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Elista is the capital of Kalmykia and the largest city of the
republic. It is located in the very center of the Kalmyk steppes,
1250 km southeast of Moscow. Being the center of Kalmyk Buddhism,
Elista allows you to plunge into the Buddhist atmosphere without
leaving Europe.
The name Elista comes from Kalm. Elst is
sandy. In 1865, a migrant peasant from the Voronezh province, Stepan
Kiykov, built the first dwelling on the banks of the Elistinka
River. Over time, for nomadic Kalmyks, this place became a
convenient transit point on the way from Stavropol to Astrakhan, the
largest livestock fair in the South was held here. In the 1920s, the
Kalmyks received their own autonomous region, and Elista became its
capital.
On December 28, 1943, the Kalmyks were deported to
Kazakhstan and Siberia. For 14 years, Kalmykia as a region did not
exist: the Kalmyk Autonomous Okrug was disbanded, the districts were
transferred to neighboring regions, and Elista was renamed the city
of Stepnoy. The development of the city began only in 1957, when
Khrushchev rehabilitated the Kalmyks and allowed them to return to
their native places, and gave the city its former name. In honor of
Nikita Sergeevich, a large street was named in Elista, and in
general, Khrushchev enjoys the greatest respect among Kalmyks among
historical figures. December 28 of each year in Kalmykia is a day of
mourning, a national holiday.
In the early 1990s, the Kalmyk
Autonomous Okrug turns into a republic, and the eccentric Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov, known for his claims of contacts with aliens and his
passionate love of chess, becomes its president. Ilyumzhinov made
chess a compulsory subject in Elista schools and in 1998 (at that
time being not only the president of Kalmykia, but also the
president of FIDE) was able to achieve the holding of the Chess
Olympiad in Elista. The international tournament significantly
transformed the city: an “Olympic village” was built on the
outskirts - the City of Chess, and numerous city sculptures on the
theme of chess, Buddhism and Kalmyk culture appeared on the streets.
They can be called unsophisticated, but they are all made of
sandstone in the same style, which allows us to talk about a single
urban sculptural ensemble.
Modern Elista is trying to
position itself as the center of European Buddhism and the center of
chess, and both Buddhism and chess here are not an exotic picture
for visitors (there are almost no tourists here), but part of the
everyday life of the townspeople. In the middle of a typical panel
sleeping area, you can find a Buddhist stupa, on the gates of
private houses hang ki-meriins - “horses of the wind”, and
pagoda-shaped arbors in the park have tables lined like chessboards.
In good weather, they are all occupied by gloomy Kalmyks of a
completely proletarian appearance, immersed in the analysis of the
next party.
Orientation
Elista is a small city: you can
walk from end to end in an hour, although most of this route will
pass through a boring private sector with unpronounceable names of
streets like Solng and Setkl. The main street of the city - st.
Lenin, the main sights are located on it, including khurul Altn
Sume, it stands out noticeably against the background of low-rise
buildings. There is no full-fledged pedestrian street in Elista, it
is Lenin Square and the section of Yulia Neiman Street adjacent to
the market.
Outside of Lenin Street, Elistin residents are
guided by microdistricts: although almost every street has its own
name, in everyday life and when ordering a taxi, the microdistrict
number is used instead of streets. The city of chess on the
southeastern outskirts of Elista stands out from the image of a
typical Soviet building: rows of cottages would be more suitable for
American suburbia if they did not offer a view of the scorched
Kalmyk steppe.
Language
Kalmyks make up a significant
majority in Elista, but the native language of urban Kalmyks is
Russian. Elista is one of those national capitals where local speech
can be heard only in the national theater.
By plane
For 2019, Azimuth Airlines operates
flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg, one flight every day.
1 Elista Airport (IATA:ESL) (5 km north of the city). ☎ +7
(937) 46-950-50. You should not expect modern infrastructure from
this airport: it opens about two hours before the first flight and
stops shortly after the last one departs.
By train
A
single-track non-electrified line from Svetlograd leads to Elista.
Until the mid-2000s, a passenger-and-freight train ran from
Stavropol, which took half a day to overcome 300 km of the steppes.
It is not surprising that such a train was not popular, and the
passenger service was canceled. In the bright future, it is planned
to build the Volgograd-Stavropol line through Elista.
