FIDE President, former President of Kalmykia, billionaire Kirsan Ilyumzhinov told about the shooting of movie ‘Vangelia’. (more…)

Russian oligarch buys Bulgarian oil company “Petrol Holding”. Former President of the Republic of Kalmykia and President of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, became a majority owner of the largest Bulgarian fuel distributor “Petrol Holding”.

The Switzerland-based company “Credit Mediterranee”, owned (more…)

The Chessman Cometh [ En | Ru ]

An interview with globe-trotting chess promoter, former president, and freelance diplomat Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

INTERVIEW BY JOSHUA E. KEATING. MAY 9, 2012

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov garners an awful lot of press for the president of the World Chess Federation. But he’s not exactly your average chess buff. From 1993 to 2010, he was president of the Russian republic of Kalmykia and became known for his efforts to transform the remote Buddhist region into an international chess mecca as well as for his frank comments about an encounter with aliens he claims to have had in 1997. (He was also widely criticized for his autocratic rule over the impoverished republic.) (more…)

Former President of the Republic of Kalmykia and President of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, where he had working meetings with the Minister for Family, Youth and Sports of Ukraine Mr Ravil Safiullin and the leadership of the Ukrainian Chess Federation. (more…)

Legendary billioner Kirsan Ilyumzhinov from Kalmykia.

Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (Russian: Кирсан Николаевич Илюмжинов) was born on the 5th of April 1962 in Elista, the capital of the Kalmykia
(more…)

Tomas Van Houtryve about Kalmykia. Russian version

Earlier this year, I visited one of the most improbable places on Earth, the little-known Republic of Kalmykia.

Located on the arid steppe south of Volgograd, Kalmykia is Europe’s only Buddhist republic.

It also bills itself as a Mecca for chess players. It is the headquarters of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), and a suburb has been built near the capital, Elista, expressly for holding tournaments and offering vacation homes to former champions. The game is mandatory for all Kalmyk school children. (more…)

Moscow, September 8 (Itar-Tass) – Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, when he steps down as head of the republic of Kalmykia, will remain in the republic to focus on three social and charity projects.

“I was born in Kalmykia, I have worked here, and I am not going to leave, I’m staying in the republic to focus on three projects,” he told a news conference on Wednesday. (more…)

King of Kalmykia

Tom Parfitt
The Guardian, Thursday 21 September 2006

Life is not all plain sailing for Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the flamboyant leader of the Russian republic of Kalmykia. For a start, his Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit II needs constant repairs thanks to the rutted roads of his impoverished fiefdom. And then there is the danger of alien abduction. He has already been pressganged into one trip on a UFO – in (more…)

BBC News

Mr Ilyumzhinov: Not ruling out independence

By regional analyst Malcolm Haslett:

The colourful leader of the small, mainly Buddhist republic of Kalmykia in southern Russia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, has threatened to sever financial ties with Russia because he has not received any federal funds for months. (more…)