Book excerpt: "A detailed history of relations between the Russian state and the Kalmyk people from the 17th century until our days, this book focuses on the Kalmyks' official accession to the Russian state; the gradual curtailment of the autonomy of the Kalmyk khanate and inclusion of its people in the centralized system of Russian state control; Kalmyk disillusionment as their internal affairs were increasingly encroached upon by the central authorities and the economic burdens imposed on them by their new "patron" kept growing; the tragic story of a part of the people setting off for their ancestral homeland, Dzungaria, in the mid-18th century, with most perishing on the way, never to reach their destination." "The book describes the changing national policies of the totalitarian state towards Kalmyks. The issues of the legal status of Kalmykia, and the development of the republic under conditions of the new Russian federal system of state government are also covered."--BOOK JACKET.