2 Railway station (on the northern outskirts of the city). The
railway station does not operate, but the Russian Railways ticket
offices work. Another room is occupied by the ticket office and the
waiting room of the bus station. Don't miss the magnificent mosaic
panel on the facade, where a Kalmyk in national dress points to a
satellite flying into the sky.
By bus
Compared to other
regional capitals, bus service to Elista is very weak. From
Volgograd and Stavropol 3-4 buses per day, from Rostov and Astrakhan
- one each (both night). Most buses to Moscow: at least 6-8 flights
per day from four different carriers.
Apart from suburban
communication with Kalmyk villages, the Elista bus station does not
have routes of its own formation, all interregional buses pass
through. This means, among other things, that a ticket from Elista
can only be bought upon the arrival of a passing bus or, at best,
half an hour before. Those who want to leave by bus take a queue at
the ticket office in the morning, and those who do not want to turn
to taxi drivers near the bus station. A taxi to the nearest regional
centers can be bargained for 1,000 rubles per person (2019), which
is slightly more expensive than a bus ticket, but noticeably faster
and more comfortable.
The Elista bus station occupies a room
in the building of the railway station. There are no signboards or
pointers to the bus station: go under the mosaic panel following the
“Police” sign, and you will suddenly find yourself not in the
station, but in a tiny room with a bench and one cash desk window.
If you're lucky, the cashier will be there.
By car
Federal
roads pass through Elista: P22 Elista - Volgograd, Elista -
Makhachkala, P216 Stavropol - Elista - Astrakhan, Elista - Arzgir -
Mineralnye Vody, Elista - Repair - Zimovniki.
Elista is
located at approximately the same distance from Volgograd, Stavropol
and Astrakhan - about 300 km in each direction. It is 460 km to
Rostov, more than 500 km to Makhachkala. Roads are good in all
directions, but there are practically no branded gas stations in the
steppe: calculate the fuel supply so that it is enough for the next
major city.
The main city transport is fixed-route taxis, they go
to all parts of the city and at short intervals. You may need minibuses
to the station square and number 7 to the City of Chess. The fare is 15
rubles in cash, and you pay not to the driver, but to his assistant, who
announces stops and collects fees from passengers. If no one gets off at
the next few stops, the driver can change the route by cutting off a
couple of blocks - a real taxi. Many drivers give three brief signals at
the entrance to the bus stop, so you will not miss your minibus either
in the dark or in a snowstorm.
A taxi from the center to the
outskirts will cost 100-150 rubles, the aggregators "Maxim" and
"Yandex-Taxi" are working.
There are almost no historical buildings in the city,
the most remarkable of them is the pre-war building of the Rodina
cinema. The charm of Elista is in small forms. Almost every element of
the urban environment is made either in national Kalmyk or general
Buddhist motifs: lanterns, pipes, a bus stop with a “floating roof”. In
the absence of significant architectural sights, many small details and
small urban sculpture form an ethnic flavor, and in terms of the depth
of its manifestation, Elista is ahead of many other national capitals.
1 Buddhist khurul Altn Süme (Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni) ,
st. Yu. Klykova, 63. ☎ +7 (84722) 4-00-10. 08:00–20:00. The main khurul
of Elista and the largest Buddhist temple in Europe, built in 2005. The
seven-story building on a high artificial embankment is the main
high-rise dominant of Elista, visible from almost anywhere in the city.
The Kalmyk word "khurul" comes from the expression "enclosed place", and
indeed, the fence here is not simple: 108 sections, each of which is
crowned with a small snow-white suburgan. The architectural ensemble
includes 17 pagodas, inside which there are sculptures of figures of
Buddhist teachings with brief information about each teacher. The main,
most solemn gates are located on the south side (from Klykov Street),
from them a staircase with a cascade of fountains and the deity of
wealth Kubera at the very top leads to the entrance to the temple. Above
the main entrance is the obligatory wheel of teaching and a pair of
gazelles, bells hang from the eaves, the ringing of which should spread
the Buddhist teachings around the world.
On the ground floor
there is a small museum of the history of Buddhism. On the second level
- the main prayer hall (durgan) with a majestic nine-meter statue of
Buddha Shakyamuni (also the largest in Europe). The upper floors house
the administration of the head of the Kalmyk Buddhists and even the
Dalai Lama's private quarters: of course, the Dalai Lama does not live
in Elista, but he is always welcome here.
