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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Kalmyk-Oirats of Russian Federation

The Kalmyk-Oirats of Russian Federation, numbering approximately 183,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Russia; a dialect subgroup of Kalmyk-Oirat (xal) They are an Indigenous people, in the Mongolian people cluster of the East Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Buddhism - Tibetan. They primarily speak Kalmyk-Oirat.

Kalmyk-Oirats in Kyrgyzstan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Anonymous Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Mongolian
Primary Language(s): Kalmyk-Oirat (xal)
Primary Religion(s): Buddhism - Tibetan
Population: 183,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000914
View on Joshua Project

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Buddhism - Tibetan
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

%
Buddhism - Tibetan Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kalmyk-Oirat
Language Family: Mongolic-Khitan

%
Kalmyk-Oirat Speakers

Media Resources in Kalmyk-Oirat:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Kalmyk-Oirat:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kalmyk-Oirat bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Kalmyk-Oirats

The Kalmyk-Oirats are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Kalmyk-Oirats

The Kalmyk-Oirats are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Kalmyk-Oirats

The Kalmyk-Oirats are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Kalmyk-Oirats of Russian Federation

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
readLuke 15:7

Pray that God will convict the lost of their sin, give them an urgency to run to Him for forgiveness, and feel His welcoming arms around them when they turn to Him.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
readMatthew 13: 45-46

Pray that they will recognize the treasure of knowing Christ Jesus and be willing to give up everything else to gain Him.

The LORD bless you and keep you.
readNumbers 6:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be blessed with God's grace, trusting that He will never abandon them.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

Oirat, Western Mongul (ROP3 - 107607) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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