Sri Lanka strengthen its ties with the only Buddhist State in Europe.

The former President of the Kalmykia Republic of the Russian Federation and the Chairman of the World Chess Association Mr. Kirsan Ilumzhinov met President Mahinda Rajapakse at Temple Trees yesterday. He is visiting Sri Lanka with a Buddhist delegation in connection with the 2600th Sri Sambuddhthwa Jayanthia. Kalmykia Republic is the only Buddhist State in Europe.

Mr. Ilumzhinov during his discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa explained in detail about Buddhist activities in his Republic. The discussions also centred on exchange of students, as move to strengthen Buddhist relations between the two countries.

The visiting dignitary told the President that he is expecting to construct a Buddhist Centre in Sri Lanka. The President agreed to provide all facilities required for this purpose. He also stated that he intends to start several projects to develop Chess in Sri Lanka. These projects will include formation of a Chess Academy in Sri Lanka in coordination with the World Chess Academy, and provision of education and equipments for Sri Lankan students interested in Chess.

The visiting Russian leader also agreed to provide 50 Million US Dollars for the development of 4-G computer Technology in Sri Lanka.

The President thanked Mr. Ilumjinov for his interest in developing Chess in Sri Lanka and presented a memorabilia and a Statue of the Lord Buddha.

The visiting Russian leader and his delegation will be touring the historical religious sites during their stay in Sri Lanka .

Kalmykia is one of the 21 Republics in the Russian Federation with a population of nearly 300,000. In the summer of 1919, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin issued an appeal to the Kalmyk people, calling for them to revolt and to aid the Red Army. Lenin promised to provide the Kalmyks, among other things, a sufficient quantity of land for their own use. The promise came to fruition on November 4, 1920 when a resolution was passed by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee proclaiming the formation of the Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast. Five years later, on October 22, 1935, the Oblast was elevated to republic status, Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Historical accounts state that on December 27, 1943, Soviet authorities declared the Kalmyk people guilty of cooperation with the German Army and ordered the deportation of the entire Kalmyk population to various locations in Central Asia and Siberia. In conjunction with the deportation, the Kalmyk ASSR was abolished and its territory was split between adjacent Astrakhan, Rostov and Stalingrad Oblasts and Stavropol Krai. To completely obliterate any traces of the Kalmyk people, the Soviet authorities renamed the former republic's towns and villages.

The population transfer occurred immediately in the middle of the evening. No one was given advanced notification or time to assemble their belongings, including warm clothing, in preparation for their forced relocation. They were transported in trucks from their homes to the local railway stations where they were loaded in unheated cattle cars. In many cases, the cars were filled beyond capacity and did not contain bathrooms. Food was not provided, and water fell through the holes and cracks in the cattle car in the form of snow. As a result of these harsh conditions, many children and elderly men and woman died en route.

Due to their widespread dispersal in Siberia their language and culture suffered possibly irreversible decline. Khrushchev finally allowed their return in 1957, when they found their homes, jobs and land occupied by Russians and Ukrainians, who remained. On January 9, 1957, Kalmykia again became an autonomous oblast, and on July 29, 1958, an autonomous republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Republic.

After dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the then Soviet Union) , Kalmykia kept the status of an autonomous republic within the newly formed Russian Federation (effective March 31, 1992).

-Asian Tribune-