Kalmykia -- Culture and the Arts.
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CULTURE 01:   "Steppe by Steppe with Boris"
(courtesy article provided by Erdne Bormanshinov).   "Thomas Rees had heard of an astonishing marathon horse race that takes place every year in far away Kalmykia, beyond the Caucasus.  It is the high point of the Kalmykians' festival celebrating their origins as Mongol nomads.  Rees had been a jockey once: supposing he could take part, just supposing..."

CULTURE 02:   "Wladimir Karuev, National Djangartschi"
(courtesy article provided by Jan Scheerder (Visitor Submitted).   "During a folkloristic festival in Holland in 1995, I came in contact with a very interesting Kalmyk.  Now he is my best friend.  His name is Wladimir Karuev." (Pictures also available)

CULTURE 03:   "A Visit to the Yurts in Godschur"
(courtesy article provided by Jan Scheerder (Visitor Submitted).   "High in the blue sky, a bird of prey screams -- all around us, only grass.  A sweet aromatic smell is in the air.  We ride through an endless steppe for hours, with no sign of human existence.  Now we ride on a higher part of the steppe and look over a long slope valley.  In the far, we see a little settlement.  It is the silhouette of five nomadic yurts."  (Pictures also available)