The deeply ingrained, profound and receptive morality of the Orient and the technological progress of the West are the two wings, which can guide Kalmykia to prosperity. They are the two pillars that well support the sublimation of individual consciousness under the super-national moral law of humanity, thus releasing the people from the wolf s trap of tribal and ethnic egotism, spiritual and economic poverty.

"Hail to well-being!" This is the spiritual rallying cry of our nation. It was bequeathed to us by our forefathers as the most cherished treasure.  Well-being is the balance of conscience and deed, bod y and soul. Well-being is security. Well-being is the root and the trunk of life m our wind-swept times. I t is also an incentive to activity, to develop every individual's talents and capabilities.
I was addressing a UNESCO meeting in Paris.  I said that Kalmykia is a small republic, but that its people participate in the world process the same as all the peoples of the globe. The sun, the moon and the stars shine for everyone, irrespective of race, nationality or political convictions. Such is the great wisdom of nature. We are all inseparable. Even the smallest thorn in the foot can topple your balance and render you lame. The Kalmyks are the only Buddhists in Europe. The flora and fauna of Kalmykia are in a sorry plight. Unique herbs have become extinct, the climate is undergoing change, and the sands advance on the pastures threatening to create the first desert in Europe.  If it grows large enough a whirlwind or hurricane will carry these sands as far as France, England and Germany. If we do not take urgent measures the pavements of Paris will be covered in sand. It is too late to ask who is to blame. Today the main question is what's to be done.
I think I managed to convince them. The "black soil" environmental protection scheme was launched in Kalmykia. The reserve received an international UNESCO certificate.  It was brought to Elista by an adviser on the protection of endangered species, Professor James Gear, and an expert in international programs to protect wild life, Frederic Lindsey. Now the area of the Black Soils will be under the protection and control of UNESCO.
It is a very important step for the protection of the environment which means it is good too for the health of Kalmykia's peoples.
Thirty percent of the republic's population are listed as disabled. The death rate is rising and the birth rate declining. One of the causes is the extent of the ecological disaster. There has been an increase in cases of chromosomal abnormality. An ecological knife is hanging over our heads and we have sounded the alarm. Physicians from France, the USA, Germany and Tibet have visited the republic and still more are expected from other countries. We are planning to open a center of Tibetan medicine in Elista.
The biggest tannery in the North Caucasus, equipped with machine-tools from Bulgaria, is already in production. Construction has started on an international airport. Kalmykia has hosted a conference on the "The Weak of Tibet" as well as an international congress "Women as Peacemakers and Creators" aimed at unifying and consolidating the peoples of the world in the name of peace, stability and world-wide tranquillity. Roads are being built in the republic. If there is anyone who could do more and better, we invite him to do more and better for Kalmykia. We will reward him with a bow from all the peoples of the republic.
Kalmykia is taking the first steps to ensure the well­-being of each of its citizens. These steps are hard, and the light at the end of the tunnel is still too distant. However, we have started marching and, hard though it is, we will continue.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

The President's Crown of Thorns, 1995