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People group profile · PG000914

The Kalmyk-Oirats of the Russian Federation

The Kalmyk-Oirats of the Russian Federation, numbering about 183,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Russia; a dialect subgroup of Kalmyk-Oirat (xal).

They are an indigenous people in the Mongolian people cluster of the East Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Tibetan Buddhism, and they primarily speak Kalmyk.

Pray for the Kalmyk-OiratsPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Kalmyk-Oirats people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Kalmyk-Oirat

Fast facts

Country
Russian Federation
Population
183,000
Affinity group
Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
People cluster
Mongolian
Primary language
Kalmyk (xal)
Primary religion
Tibetan Buddhism
Strategic Progress Index
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
GSEC
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Eastern Europe, Europe

Where they live

Gospel status

The Kalmyk-Oirats are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

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

Primary religion

Tibetan Buddhism · Buddhism

70% adherents

Primary language

Kalmyk · Mongolic-Khitan family

90% speak Kalmyk

Gospel resources in Kalmyk

  • Bible available, published 2009
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Kalmyk-Oirats

  1. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
  2. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
  3. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  4. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.

Download a prayer guide

Oirat, Western Mongul in other countries

The same people (ROP3 107607) is reported in 5 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
Kalmyk-OiratsMongolia191,000Unengaged and Unreached
Kok Nur OiratChina105,000Engaged yet Unreached
Kalmyk-OiratsKyrgyzstan8,200Unengaged and Unreached
OiratUnited States1,900Engaged yet Unreached
Kalmyk-OiratsUzbekistan1,000Unengaged and Unreached

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