[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 8, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RESOLUTION ON KALMYK SETTLEMENT IN AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 8, 2001

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a 
resolution congratulating the Kalmyk people in the United States on the 
fiftieth anniversary of their settlement in this country. The 
resolution also encourages continuing scholarly and educational 
exchanges between the Russian Federation and the United States to 
encourage better understanding and appreciation of the Kalmyk people 
and their contributions to the history and culture of both countries.
  The Kalmyks were originally an ethnic Mongolian nomadic people who 
have inhabited the Russian steppes for around 400 years. The present 
Kalmyk Republic of the Russian Federation is located north of the 
Caspian sea in southern Russia. During World War II, the Kalmyk people 
were one of the seven ``punished peoples'' exiled en masse by Stalin to 
``special settlements'' in Siberia and Central Asia for allegedly 
collaborating with the Nazis. There were about 170,000 deportees. After 
World War II, several hundred Kalmyks who managed to escape the Soviet 
Union were held in Displaced Persons camps in Germany. For several 
years, they were not allowed to emigrate to the United States because 
of prejudice against their Mongolian ethnicity.
  However, on July 28, 1951, the Attorney General of the United States 
issued a ruling which cleared the way for the Kalmyk people in the 
Displaced Persons camps in Germany to enter the United States. In the 
fifty years since their arrival, the Kalmyk emigres and their 
descendants have survived and prospered. Moreover, they are the first 
community of Tibetan Buddhists to settle in the United States. While 
adapting to much of America's diverse and modern culture, the Kalmyk 
have also sought to preserve their own unique traditions. Many continue 
to practice the Tibetan Buddhist religion.
  Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kalmyk community of the 
United States has been able to re-establish contact with the Kalmyk 
people in the Russian Federation. For the past ten years, a wide 
exchange has been developed between relatives, students and 
professionals.
  Mr. Speaker, our country is so much richer for the presence of our 
Kalmyk-American citizens. I urge my colleagues to join me and my 
colleagues Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Wamp, and Mr. 
Hastings, in congratulating the Kalmyk-American community on the 
fiftieth anniversary of their settlement in the United States by 
cosponsoring and supporting this resolution.

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