On the appearance of the first christened Kalmyks in Moscow in the middle of XVII c

The article based on new archival materials deals with the first instances of the Kalmyks converting to Christianity in Moscow in the XVII c. The author focuses on the policy of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich’s government towards the Kalmyks, bringing them into alliance with Russia in the conditions of military operations against the Rzeczpospolita and the Crimean khanate. The strengthening of Russian-Kalmyk relations as well as the internal struggle for power in the Kalmyk community contributed to the baptizing of the Kalmyks, who for various reasons had to live in Moscow at that time.