khanate at large.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ТРАДИЦИОННЫХ НАЧАЛ НА ИНСТИТУТЫ ПУБЛИЧНОЙ ВЛАСТИ В КАЛМЫЦКОМ ОБЩЕСТВЕ В XIX – НАЧАЛЕ XX В.

The article is devoted to the study of the influence of traditional civilizational features on the formation of institutions of public power in the Kalmyk society in the 19th – early 20th centuries. During this period, after the liquidation of the Kalmyk Khanate, the search for the most optimal model for managing Kalmyk society began, and Russian institutions of power began to penetrate more and more into Kalmykia. The purpose of the article is to study the institutions of public authority in the Kalmyk society on the basis of a civilizational and cultural approach. The main sources for us were the normative legal acts of the Russian Empire, dedicated to the management of the Kalmyks. As a result, we found that the influence of traditional principles on the institutions of public power in the Kalmyk society was strong during the existence of the Kalmyk Khanate. In the first half of the XIX century. the Russian government adopted the main regulations that fixed the system of governance of the Kalmyks. However, at the same time, some national institutions of power were preserved.

Из истории внешнеполитических отношений Калмыцкого ханства. Лоузанг-Шоно

Introduction. The article examines a significant early-to-mid 18th-century episode of Kalmyk-Chinese and Kalmyk-Dzungar relations to have been controlled by the Russian Government. This very period was witnessing deepest processes across Central Asia that would subsequently result in dramatic ethnic and political transformations in the region. Goals. The work aims at revealing plans and intentions of the involved governments and groups, outlining the actual sequence of events under the observed conditions, showing efforts of certain individuals had been initially determined by their personal wishes that made them seek for opportunities to orchestrate the events towards their own benefits. However, the latter had to finally accept the real state of affairs as they were. Results. So, the Kalmyk rulers were involved in China-Dzungar relations, both the sides having been eager to take advantage of Kalmyk military power. But it became evident that external policies of the Kalmyk Khanate were largely dependent on Russia’s foreign affairs strategy which implied no interest in the participation of Kalmyks in Chinese-Dzungar struggle. This resulted in that Kalmyks never joined the confrontation between the Qing Empire and Dzungar Khanate to have ended up with a defeat and collapse of the latter.

К. И. Костенков о правах калмыков на землю, предоставленную им в Астраханской губернии: источниковедческий обзор

Introduction. Capiton I. Kostenkov was the first researcher of Tsarist Russia to have explored legal regulations dealing with land rights of Kalmyks in Kalmyk Steppe of Astrakhan Governorate. The article reviews sources mentioned in Chapter Four (‘About Land Rights of Kalmyks in Astrakhan Governorate’) of his work titled ‘Kalmyk Nomads of Astrakhan Governorate: Historical and Statistical Accounts’ (St. Petersburg, 1870). Goals. The paper aims at analyzing the mentioned chapter as a work examining land rights regulations for Kalmyks in Astrakhan Governorate prior to the 1860s. Results. The article outlines most essential provisions of the chapter and some related comments, determines key messages, lists the regulatory enactments included therein, analyzes C. Kostenkov’s viewpoints — both of a scholar and a government official — on the issues under consideration. Conclusions. The chapter contains virtually all documents contained in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire and dealing with the pre-1860s land rights of Kalmyks in Astrakhan Governorate. It is noteworthy the former ignores the Regulations of 1825 and Statute of 1834 about the Kalmyk People’s Administration Office, which may result from those pay little attention to land issues. C. Kostenkov’s work shows a semantic evolution of the concept ‘ethnos-inhabited area’, territorial borders — towards lands rights proper. That could be explained by that the Kalmyk Khanate had tended to lose its limited sovereignty, and after the exodus of 1771 the remaining Kalmyks were being increasingly integrated into Russia’s administrative system. So, the issues of land use and tenure shifted from public (a territory) to private law (land as an economic and natural resource). The attitudes and opinions about Kalmyk history and social structure described are characteristic not only of C. Kostenkov as such but also of Russian authorities at large, e.g., the to be initiated sedentarization and economic development of Kalmyk Steppe.

Встреча императора Петра I и калмыцкого хана Аюки на Волге в 1722 г.: мифы и реальность

Introduction. The article deals with an understudied — though essential — episode in the history of the Kalmyk Khanate — the 1722 meeting of Peter I of Russia and Khan Ayuka of Kalmyks on the banks of the Volga. The issue proves not only topical but is also as interesting since personal written memoirs to have somewhat covered the event are scarce enough, even the latter often being controversial. Goals. The article analyzes little known private materials to attempt a clarifying insight into the actual historical circumstances of the meeting. The former are accounts of those to have attended and witnessed the event, such as the Operations Record Book of the 1722 Campaign by Peter the Great, travel notes of J. Bell (a Scotch physician in the Russian imperial service), Kalmyk-to-Russian translator V. Bakunin, and reports by hydrographer and navigator F. Soimonov. Results. The examination of the mentioned private 18th–19th century sources shows those often contradict each other, and eyewitness accounts need further detailed investigation. Unfortunately, such private sources dated to the 18th and 19th centuries provide no clear answers to multiple questions but rather tend to give rise to new ones and complicate any historical reconstruction of the 1722 meeting. However, the source base is extensive enough and requires meticulous analysis. Most significantly, those are archival documents that may contain additional details and put an end to arguments over the revealed controversial facts.

