Some Aspects of Livestock Breeding Traditions and Ethnic Entrepreneurship in Kalmykia
The article examines some issues connected with livestock breeding traditions and present-day ethnic entrepreneurship in Kalmykia. It analyzes ethnic entrepreneurial experiences of Kalmyk expatriates in European countries during the 1920-1930s in relation to the traditional handicrafts typical for Kalmyk nomads. The paper also discusses ethnic entrepreneurial activities of the migrants who have been engaged in camel breeding practices (already lost by the natives) in the territory of Kalmykia in the 21st century. The fact that the resettled individuals were representatives of the same ethnic group and interest displayed by the host society erased any would-be boundaries between the migrants and the surrounding population, since many Kalmyks visited the newly arrived ones inquiring about common paternal origins and background (Kalm. yasun - ‘bone'). Most important for the host community were the camel breeding practices and experiences they could obtain from the migrants, while the newly arrived Oirats of Mongolia were basically interested in decent wages, conversance with the akin culture of the Kalmyks, and Russian language learning opportunities for the children. The traditional occupations of the Kalmyks determined the priority trends in their ethnic entrepreneurship in the fi rst third of the 20th century; nowadays the republic requires specialists with corresponding nomadic experiences lost during the Soviet era. But currently the qualifi ed-manpower requirements and the vacant niche are not well enough to guarantee suffi cient conditions within the receiving community.