There are not many records in my employment record. The first one is the worker of Zvezda,” Kirsan Ilyumzhinov told NG. 

Then there was military service, study at MGIMO, work as president of Kalmykia and head of the International Chess Federation. Now I am returning to Zvezda, to its workers, to the place where I started my career.”
During a meeting with the employees of Zvezda, Ilyumzhinov contributed one million roubles to the plant’s mutual aid fund and presented a dozen travel vouchers for the enterprise’s advanced employees.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov also visited the Kazan Cathedral of Elista and the Central Buddhist khurul “The Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha”. “Both of these temples were built with the financial support of Ilyumzhinov and today remain the main centres of the religious life of the republic,” said political expert Pavel Golod to Novaya Gazeta.
According to Novaya Gazeta sources, Ilyumzhinov not only talked with many sellers and buyers at the city market of the Kalmyk capital, but also bought two kilograms of marbled meat: “Kirsan was met as an astronaut. Everyone wanted to take a selfie with him and ask him to return to Kalmykia. To this Ilyumzhinov replied that he did not leave Kalmykia and is still registered in the house of his parents in Elista.”
According to Pavel Golod, “Ilyumzhinov’s unexpected visit to Kalmykia can be connected both with his new economic projects and the upcoming elections of the head of the republic.” Kirsan Ilyumzhinov himself explained to Novaya Gazeta the reasons for his appearance in Elista by the desire to “meet with family, friends and countrymen.”