Territorial disputes between Kalmykia and Astrakhan Oblast
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Territorial disputes between Kalmykia and Astrakhan Oblast, two federal subjects in southwestern Russia, refer to a number of land claims expressed by Kalmyk politicians and activists since the 1950s to the present day. They have been the subject of federal lawsuits and led to small-scale real-life conflicts on several occasions, such as a nomadic herder from Kalmykia being arrested and his cattle confiscated by Astrakhan park rangers after he entered land they considered theirs despite the borders shown in government-approved maps.[1]
Prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917, most of the Kalmyk ethnic homeland was governed as a part of the Astrakhan Governorate. When the Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast was established by the Bolsheviks, Astrakhan became its first administrative seat and held that status for 7 years before it was transferred to the current capital, Elista. In 1943, virtually all ethnic Kalmyks living in the USSR at the time were deported to Siberia after Joseph Stalin accused them of Axis collaboration. Soon afterwards Kalmykia was dissolved as a separate entity and the Soviet government redistributed its districts between neighboring regions such as Astrakhan Oblast and Stavropol Krai.[2]