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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 mostly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Kalmyk is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Kalmyk-Oirat

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Russian Federation
People Cluster: Mongolian
Primary Language(s): Kalmyk (xal)
Primary Religion(s): Tibetan Buddhism
Population: 183,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000914
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Pray for the Kalmyk-Oirats of Russian Federation

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

70%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kalmyk
Language Family: Mongolic-Khitan

90%
%
Kalmyk-Oirat Speakers

Media Resources in Kalmyk:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kalmyk:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2002 Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kalmyk bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

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.

Next steps for the Kalmyk-Oirats:
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

Pray specifically for the Kalmyk-Oirats of Russian Federation

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
readMatthew 28:18-20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence because Jesus has all authority and is with them as they make disciples and teach others about Him.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Kalmyk-OiratsPG007495Kalmyk-OiratsMongolia191,000Unengaged and UnreachedKalmykChinese Folk Religion
Kalmyk-OiratsPG000914Kalmyk-OiratsRussian Federation183,000Engaged yet UnreachedKalmykTibetan Buddhism
Kok Nur OiratPG046926Kok Nur OiratChina105,000Engaged yet UnreachedKalmykMahayana Buddhism
Kalmyk-OiratsPG024352Kalmyk-OiratsKyrgyzstan8,200Unengaged and UnreachedKalmykTibetan Buddhism
OiratPG043577OiratUnited States1,900Engaged yet UnreachedKalmykTibetan Buddhism
Kalmyk-OiratsPG024678Kalmyk-OiratsUzbekistan1,000Unengaged and UnreachedKalmykMahayana Buddhism

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 Data Standards section.

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