Claim: In 1724-1771, the Mongolian Empire chipped away at the Kalmyk Khanate's autonomy, which encouraged Russian and German settlements where the Kalmyks used to roam and feed their livestock.
Evidence: The Russian Empire also gradually chipped away at the autonomy of the Kalmyk Khanate. These policies, for instance, encouraged the establishment of Russian and German settlements on pastures the Kalmyks used to roam and feed their livestock. The Kalmyks (Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, Xaľmgud, Mongolian: Халимаг, Halimag; Russian: Калмыки, romanized: Kalm'iki, archaically anglicised as Calmucks) are a Mongol subgroup in Russia, whose ancestors migrated from Dzungaria in 1607.