Elista (Russian: Эли́ста, but also Элиста́) is the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia, an autonomous republic of the Russian Federation. Population (2002): 109,900.

History

Founded in 1865, Elista has a town status since 1930. In 1944, the entire population of the republic was deported to Siberia. Russian people were brought in to repopulate the town and the name was changed to Stepnoy (Степно́й) until 1957, when survivors of the deportations were allowed to return.

Features

Since 1991, the town has been characterized by the slow decay of Soviet-built instutions (University professors are paid only 800 rubles a month, about 25 euro), and the large construction projects instigated by the republic's millionaire president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

The town center has a number of renovated public parks focused on the main square, boasting statues to both Lenin and Buddha. To the east of the town lies the Olympic village of the 1998 XXXIII Chess Olympiad, known locally as "Citi-chess". The site has a public swimming pool and an excellent museum of Kalmyk Buddhist art, and is also infrequently used as a conference center. A large new Buddhist temple, of which location was chosen by the Dalai Lhama during a visit in 1998, stands to the west.

Transportation

The town has a small airport, a rail link to Rostov-na-Donu, and daily bus routes to Volgograd (6 hours) and Moscow (18 hours). Within the town a network of a dozen or so minibus routes are run by private companies. A single journey costs 5 Roubles.