2 Buddhist temple
Syakyusn-Sume (Holy abode of theory and practice of the Gelug school).
Khurul is located just behind the southern bypass, in the middle of the
steppe, about 5 km from the city center. This is the first khurul of
modern Elista, the question of its construction was raised in the late
1980s. It was assumed that the khurul would become the center of
spiritual education, and this required a sufficiently large area for the
construction of educational buildings - therefore, a place was allocated
for it outside the city limits. With spiritual education, things never
got better, and after the opening in the mid-2000s of the main khurul in
the center of the city of Syakyusn-Sume, it finally turned into a
supernumerary temple, not popular with either locals or visitors.
However, it is precisely this unpopularity that allows you to calmly
walk around the territory and spin kurbe - prayer drums - in silence.
The temple is not open every day (probably only on Buddhist holidays).
According to reviews, caretakers treat any visitors cordially, treat
them with tea and unobtrusively talk about Buddhism.
3 Monument
"Exodus and Return" , st. Khrushchev. A slightly insane memorial by
Ernst Neizvestny to commemorate the deportation of the Kalmyks. It
stands on the outskirts of the city (in the future, the steppe to the
horizon) and consists of two parts - the actual stele-monument and a
heating wagon (these deportees were sent to Central Asia), where along
the rails there are 14 gravestones according to the number of years of
exile. The car houses a tiny museum called "Repressed, but not broken"
with things brought by Kalmyks from exile, and a local eccentric poet
works as a caretaker of the museum. In addition to the story about the
horrors of deportation, there are extremely mediocre poems in the
author's performance, so you can safely bypass the trailer and climb to
the main sculpture on a high embankment. It is not clear whether this
was the author's idea, but at the top of the sculpture one wants to cry
- not from emotions, but from the incessant steppe wind, which in an
open place seems to blow from all directions at once. However, this is
one of the highest points in the city and a wonderful observation deck.
4 Sculpture "Echo" (corner of Lenin and Yulia Neiman streets).
Dombrist, or rather, dzhangarchi, with a hole in his chest. Apparently,
the hole should mean that his soul is invested in the dombra, but among
the people this monument is called "a man without a heart."
5
Holy Cross Church, St. Sergius of Radonezh, 97. The oldest building in
Elista. Initially, there was a church school built in 1879 at the
Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The cathedral burned down
even before the revolution, and the school building became the
Exaltation of the Cross Church, which for a long time served as the only
church in Elista. Do not confuse it with the large remodeled Kazan
Cathedral (1997), located on the same site.
6 Old man Keedya,
st. Yulia Neiman, 6. Keedya Yovgn, the Kalmyk analogue of Khoja
Nasreddin, is depicted riding not on a donkey, but on a sheep, which is
really more appropriate in this area.
7 Monument to O.I.
Gorodovikov. The equestrian statue in the northern part of the city is
known as "Oka on a horse" and is dedicated to the most famous Kalmyk
military leader - Budyonny's associate and theorist of cavalry attacks,
General Gorodovikov with the unusual name Oka Ivanovich.
The only green area in the city center has a partially
natural origin: the city was founded right here, in a grove on the banks
of the Elistinka River. The western part of the park still resembles a
grove and looks half-abandoned, while the eastern part, adjacent to
Lenin Square, is one of the few public spaces in Elista: a well-groomed
park with benches, lanterns and open Wi-Fi.
8 Memorial of
Heroes. One of the most unusual war memorials in the country: it
combines the traditional pathos of honoring war heroes and national
identity. Behind the ordinary burner of the Eternal Flame is a powerful
red sandstone high relief with characteristic Kalmyk faces, and on the
side wall, as is usually done in military memorials, there is a
dedication to the fallen. But these are not hackneyed phrases about an
immortal feat and not quotes from the classics of Marxism-Leninism, but
the following words:
“We will betray our lives to the tip of the
spear, we will devote our passions to our native state, we will bare our
breasts and take out our hearts, and we will give our blood for the
people to the end!”
This is a phrase from "Dzhangar", the national
Kalmyk epic, and "native state" refers to the mythical country of Bumba,
the Kalmyk analogue of Shambhala.
