Lyalya Dzhavanova, About the Kumsk Kalmyks

Lyalya says that the Kumsk Kalmyks lived in the territory of Levokumskiy rayon in Stavropol Gubernia. They were engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture, growing wheat and vegetables. The community descends from about a hundred families that arrived in that place. Lyalya’s uncle was a monk who had many Buddhist objects. After his arrest, Lyalys’s family kept no religious objects at home, fearing that they could also be arrested. In 1943, the Kumsk Kalmyks were sent into exile to Siberia. After exile, many families settled in the village of Kumskiy in Gorodovikovskiy rayon of Kalmykia.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwi