The Kalmyks are a testament to how identity survives not through isolation, but through a constant, deliberate weaving together of old and new.

This film was created by Dechen Kelden, a Kalmyk Mongolian who was born and raised in Jackson, NJ. She is a current student at Sarah Lawrence College who took on this project to create an accessible film for young Kalmyks to learn about their history as an Oirat group from the Western Steppes of Mongolia. She is interested in Cultural Preservation studies and working within the Tibetan community based in New York City.

Welcome to Europe's only Buddhist Region - Kalmykia. Some 160,000 Buddhists live here. Kalmykia is an autonomous republic of the Russian Federation, located between the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. For the series "Europe to The Maxx" Euromaxx reporter Hendrik Welling has made his way to the southeasternmost part of Europe. Join him on his tour to see the highest statue of Buddha in Europe, to hear the sound of overtone singing and to learn more about the rich culture of this special place in Europe.