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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.

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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

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
readProverbs 30:5

Pray that those who don't yet know God will trust the flawless Word of God and seek refuge in Him, finding hope and salvation instead of remaining in spiritual darkness.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
readMalachi 1:11

Pray that they will worship God in spirit and truth, offering Him the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving that He desires.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
readHebrews 10:35

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hold unswervingly to their faith and to their confidence in Christ, which has a great reward.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
readEphesians 6:11

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will put on the full armor of God so that they will be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

6 people groups

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

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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