Участие калмыков в Русско-турецкой войне 1768–1774 гг.: вопросы организации и обеспечения

Introduction. The article reviews events to have aimed at preparing Russia’s military for the war against Turkey in the late 1760s. The former included both general strategy development and involvement of Kalmyk troops. Special attention was paid to the preparation of orders on Kalmyk cavalry’s mobilization, its distribution across Russian army groups, elaboration of tactical plans, provisioning and allowances. Goals. So, the study aims at answering the latter set of questions. Materials and methods. The paper analyzes documents and materials form the National Archive of Kalmykia, Archive of Foreign Policy of Imperial Russia, and a number of government decrees published in Collections of the Imperial Russian Historical Society and the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. Results and conclusions. Having been the only combat effective force of Imperial Russia in the Lower Volga and North Caucasus, the Kalmyk Khanate was given utmost significance. In early April of 1769, Viceroy Ubashi gathered almost the whole of his troops in Yashkol area. The corps of Lieutenant General M. J. von Berg enforced with a ten thousand Kalmyk cavalry led by Prince Kirip was largely responsible for the Crimean direction. Another ten thousand cavalry group under the command of Viceroy Ubashi was to join the corps of Major General J. F. von Medem and suppress landlords of Kabardia that tended to support Turkey. After the departure of the twenty thousand troops all uluses (domains) were ordered to stay on the right bank of the Volga. But the subsequent campaign of 1769 unexpectedly witnessed a series of conflicts to have resulted from insufficient allowances and provisioning of Kalmyk military units.

Позиция казахов по отношению к калмыкам в 60-х гг. XVIII в.

The relevance of this article is determined by the desirability and even, speaking more directly, the need for a further, more source-based, expanded and theoretically grounded study of the role of the Kalmyk Khanate in Russia’s eastern policy, especially in the eighteenth century, when the khanate was at its peak. This is important not only for the history of the Kalmyk people proper, but also for studying and highlighting the participation of the peoples that were part of Russia in its foreign policy activities in this or that period. The aim of the article is to examine the relations of the Kazakhs and the Kalmyks in the third quarter of the 18th century, based on new materials from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire and the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia. The scientific novelty of the work consists in a detailed tracing of the connection of the Kalmyk Khanate with the neighboring nations and states in the east, mainly with Kazakh zhuzes, which did not contradict the interests of Russia in these regions. In the 1760s. relations between the Kalmyks and the Yuzhny Zhuz suddenly began to worsen. The Kazakhs were guided in their actions by their own goals. Speaking about the regional situation, its role was determined by the available opportunities, and they were quite modest, which made Kazakh khans turn to a strong external ally for protection. The Russian state for them in this regard was quite profitable. The author infers that, in the second half of the 18th century. the situation in the Kalmyk-Chinese relations changed, which was due to the attack of the Qing Empire on the Dzungar Khanate. The rebellion of Amursana demonstrated the reluctance of the Dzhungar people to endure Chinese domination, which was the reason for the Chinese court to get rid of the discontented. Another pilgrimage mission reminded China that there was another branch of the Dzungar people. The nomadic system of the Kalmyk economy, their courage and the ability to travel long distances in a matter of hours could serve both for protecting the interests of the Qing Empire and for opposing them. Everything was determined by the extent to which Beijing could control the migration process. Therefore, the Qing used a certain psychological effect on the Kalmyks, prompting them to leave Russia. The author concludes that, politically, the role of the Kazakh Khanate in the development of the situation in Central Asia was not decisive.

Новые источники по истории Дербетского улуса

The article aims to introduce a new source on the Kalmyk Khanate’s history, namely, “Vypiska o derbetevykh vladel’tsakh i o ikh ulusakh sochinennaia” (An extract about Derbet owners and their ulus, composed). The document was discovered in the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia, repository 36, “Sostoiashchii pri kalmytskikh delakh pri Astrakhanskom gubernatore (To Kalmyk affairs under the Astrakhan governor). Results. The record made on 70 sheets of paper, originated from the Collegium of Foreign Affairs; it was sent along with the imperial decree for the governor to familiarize himself with the policy pursued in relation to the ulus. The source contains significant data that sheds additional light not only on the history of the Derbet ulus but also on the Kalmyk Khanate overall. It describes the history of the ulus since the early eighteenth century, with a focus on the events between the 1740s and mid-1750s. The document has to do with the events that took place on the Don, where the Derbet ulus used to roam; special attention is given to the Derbet owners’ attitudes to the strife that took place in the first half of the century. Conclusions. “Vypiska o derbetevykh vladel’tsakh i o ikh ulusakh sochinennaia” is one of the detailed records describing the history of the Derbet ulus in the eighteenth century based on the government’s documents of the first half of the century. That is why there is a detailed description of the events related to the ulus’s move to the Don, indicating the ulus owners’ attitudes to the strife that took place at the time in the Khanate. There is every reason to believe that the document was written by Vasily Bakunin, the Collegium member who was most knowledgeable about the affairs of the Kalmyk Khanate.