Kalmykia (S5.10)

August 11, 2022August 10, 2022 / lukejkelly / Leave a comment

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, thanks to our backers on Patreon, we’ll be talking about Kalmykia, a republic and country of Russia located directly north of the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe, between Ukraine and Kazakhstan, only around 200 miles or 350km north of Georgia. The Kalmyks, of Mongol origin, migrated to the Caspian region in the 17th century from Central Asia. They were mainly nomadic cattle breeders. Kalmykiya was established in 1920 as an autonomous oblast (region); in 1936 it became a republic, which was abolished in 1944 when the Kalmyks were exiled for alleged collaboration with the Germans during WW2.

The territory of Kalmykia is unique in that it has been the home in successive periods to many major world religions and ideologies. Prehistoric paganism and shamanism gave way to Judaism amongst some of the Khazars (who included Muslims and Christians in equal or greater numbers as well). This was succeeded by Islam with the Alans while the Mongol hordes brought Tengriism, and the later Nogais were Muslims, before their replacement by the present-day Buddhist Oirats/Kalmyks. It now stands as the only Buddhist region in Europe.

The republic covers an area of around 76,000 square kilometres (or almost 30,000 square miles), making it a similar size to Panama, Czechia or the US state of South Carolina. With a population of about 275,000 residents Kalmykia ranks among the smallest of Russia’s federal districts in terms of population.

The Kalmyks benefit from their relatively high levels of education and strong international connections. Overseas communities are found today in many parts of Europe and in the United States. The head of the religious establishment in Kalmykia itself was born in Philadelphia before being recognized by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of a Buddhist saint.

The capital and largest city of the republic is Elista, which has gained a reputation for, of all things, international chess. And for you Star Wars fans, the Ewok language was based on Kalmyk, because George Lucas thought it sounded so odd.

Screenshot 2022-08-10 at 21.38.02 — Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Dublin, Ireland, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Galway, Ireland. Our theme music and other stings come from Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella.

As we mention in the episode, this finale to season 5 was voted on by our Patreon backers, and thanks as always to all of them for their support. You can sign up to Patreon to get a say in the episodes we cover in the seasons to come.

Some further reading for this episode:

Surviving in Isolation, Where the Steppe Has Turned to Sand – NY Times
Stupas and their Consecration in Contemporary Kalmykia – Valeria Gazizova
Early Herders of the Eurasian Steppe – Penn Museum
The Kalmyks – E.B. Guchinova
Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project – University of Cambridge
A Brief Military History of the Kalmyk – Arltan Baskhaev
Kalmyks, Oirat Descendants in Russia : a Historical and Ethnographic Sketch, Bakaeva, Senri Ethnological Studies
Muammar Gaddafi finds he has a chess mate in Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – The Guardian
Desertification in Russia: Problems and solutions (an example in the Republic of Kalmykia-Khalmg Tangch) – I S Zonn

An excellent documentary from DW on Kalmykia

Music used in this episode:

Thanks to all our patrons who support the show. We really appreciate your continued backing of us. If you want to join them, more information is available at www.patreon.com/80dayspodcast

See you in Season 6!

Ulaanbataar (S5.05)

November 26, 2021November 26, 2021 / lukejkelly / Leave a comment

Audio: Ulaanbataar

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. Its modern name means ‘Red Hero’ and it is a city that has had many names including Urga, Örgöö, and Ikh Khuree. Ulaanbaatar was originally founded in 1639 as a nomadic Bhuddist monastery, essentially a moveable city, and was not permanently settled at its current location in 1778, where it became a crucial trading hub between Russia and China. The city is located in present-day north central Mongolia, around 1000km or 700 miles northwest of Beijing and about 500km or 300 miles south of Irkutsk, Russia. Its current population is around 1.5 million, meaning it contains around 50% of Mongolia’s residents, and is comparable in population to San Diego or Munich.

At the end of the 17th century, present-day Mongolia became part of the area ruled by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty. During the 20th century, Mongolia struggled against strong influences from the Soviet Union and China, until the Mongolian Revolution of 1990 led to the establishment of a multi-party democratic system. In terms of climate, it can be extremely chilly here. The city experiences an annual average temperature of −1.3°C (around −30 Fahrenheit) and temperatures in January are as low as −36 to −40 °C, making it the world’s coldest capital city.

Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Dublin, Ireland, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Galway, Ireland. Our theme music and other stings come from Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella.

We’ve also just launched a merch store in associated with TeePublic. You can find our store by clicking here, with exclusive discounts at the time of publishing.

Some useful resources for further reading include:

Timeline – A Brief History of Mongolia
A. M. Pozdneyev – Presenting the Results of a Trip Taken in 1892 and 1893 Urga or Da Khuree
For ancient history and archaeology, check out: “Archaeology of a sacred mountain: mounds, water, mobility, and cosmologies of the Ikh Bogd Uul, Eastern Altai Mountains, Mongolia” by Cecilia dal Zovo; History of Siberian Archaeology; and more on the Noin Ula Burial Site which Mark mentions here.
On geology, see here

