Caucusus

Audio: Kalmykia

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!

S02E07 Georgia Audio

In this episode of 80 Days: an exploration podcast, we’ll be talking about Georgia. Not the US state, but the country in the south caucasus, known to its inhabitants as “Sakartvelo”. This former Soviet Republic is nestled between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and is home to around 3.7 Million people with a history dating back thousands of years. Throughout its history, Georgia has been subject to numerous larger powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire, and dynasties of Persia (Iran) and the Soviet Union. As the Iron Curtain fell, Georgia declared its independence and has operated as a modern Republic ever since. It’s neighbour to the North, Russia, however, has ensured that Georgia’s hold over independence has never been as secure as most Georgians would like. Ethnic conflicts and economic turmoil beset the country throughout the 1990s, culminating in the brief Russo-Georgian war of 2008, from which tensions still remain to this day.

Your hosts are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Switzerland . (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle)

Here are a few things you may want to read/watch more about:

For general information about the country, we would recommend watching some of the following documentaries: “Georgia and the Great Caucasus“, “Georgia – the Hidden Heart of the Caucasus“, an episode of “Drop Me Off Here” on the country and “Europe in Georgia” (with subtitles). “This Is Georgia” made by Paul Brian while teaching English in rural Georgia gives a nice sense of what the country and its people currently look like
“From the Land of the Golden Fleece: Tomb Treasures of Ancient Georgia” – a podcast from Cambridge University on archaeology and mythology (YouTube)
2002 article in Science describing the oldest discovered Homo erectus skull, found in Georgia
To get a grip on the expanding and contracting borders of Georgia over the centuries, there are two videos available on YouTube, showing changing maps: here, and here
In 1185 Queen Tamar built remarkable thirteen-storey fortress cave city of Vardzia in the Erusheli Mtn, which looks like something out of Lord of the Rings (Atlas Obscura). It survived the coming of the Mongols, but an earthquake and a Shah more or less finished it off. Now some committed monks live there (see it on YouTube). There is also another rock-hewn city called Uplistsikhe which served as capital after Arab conquest of Tbilisi

The stunning mountain fortress of Vardzia today (Wikimedia Commons)

“The History of the Mongols“ podcast gives a comprehensive view of the momentous impact of the Mongol expansion on vast reaches of the world, from China to the Caucasus; (iTunes link) Episodes “Tamerlane” and “Blood and Ink” might be of interest
The text of the last ultimatum from Muhammad Shah to King Erekle II (who was colluding with the Russians), along with various accounts of the related history can be found in the book “Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia” by Door Donald Reyfield (Google Books)
Joseph Stalin (Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) remembered after 60 years in his home town of Gori, ironically in a church (YouTube)
BBC Witness programme “Georgia in Crisis” contains the story about nurses threatening gangs with TB-infected patients (BBC website)
“Seizing the Reform Movement: Rebuilding Georgia’s Police Force”, (Matthew Devlin) an article on the changes that took place after the Rose Revolution
BBC Newsnight “What Really Happened in South Ossetia” (from 2008, YouTube)
“#REVISITED: Abkhazia, the country that (almost) doesn’t exist” – a report from France24 (YouTube)
“The Russians are Coming: Georgia’s Creeping Occupation” – a VICE documentary, featuring the interview we mentioned with a farmer who came home to find his farm in a different country (YouTube); this CNN article is on a similar theme
Christian Broadcasting Network Feature on Georgia – beautiful scenic shots, and – of course – one or two churches

Most of the music in this episode were examples of Georgian polyphonic singing, a very important style of music, being the oldest polyphonic music in the world (singled out by UNESCO as a vital aspect of cultural heritage).Some examples are:

“Chakrulo”, which was one of 27 musical compositions included on the Voyager Golden Records that were sent into space on Voyager 2 on 20 August 1977.
Here’s another example in the “Georgia and the Great Caucasus” documentary

Georgian folk dancing is also a wonderful tradition, here are a few videos of that:

Finally, we promised to include the video of the insane baptism rituals available in the Georgian Orthodox Church, so from EuroNews, here it is:

A massive thanks to the inimitable Gary O’Daly and Jeffrey Dokar, two of the backers of our recent Kickstarter Campaign – thank you for making Season 2 possible. Big thanks also to Mariam Kalandarshvili for talking to us and helping us understand (and pronounce) some elements of Georgian history; we now know that the capital is T’bee-lee-see! Thanks too to our sponsor Hairy Baby, who in addition to making the funniest Irish-themed t-shirts, have also produced the official 80 Days shirt for our supporters. Find it by clicking here. You can get 10% off anything on www.hairybaby.com by using our promo code “80DAYS”.