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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 described as an indigenous community of Russia; a dialect subgroup of Kalmyk-Oirat (xal) They are an Indigenous people, with Kalmyk / Oirot as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Mongolian people cluster of the East Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Tibetan Buddhism. They primarily speak Kalmyk-Oirat.

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-Oirat (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

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Tibetan Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

70%
%
Tibetan Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

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

90%
%
Kalmyk-Oirat Speakers

Media Resources in Kalmyk-Oirat:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kalmyk-Oirat:

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

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kalmyk-Oirat 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

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 3:23

Pray that the gospel will advance and many will acknowledge that all have sinned, fall short of God's glory, and need a Savior to reconcile them to God.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
readRomans 8:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the God who has given them freedom from fear so that they will trust Him completely as their good Father who meets all their needs.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

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-OiratsMongolia190,000Unengaged and UnreachedKalmyk-OiratChinese Folk Religion
Kalmyk-OiratsPG000914Kalmyk-OiratsRussian Federation183,000Engaged yet UnreachedKalmyk-OiratTibetan Buddhism
Kok Nur OiratPG046926Kok Nur OiratChina105,000Engaged yet UnreachedKalmyk-OiratMahayana Buddhism
Kalmyk-OiratsPG024352Kalmyk-OiratsKyrgyzstan8,200Unengaged and UnreachedKalmyk-OiratTibetan Buddhism
OiratPG043577OiratUnited States1,900Engaged yet UnreachedKalmyk-OiratTibetan Buddhism
Kalmyk-OiratsPG024678Kalmyk-OiratsUzbekistan1,000Unengaged and UnreachedKalmyk-OiratMahayana 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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