Wikipedia has a whole article on the beautiful Mongolian script we discussed
If you couldn’t quite catch the name of the significant religious leader of the Mongols, more information on his various names on Wikipedia: Jebtsundamba Khutuktu
The New Books Network podcast had a very interesting interview with Uranchimeg Tsultemin the author of “A Monastery on the Move”, which talks about Zanabazaar and his artistic legacy
Another key source for Mark’s second section was The Bloody White Baron by James Parker.
Travels Through Mongolia to China (Vol. 1) by Egor Fedorovich Timkowski is on archive.org (1827)
Also on archive.org is Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet, being a narrative of three years’ travel in eastern high Asia by Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalskii (1876)
More on brick tea in The Russian Road to China by Lindon Wallace Bates, on archive.org here. (1910)
InfoMongolia.com
For a more modern perspective, we referenced The Changing World Of Mongolia’s Nomads by Melvyn C. Goldstein
More on the assassination of Mr Sanjaasuregiin Zorig, which Joe discussed, can be found here.
The Guardian also has a great piece on “Mongolia’s New Wealth.”
See here for a news article about the 9th Bogd Khan receiving Mongolian citizenship
Check out the Bogd Khan’s Winter Palace, and the Gandan Monastery
More about the Nadaam festival, and local cuisine
Music from this episode can be found on YouTube, with traditional Mongolian music, as well as some amazing Mongolian throat singing towards the end.

Thanks to all our patrons who support the show. We really appreciate your continued backing of us. If you want to join them, more information is available at www.patreon.com/80dayspodcast

Nepal (S4.08)

June 11, 2020June 11, 2020 / lukejkelly / Leave a comment

S04E08 Nepal Audio

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about Nepal, a small, landlocked country in South Asia. Nepal borders China in the north, India in the south, east and west, and Bhutan is separated from it by the Indian state of Sikkim. Home to eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, this small nation has an expansive and complex history, and was only declared a republic in 2008.

Today Nepal is home to over 28 million people, and has a total land area of around 147,000 square kilometres or 56,000 miles, making it roughly the size of Greece, or the US state of New York. Aside from Everest, Nepal is famous for its strong military, exemplified by the Ghurkas, who played an important role in both world wars, as well as one of the world’s most recognisable flags.

This episode, just like all of our recent ones, is supported by our Patreon backers. If you want to help out the show, you can help out by joining us over on www.patreon.com/80dayspodcast to give us whatever you can in terms of financial support and avail of all the lovely awards and extras that entitles you to. If you’re unable to support us financially, you can always leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Parliament house of Nepal, Kathmandu – Sujitabh Chaudhary

sebastian-pena-lambarri-Wj9ELwGXa6c-unsplash

Namche Bazaar, Nepal – Sebastian Pena Lambarri

You can find more on the state flag of Ohio, which we discuss in this episode, here on Wikipedia.

Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Ireland . (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella). We’d also like to thank Professor Lamont Lindstrom for his contribution to this episode. You can find more about him here.

Some further reading:

John Green and Crash Course History have a video focused on the Indus Valey Civilisation, which you can find here.
Discover Magazine also has an article entitled “Genetic Study Suggests South Asians Today Descend from Indus Valley Civilization“, which is worth a look.
The music track featured in our first break back be found here on YouTube.
You can also read more on the history of the Rajputs in Nepal here on Wikipedia.
Razen Manandhar has written an extensive article on Newar Buddhism on Medium.
The full text of John Whelpton’s A History of Nepal is available here.
A History of Nepal’s Royal Family and Its Catastrophe is reviewed here by the New York Times.
The 1814-1816 war between Nepal and the East India Company is detailed in this article on the New World Encyclopedia.
Record Nepal‘s article “Why did the British not colonize Nepal?” is a fascinating and in-depth read.
Large parts of T. Louise Brown’s The Challenge to Democracy in Nepal are available for free on Google Books.
Global Security has a lengthy article on the 1855 war between Nepal and Tibet
The Rising Nepal‘s article on Jung Bahadur Rana’s Foreign Policy is worth a look.
For more on Rana’s rise and the Kot Massacre, see the Library of Congress’ Nepal and Bhutan Country Study.
The Revolution of 1950/51 by Karl-Heinz Kraemer can be found on nepalresearch.com.
You can also read more about the Flag of Nepal on Wikipedia.
A timeline of events in the Nepali Civil War can be found here on Reuters.
An extensive article on the war by the London School of Economics can also be found here.
Monthly Review published a letter from Dr. Baburam Bhattarai on the 2001 Palace Massacre here.

Music that might interest listeners:

Nepal National Anthem – Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka
Traditional Music of Nepal

Bhutan (S1.04)

August 28, 2016February 10, 2019 / Joe / Leave a comment

Audio: S1E04 Bhutan

In this episode of 80 Days we’ll be talking about Bhutan a small, landlocked Asian nation with one of the best flags you’ll ever see. Bhutan is a country of less than a million people, bordered by the Tibetan region of China to the North and India pretty much everywhere else. Exploring Bhutan for you are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Hong Kong, the UK and Switzerland, respectively. (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

It’s the last of the Himalayan Buddhist kingdoms, which unlike Tibet and Sikkim has retained its independence. Also known as , the “Land of the Thunder Dragon” due to the prevalence of the Drukpa Lineage school of Buddhism (aka the Dragon People). Bhutan is a strongly Bhuddist country, which remained and cut off from the outside world for much of its history. It is one of only a few countries to have been independent throughout its entire history, never conquered, occupied, or governed by an outside power. Since opening its borders to tourists in the 1970s, Bhutan has embraced democracy and now it famously promotes the concept of gross national happiness which is reflected in the Bhutan Gross National Happiness Index.