Elista
| Elista (English) Элиста (Russian) Элст (Kalmyk) |
|
|---|---|
| — Inhabited locality — | |
 A public chess set at Elista town center |
|
.svg.png) Location of the Republic of Kalmykia in Russia |
|
  Elista
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
_(2004).png) |
.png) |
| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Kalmykia |
| Administrative center of | Kalmykia |
| Municipal status | |
| Urban okrug | Elista Urban Okrug |
| Leader | Radiy Burulov |
| Statistics | |
| Population (2002 Census) | 104,254 inhabitants[1] |
| - Rank | 153 |
| Population (2008) | 102,657 inhabitants |
| Time zone | MSK/MSD (UTC+3/+4) |
| Founded | 1865 |
| Previous names | Elista (until 1944), Stepnoy (until 1957) |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 84722 |
Elista (Russian: Эли́ста or Элиста́[2]; Kalmyk: Элст, Elst) is the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. The population is 104,254 (2002 Census).[1]
Contents |
History
Elista was founded in 1865 as a small settlement; the name is from Kalmyk els(e)n 'sand(y).'[3] 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.
Some western tourists started to visit Elista from the mid 1990s, and more after it received publicity as the host city of the 1998 Chess Olympiad. The city is safe and has little traffic. One visitor complained that there was no McDonalds restaurant in Elista,[4] although others have seen this as part of its semi-rural charm. On the outskirts of Elista, there are vast grasslands inhabited by many wild (and domestic) camels.
Features
Since 1991, the town has been characterized by the slow decay of Soviet-built institutions, 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 the Buddha. To the east of the town lies the Olympic village of the 1998 XXXIII Chess Olympiad, known locally as "City-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.
During his visit in 1998, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama chose a location west of the town center to build a new Buddhist temple for city residents. It was opened in December 2005.
Transportation
Elista has a small regional airport which is open daily during the week, providing flights to Moscow and various cities in the southern part of the Russian Federation. The airport was closed by the federal aviation authorities sometime in the fall of 2006, but was reopened sometime in 2007. The flight between Elista and Moscow takes around 2 hours. On days the airport is closed, travelers can use the airports in Rostov-na-Donu or Volgograd; getting to either city takes around 4 hours by taxi or 5 – 6 hours by bus.
Rail connections are available to Rostov-na-Donu and Stavropol.
Due to the high cost of air travel, people usually prefer to take the bus between Elista and Moscow. The trip is approximately 18 hours and makes several rest stops along the route.
Within Elista itself, a network of about a dozen marshrutka (minibus) routes is run by private companies. Each journey costs 8 roubles. Minibuses are available around every five minutes. This is the preferred option of most Kalmykians because of the minimal cost.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Elista is twinned with the following sister cities.
See also
- Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery
- Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume
Photo gallery
 Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery |
 The Golden Temple |
 Monument to victims of the December 1943 deportation, by Ernst Neizvestny |
 Elista's Chess City |
External links
- Elista on Google Maps
- http://www.elista.org
- http://www.bumbinorn.ru
- http://www.freekalmykia.org
- http://r08.info/elista.php (RU version)
- Live webcam from the Lenin Square
- Elista city places of interest
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://perepis2002.ru/ct/html/TOM_01_04_1.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ↑ "Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. Москва и Санкт-Петербург, 1997, стр. 1402
- ↑ Е. М. Поспелов. "Географические названия мира", Москва, 1998, стр. 480
- ↑ Kalder. Lost Cosmonaut, p75.
- ↑ Flags-Kalmykia
- ↑ Lhasa city guide
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