9 Panel "Blossom, Kalmykia!".
Beautiful mosaic at the western entrance to the park.
10 Spring of
Bortkh. The damming of the spring, next to which Elista's first houses
were built in the 1860s, is decorated in the form of a borkhi, a
traditional Kalmyk flask for koumiss. The flask is designed in such a
way that a few drops of koumiss with a characteristic microflora always
remain in the side pockets. If fresh milk is poured into an empty flask,
it will turn into koumiss.
11 Monument to Dzhangarchi Eelyan Ovla.
Eelyan Ovla occupies approximately the same place in Kalmyk folklore as
Elias Lennrot in Finnish - he is the first person to systematize and
write down the national epic "Dzhangar". Pay attention to the panel
behind the back of the performer.
12 Sculpture "White Old Man".
Tsagan Aava or the White Elder is the patron of all living things in
pre-Buddhist Oirat mythology. The elder is so revered by the Kalmyks
that he had to be included in the official Buddhist pantheon of the
Gelug school. On the monument, the elder is surrounded by a saiga and an
eagle - representatives of the steppes, and the staff is crowned with
the head of a sea monster. It remains only to understand where the sea
monster came from in the mythology of the steppe people.
13 Buddha
statue. One of the first official Buddhist-themed statues in the city
(1995). The complex also includes the Boy and the Dragon fountain, and
the dragon is not fought, but the boy helps him fly to heaven.
14
Golden Gate. The gate, made in the traditions of Buddhist architecture,
is the main entrance to the headquarters, a symbol of the sacred
threshold, a symbol of goodness and prosperity, personifying the
beginning, strength and power. On the frame of the gate there are
twenty-eight paintings illustrating the history and life of Kalmykia.
Lenin Square, popularly called simply the Pagoda, is
the center of the city life of Elista. This is probably the most
non-standard Lenin Square in the country: opposite the monument to the
leader, there is a Buddhist pagoda, and between them on the ground is a
huge chessboard. Such an eclectic set symbolizes the complex history of
Kalmykia well: the pagoda reflects the Asian nomadic heritage, Lenin -
Soviet Kalmykia, and chess - modern.
15 Seven Days Pagoda. The
pagoda is named after the number of tiers symbolizing the cycle of life.
Inside there is a traditional kurde prayer wheel, on which the most
famous Buddhist mantra, “Om mani padme hum”, is written in Sanskrit,
Tibetan and Old Kalmyk languages. Try to look at the pagoda at dusk: the
evening illumination makes it the most beautiful building in the city.
16 Chessboard. A field of black and white granite slabs measuring 5x5
meters. From spring to autumn, half-meter plastic figures stand on the
field, anyone can play with them.
17 Three Lotus Fountain. The lotus
flower in Buddhism is a symbol of enlightenment and purity. The fountain
consists of three pillars ending in lotus bowls.
18 House of Soviets,
st. Pushkina, 11. The constructivist building was built in 1928-32
according to the project of Ilya Golosov and Boris Mittelman for the
regional party committee. During the war, the house was badly damaged
and was restored only in the 1960s, now it is occupied by the Kalmyk
State University.
19 Rodina cinema building , st. Pushkin, 18A. The
graceful post-constructivist building was built in 1938 as a cinema, on
two pylons there were originally statues of a worker and an athlete. Now
the cinema is still open, but other cultural events are also held here.
20 Monument to Lenin. Lenin Square would be incomplete without a
monument to the leader, especially since Ilyich had Kalmyk roots. Lenin
does not indicate with his hand the bright path to Buddhism, but, on the
contrary, keeps his hands in his pockets and seems to be shivering from
the steppe wind. The pedestal is also unusual: cylindrical with a
national ornament. Initially, the monument stood closer to Lenin Street,
but after the statue of Buddha was installed nearby, it turned out that
the leader of the world proletariat had his back to the Buddha - this
angered both the communists and the Buddhists. Lenin was turned around
so that he looked at the Buddha, and after the construction of the Seven
Days Pagoda, he was moved deeper into the square.
21 South gate. The
southern entrance to the square is decorated with a Buddhist-style
triumphal arch. The arch marks the 200th anniversary of the capture of
Paris by the Russian army, which also included Kalmyk units. According
to an urban legend, when the project for the arch was being discussed,
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov proposed depicting the entry of Kalmyks into Paris on
camels.
22 Monument to A.S. Pushkin. The southwestern part of the
square is occupied by a small Pushkin square with a monument to the
poet. On the parapet behind the statue are all the moments from his work
where the Kalmyks are mentioned: this is not only a phrase from the
"Monument" about a friend of the steppes, but also less well-known
quotes.
The city of chess, also known by the clumsy name of
City-Chess (and jokingly - New Vasyuki), was specially built for the
33rd Chess Olympiad in 1998. The area consists of neat rows of
two-three-story cottages on quiet green streets. Participants of the
Olympiad lived in the cottages, and now they are rented by the day: in
fact, the entire City of Chess, with the exception of several
administrative buildings and restaurants, is a three-star hotel
distributed throughout the district. Only the consulate of Mongolia is
permanently stationed here. Kalmyks say that Ostap Bender's dream came
true in the City of Chess, although it is more appropriate to say that
this is the embodiment of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's dream. There is a barrier
at the entrance to the City of Chess, entrance to the territory with
passes or with a hotel reservation. You can leave the car at the
barrier, here is the final minibus number 7.
23 Monument to
Ostap Bender, O. Bender Ave. Since Vasyuki from the “12 Chairs” is quite
seriously called the prototype of the City of Chess, it is not
surprising that not far from the entrance to the city there is a
monument to Bender on the avenue named after him. The great strategist
is depicted as he was played by Archil Gomiashvili, he holds a chess
piece in his hands, and there are chairs around. Real size chairs, you
can sit on them.
24 Stupa of Enlightenment, O. Bender Ave., 7A.
Enlightenment is the purpose of the stupa, and this particular stupa has
its own name: Monlam Tamched Drupa (performing all prayers). Don't miss
the room at the base of the stupa, painted by a master of Tibetan
painting: on the walls you can see not only the Buddha, but also the
green Vajrapani, the bird-man Garuda and other Buddhist characters.
25 Chess Palace, 19 City-Chess microdistrict. The geographical and
public center of the "City of Chess" is a strange-looking building made
of glass and concrete: in theory, it should be stylized as a Kalmyk
wagon, but you can guess about it only by reading it in the guidebook .
Chess tournaments are held here, on the ground floor there is a chess
museum, and in the lobby there are public chess boards, Elistinians come
here to play.
26 Sculpture "The Birth of a Pawn", City-Chess
microdistrict, 4/1. As you know, pawns turn into other figures, but this
is where the pawns themselves come from, explains this sculpture by the
Tuvan master M. Mongush. It turns out that the pawn hatches from an egg
- a symbol of samsara in Buddhism, where breaking the shell means
enlightenment. However, this plot will remind someone of a scene from
the movie "Alien
Theaters
1 National Drama Theatre. Baatra
Basangova Wikidata item , st. Aksena Suseeva, 21. Performances by
Kalmyk playwrights in Russian and Kalmyk languages.
2 Russian Drama
and Comedy Theatre, st. M. Gorky, 23. He stood out from the Russian
troupe of the theater. Basangov to an independent institution.
3
Dance Theater of Kalmykia "Oirats", st. Lenina, 201A. The repertoire
includes Kalmyk dance art and dances of other peoples.
Museums
4 National Museum of Kalmykia Wikidata Element, st. Dzhangara, 9.
Tue–Fri 09:00–18:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–16:00, break 13:00–14:00. 100 ₽. The
historical and everyday collection is quite modest (the most interesting
thing here is the collection of traditional Japanese clothes), but the
Buddhist section is interesting: tanks (Buddhist icons), sculptures,
amulets.
5 Museum of Oirat-Mongolian nomadic culture, Ave. Bendera,
1. 9:00–18:00. The museum claims that here you can immerse yourself in
the life of nomads, although the immersion is rather arbitrary: two
yurts with a simple set of clothes and household items. You can shoot
from a bow.
6 Museum of Chess. Talya, microdistrict. City-Chess, 19
(in the building of the Palace of Chess). 9:00–18:00, break 13:00–14:00,
days off – formally Monday and Tuesday, informally – all public
holidays. Exposition on the history of chess, chess trophies and
personal awards of Mikhail Tal.
