The relevance of the study is determined by the defining role of the national factor in modern socio-political processes in the post-Soviet space and the need to comprehend the historical experience of interethnic interaction in a multinational Russia. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of state national policy in the Republic of Kalmykia during the period of perestroika and post-Soviet transformation in order to identify its impact on the formation of regional statehood and interethnic harmony. The methodological framework is based on the principles of historicism and systematicity, as well as historical-comparative and historical-typological methods. The source base includes normative legal acts, materials from the periodical press, and analytical notes reflecting the reaction of the authorities and public sentiments during the transition period. The study shows how the striving for the expansion of sovereignty in the early 1990s was transformed into the construction of a clear vertical of power and integration into the constitutional field of the Russian Federation without the loss of ethnic identity. It is substantiated that it was during the years of perestroika that the foundations of conflict-free interethnic and interfaith interaction in the region were laid. It is revealed that traditional religions, primarily Buddhism, acted not only as an object of cultural revival but also as the most important tool for the social stabilization of society. It is emphasized that the adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty and the Steppe Code ensured the transition to a modern model of governance and adaptation to the all-Russian «vertical» while maintaining stability and civil harmony.

The relevance of the study is determined by the defining role of the national factor in modern socio-political processes in the post-Soviet space and the need to comprehend the historical experience of interethnic interaction in a multinational Russia. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of state national policy in the Republic of Kalmykia during the period of perestroika and post-Soviet transformation in order to identify its impact on the formation of regional statehood and interethnic harmony. The methodological framework is based on the principles of historicism and systematicity, as well as historical-comparative and historical-typological methods. The source base includes normative legal acts, materials from the periodical press, and analytical notes reflecting the reaction of the authorities and public sentiments during the transition period. The study shows how the striving for the expansion of sovereignty in the early 1990s was transformed into the construction of a clear vertical of power and integration into the constitutional field of the Russian Federation without the loss of ethnic identity. It is substantiated that it was during the years of perestroika that the foundations of conflict-free interethnic and interfaith interaction in the region were laid. It is revealed that traditional religions, primarily Buddhism, acted not only as an object of cultural revival but also as the most important tool for the social stabilization of society. It is emphasized that the adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty and the Steppe Code ensured the transition to a modern model of governance and adaptation to the all-Russian «vertical» while maintaining stability and civil harmony.