Exodus and Return (monument)

The monument was unveiled on December 29, 1996 in memory of the deportation of the Kalmyk people in 1943 and the victims of Stalinist repressions. The architect of the monument is S. Kurneev, Ernst Unknown became the sculptor. The monument was cast in bronze in New York , USA .

Every year on December 28 near the monument commemorates the victims of deportation of Kalmyks.

The memorial complex consists of several elements: the Exodus and Returns monument itself, standing on top of the artificially created barrow, railway carriage and memorial tablet. Ascent to the monument is carried out along a spiral path, which clockwise wraps around the mound , repeating the rite of passage around the Buddhist temple of the Hurul.

At the foot of the mound is a railway carriage on which Kalmyks were transported to Siberia . The wagon stands on rails that lead to the mound. On the left side of the rail are 14 granite columns by the number of years (1943-1957), during which the Kalmyk people were in exile. At the end of the rail there is a memorial tablet with an excerpt from a poem by David Kugultinov with the words:

I knew that my people
in the forests of Siberia
I found friends and again strengthened my soul
Among the best Russians
Among the most generous in the world
Sharing with us
And fate and bread.

The height of the monument is 2.74 meters, length - 5, 33 m, width - 2.21 meters. Under the monument is a capsule with earth from places where Kalmyks were exiled.

The monument itself depicts numerous symbols and images :

• The sheep, which is a symbol of patience and meekness, cries over the defeated child;
• Swords and bayonets mean violence;
• Avalokiteshvara has compassion on the people;
• A herd of horses symbolizes the running of time;
• 3 tracks - male, female and childish - indicate a leaving family that meets with ancestors;
• The lotus symbolizes the eternal return. In the lotus is the embryo of the child. This composition means a future return;
• Evil spirits surround the Buddha ;
• Returning to one’s homeland signifies a breakthrough through metal;
• A huge horse represents the power of movement;
• The skull under the hoofs of a horse symbolizes the past, from which the flowers of the present and future grow;
• An embryo sleeps at the center of rotation of the perpetual wheel.

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  Railway carriage

• Calendar of significant and memorable dates for 2016/2016 Җilin onchta рdrmүdin lit , Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Kazakhstan, National Library named after A.M. Amur-Sanana; status V.V. Sangadzhieva; ed. O. E. Argunova; open per ed. N. B. Ulastaev. - Elista, 2015, p. 31
• Pokaninova E. Ernst Unknown: It so happened that I returned to Russia through Kalmykia / Interview with adviser to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan E. Pokaninova about my impressions of the meeting with E. Unknown // Izvestia Kalmykia , 2002, April 11 (No. 74).
• Elista: Dialogue of the Times. Historical and Cultural Monuments: Photo Album, Elista, Kalmyk Book Publishing House , 2004
• The memorial “Exodus and Return” // Elista: a dialogue of times: Monuments of history and culture: Photoalbum / Comp.: L. B. Zulaeva, L. E. Ustinova, D. B. Dordzhiev. - Elista, 2004., pp. 31-32.
• Volkova P. Ethnos / On the work of E. Unknown and on his monument “Exodus and Return”] // Halmg Onn , 1997., Lu sarin 7.
• Pyurveev V.D. Resident of sorrow // Personality, biography, creativity / Sat. materials about the life and work of the literary critic VD Purveev? Elista, 2003., pp. 46-148.
• Razbegin V. “Exodus and Return” // Evening Elista., 2003, December 9.

• Photo
• Explanation of the symbols and metaphors of the monument (inaccessible link)
• Explanation of the symbols and metaphors of the monument