Purchases
The national Kalmyk material is felt, and
not only from sheep, but also from camel wool. Felt rugs and slippers
are popular as souvenirs, and the most Kalmyk item is a road chess board
(in Kalmyk - shatrin betk) made of felt. You can buy a lancer zala, a
red tassel, an element of traditional Kalmyk men's clothing that local
drivers hang near the windshield: both a talisman and a symbol of
national identity.
1 Souvenir shop, st. Lenin, 249.
2 Souvenir shop, st. Gubarevich 16.
3 Supermarket Pyaterochka, st.
Yuri Klykov, 87A. Large supermarket in the eastern part of the center.
Kalmyk cuisine is specific and varied, but of all the
variety, only jomba is widely consumed - Kalmyk tea with butter, salt
and spices. Jomba is served everywhere, even as part of a business
lunch, but other national dishes will have to be looked for. The taste
of jomba is not for everyone: someone likes it from the first sip, and,
for example, Pushkin, who loved the Kalmyks so much, wrote about Kalmyk
tea: “I don’t think that the kitchen of any people could produce
anything disgusting” .
1 Chipollino , st. Lenina, 255A.
09:00–23:00. One of the few places open on Sunday. The menu includes
Kalmyk and European dishes, breakfasts, pasta, but it may happen that
there will be no Kalmyk dishes. Average quality business lunches. Slow
service.
2 Village, st. Pushkina, 18B (southern part of Lenin
Square). 11:00–24:00. Hot: from 250 rubles. European cuisine without a
hint of national flavor - but it works seven days a week and until late.
Delicious homemade lemonades, quiet music.
3 Chaikofsky, st. Lenina,
247B. 09:00–21:00. Cappuccino: 90 rubles Microcoffee shop with a couple
of tables: tea, coffee, a couple of types of cakes without hot. The
coffee is not bad, but in Elista there is generally a small selection of
coffee shops.
4 Marmalade, st. Lenina, 256 (to the left of khurul).
11:00–22:00. Cafe with national and international cuisine: apparently
focused on office workers and khurul visitors. Formally, it works until
22:00, in fact, in the evening and on Sunday there may be no food.
5
Tomiko, st. Pushkina, 3A, bldg. 1. ☎ +7 (905) 484‒18‒88. 11:00–24:00.
According to reviews, the most delicious rolls and pizza in the city.
6 Sushi master pizza , st. Kirov, 1 (park "Friendship"). 11:00–24:00.
The menu includes not only sushi and pizza, but also barbecue, salads,
hamburgers. Open on Sundays, there is a children's menu.
7 Canteen
"Ice", at. Pushkina, 22. Mon–Fri 09:00–19:00. Modern dining room, good
reviews.
1 Alfa Hotel, 5th Microdistrict, 7B (Railway Station
Square). ☎ +7 (905) 409-82-22. Double room: from 1200 rubles. A hotel on
the forecourt, some distance from the center: you will have to go to the
sights by car or by minibus, but the prices are lower than the average
for the city. Freshly renovated, there is a kettle in the room, a cooler
in the corridor, fast Wi-Fi, friendly staff.
2 Hostel "Tulip", st.
Victory, 1b. ☎ +7 (84722) 3-55-97. Hostel in the depths of the private
sector. Guests complain about the stingy environment: there is no closet
or shelf in the room.
3 Hotel "Asia", st. Khrushchev, 6A. ☎ +7 (961)
549-50-30. Good reviews, own yard, quiet place, visitors praise
breakfasts.
4 Chance Hotel, 6th microdistrict, 2A. ☎ +7 (927)
593-99-00. Crockery, tea, sugar in the room. Fast Wi-Fi, breakfast
included.
5 Hotel "Island", st. Republican, 14 (on the outskirts of
the central market). ☎ +7 (917) 688-42-48. Mini-hotel with 5 rooms. Good
reviews, the price includes a meager breakfast of porridge and tea.
6 Hotel "Elista", st. Balakaeva, 5, building. 3. ☎ +7 (961) 396-46-07.
A hotel from the times of the USSR, which at the very least survived to
our time. It seems to be the only place in town where you can get a
breakfast buffet, but the reviews say it's cold in the rooms.
