Pin from the Soviet Union. The text on the pin reads:”Soviet kalmykia”. The Soviet Union started in 1917 so this pin should be from 1957.
Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia, is a federal subject (a republic) of Russia.
It is located directly north of the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. The capital of the republic is the city of Elista, which has gained an international reputation for international chess competitions.
The republic is home to the Kalmyks, a people of Mongol origin and primarily of Buddhist faith, making Kalmykia the only region in Europe where Buddhism is the most-practised religion. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 289,481.