Kalmyk deportations of 1943 originally nomadic shepherds of Dzungaria. They speak a West Mongolian language, an Altaic language. They practice Lamaism, a form of Buddhism practiced also in Tibet. In the 1630s, several Oirat tribes migrated westwards and settled along the Volga river. They were consolidated into a new ethnic group, the Kalmyks. While a part of their group went back to Dzungaria, others stayed and recognized the authority of the Russian Empire by the 18th century. During the Russian Civil War, a majority of Kalmyks actively participated in anti-communist Russian armies. When the Bolsheviks ultimately took power, numerous anti-communist people emigrated from Russia
1929 Tuvan coup d'état Union (USSR) and the Mongolian People's Republic. The population, numbering roughly 300,000 at the time and largely nomadic, adhered mainly to Tibetan Buddhism ("Lamaism") and Tengrism and lived under feudal conditions. Its first Prime Minister was Donduk Kuular, a Buddhist monk. Formally independent, the country (which suffered continuous political unrest and several anti-Bolshevik rebellions) was viewed abroad as a Soviet satellite state. Despite this Prime Minister Donduk enacted distinctly non-Soviet policies, heavily leaning towards theocracy in opposition to the state atheism of the contemporary USSR. In 1928 a law was passed making Lamaism the official state religion and legally restricting