7 Hotel complex "City of Chess" , microdistrict City-Chess, 18. ☎ +7
(961) 395-29-55. The complex is not new, some infrastructure could do
with repairs, but all this is compensated by the steppe atmosphere,
especially at night. The steppe begins almost outside the window, hares
and other animals run into the territory.
Mobile communications in Elista are provided by MTS, MegaFon, Beeline and Smarts. The telephone code of the city is 84722.
The semi-desert climate causes strong temperature
fluctuations: in summer, after sunset, it can sharply, by 15-20 degrees,
get colder.
The part of Pyurbeev Street, adjacent to Lenin
Street, is called Drunk Street because of the large number of cereal
establishments. Young people especially come here in search of
adventure. The song of one Elista performer says that before visiting
Drunken Street, it is worth getting a bulletproof vest and an
immortality spell.
The village was founded in 1865. The name of the
village is given by the hydronym of the Elista River (also known as
"Elistinka"), which is based on the Kalmyk elsn (elsen) - "sand, sandy".
Since 1930, the village received the status of the city of Elista.
After the deportation of the Kalmyks and the liquidation of the Kalmyk
ASSR, on May 25, 1944, by decree No. 129 of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR, Elista was renamed the city of "Stepnoy". In 1957,
the original name "Elista" was restored.
In 1845, the Russian Emperor Nicholas I issued a decree on the
afforestation of the Kalmyk steppe. The first plantings were made by
the forest department in 1853 in the south of Yergeni and in the
Elista gully. To increase the area of forest plantations, labor was
needed, so the forest department petitioned the Ministry of State
Property to organize the settlement of the Elista forest plantation.
The Kumo-Many scientific expedition led by the scientist
Kostenkov in 1859-1861 outlined 15 places for the formation of
settlements along the Crimean tract between the Krestovskaya station
and Astrakhan, including in the Elista gully.
Before the
formation of the first settlement, the Kalmyks who roamed the Manych
arranged their camps in the Elista gully. The Kalmyks called this
place Elsta (Kalm. sandy) because the entire left northern slope of
the ravine was loose sand. This name was attached to the village
that arose here. The founder of Elista is the former Russian serf
Stepan Prokopyevich Kiykov, who, on the advice of the Kalmyk Bola,
built the first dugout in the Elista-Sale gully in the spring of
1862. By the autumn of 1865, there were 15 households in the
village. This year is considered the year of foundation of the city.
Elista was widely known for the largest livestock fairs in the
Kalmyk steppe.
Administratively, the village belonged to the
Krestovsky volost of the Chernoyarsky district of the Astrakhan
province. Subsequently, it became the center of the Elista volost.
In 1907, Elista became the center of the Manychsky ulus of the
Kalmyk steppe of the Astrakhan province. The building of the ulus
administration, a boarding school, and a hospital were built. In
1912, a telegraph line was connected from the village of Remontnoye.
In February 1918, Soviet power was established. On November 4,
1920, a decree was issued on the creation of the Autonomous Region
of the Kalmyk people. Temporarily, the authorities and
administration of the region were located in Astrakhan.
In
1925, the 5th Congress of Soviets of Kalmykia decided to move the
center of the region to Elista. On April 29, 1926, the All-Russian
Central Executive Committee approves the decision of the congress
and instructs the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR to
provide the Kalmyk Regional Executive Committee with the necessary
assistance in building a new city. It began in 1927, when the
Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR adopted a resolution on
the transfer of the center of the Kalmyk Autonomous Region from
Astrakhan to Elista. Funds were allocated for the construction of
administrative, cultural, household buildings and residential
buildings. On May 27, 1928, in connection with the relocation of all
regional institutions, the grand opening of the work of the plenum
of the regional executive committee took place. On March 10, 1930,
the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided
to transform the village of Elista in the Kalmyk Autonomous Region
into a city, merging it with the city under construction of the same
name.
On August 12, 1942, during the Great Patriotic War, the
city was occupied by Nazi troops. During the occupation, the Soviet
underground and the Kalmyk cavalry corps operated), in the vicinity
- two partisan detachments. At that time, in the suburbs, in the
Gashun gully, the occupying authorities were shooting civilians and
partisans. On September 9, 1942, 600 Jews living in the city were
shot. On December 31, 1942, Elista was liberated by the Red Army.
Retreating, the German troops almost completely burned the city.
