Elista (English) Элиста (Russian) Элст (Kalmyk) |
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Views of Elista |
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Location of the Republic of Kalmykia in Russia |
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Administrative status (as of June 2011) | |
Country | Russia |
Federal subject | Republic of Kalmykia |
Administratively subordinated to | City of Elista |
Capital of | Republic of Kalmykia |
Administrative center of | City of Elista |
Municipal status (as of June 2012) | |
Urban okrug | Elista Urban Okrug |
Administrative center of | Elista Urban Okrug |
Leader | Vyacheslav Namruyev |
Statistics | |
Population (2010 Census) | 103,749 inhabitants |
- Rank in 2010 | 156th |
Time zone | MSK (UTC+03:00) |
Founded | 1865 |
Previous names |
Elista (until 1944), Stepnoy (until 1957) |
Dialing code(s) | +7 84722 |
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Elista (Russian: Элиста; IPA: [əˈlʲistə] or [əlʲɪˈsta];Kalmyk: Элст, Elst) is the capital city of the Republic of Kalmykia, Russia. Population: 103,749 (2010 Census);104,254 (2002 Census);89,695 (1989 Census).
Elista was founded in 1865 as a small settlement; the name is from Kalmyk els(e)n "sand(y)". In November 1920, Elista became the administrative center of Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast. By the early 1930s, Elista was transformed into a small city as the collectivization policies of Joseph Stalin forced many Kalmyks to abandon their traditional pastoral nomadic lifestyle in exchange for a modern, sedentary, and urban lifestyle. In October 1935, Elista was recognized as the capital of the Kalmyk ASSR.
On December 27, 1943, the Kalmyk ASSR was dissolved and its ethnic Kalmyk residents were forcibly exiled to Siberia. Russian people were brought in to repopulate Elista whose name was changed to Stepnoy (Степно́й). It was called Stepnoy until 1957, when the survivors of the deportations were allowed to return from exile.