On December 28, 1943, the Kalmyk people, along with the peoples
of the Caucasus, were forcibly deported to Siberia, Northern
Kazakhstan and the Far East. In the period from 1943 to 1957, the
Kalmyk ASSR was abolished. On May 25, 1944, by decree No. 129 of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Elista was renamed the
city of Stepnoy and became the center of the Stepnovsky district,
which at first was part of the Astrakhan region, and since 1952 - in
the Stavropol Territory. After the liquidation of the Kalmyk
autonomy and the deportation of the Kalmyks, the city practically
did not recover, being in ruins. As a result, the remaining
inhabitants huddled mainly on the outskirts of the city, in the
so-called village. For 13 years, the House of Soviets (now the main
building of KSU) stood destroyed. Within the city, a collective farm
named after Stalin, a mill and a small dairy factory.
The
active restoration of the capital began only in 1957 after the
debunking of the personality cult of Stalin, the rehabilitation of
the Kalmyks and the decision to restore the Kalmyk autonomy. On
November 6, 1969, a railway station was opened and a railway line to
Divnoye station was put into operation, plants for reinforced
concrete structures, large-panel housing construction and silicate
bricks, and an expanded clay plant began to operate.
In
1970-1980, housing construction continued, new cultural and
educational institutions were opened. During these years, the
Elista-Astrakhan and Elista-Volgograd highways were paved with
asphalt.
In 1990-2000, the construction of monuments and
buildings began, which reflect the cultural tradition of the Kalmyk
people. The city becomes one of the Buddhist centers of Russia.
In 1988, there was a massive outbreak of HIV infection. In 1998
Elista hosted the 33rd World Chess Olympiad. The City-Chess chess
town was built to host the Olympiad. Today, it hosts republican,
all-Russian and international chess competitions, as well as
business and cultural meetings.
The city is located in the southeastern part of the Ergeninskaya Upland. Almost entirely a city in the upper part of the Elista River valley. The source of the river is located in the western part of the city. It crosses the city from west to east, dividing it into two unequal parts: northern (large in area) and southern. The slopes of the valley are dissected by ravines and ravines of the second and third order (Kobylya gully, Gurvn-Sala ravine, etc.). Basically, the southern slope of the Elista gully is steeper, the northern one is more gentle. Altitudes above sea level within the city vary from 211 meters in the area of the TV tower in the western part of the city and 193.5 meters in the area of the Elista railway station to less than 70 meters at the exit of the Elista River outside the city. In general, the hydrographic network of the city is poorly developed and, in addition to the river, is represented by springs, small streams and ponds created on them. The only body of water in the city open for swimming is Kolonsky Pond.
The climate is temperate, sharply continental and is
characterized by low precipitation both in summer (190-225 mm.) and
winter (100-125 mm.), dry air and high temperatures. The Caspian Sea
does not have any impact on the climate. Elista, after Astrakhan and
Volgograd, is the third driest administrative center of the Russian
Federation.
Winters are short, with little snow. The depth of the
snow cover is usually about 10 cm, the maximum is 33 cm. The average
temperature in February is -4.1 ºС. In winter, thaws can be observed,
sharp amplitude fluctuations in temperature, as a result - ice.
Basically, the weather in Elista in winter is characterized by a
temperature of -8 ... -10 ºС, but there are often amplitude fluctuations
in the direction of warming. Sometimes the temperature drops to -20 ºС.
The absolute minimum temperature reaches -34 ... -36 ºС. Spring comes
early and already in May the temperature does not fall below +20 ºС.
The warm period lasts 240-275 days. The features of the climate are
prolonged sunshine, eastern dry winds. In summer, there can be up to 120
days with dry winds. Droughts are very frequent here: 4 out of 10 years
are dry. Average temperature in July: +24.9 ºС, the usual temperature
for July is +35 ºС. The absolute maximum temperatures reach +40…+44
degrees. The growing season (with warm air from +10 degrees) lasts
180-213 days.
Weather conditions in autumn are very warm,
sometimes there are short rains until November. In autumn, very strong,
sometimes even squally winds blow in the city. The annual temperature
range is 80-90 degrees.
Elista, due to its location, receives a
lot of solar radiation. The amount of total solar energy is 115
kcal/cm2. The duration of sunshine is 2180-2250 hours annually.