The article deals with the management of the internal life of the Buddhist church of the Volga Kalmyks by the Astrakhan governors in the second half of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries on the basis of the main articles of the "Regulations on the Administration of the Kalmyk People" in 1847. The article analyzes the participation of the Astrakhan governors A.P. Degas and M.A. Gazenkampf in the procedure of election of the lamas of the Buddhist church of the Kalmyk steppe. The elections conducted by the Astrakhan governors were carried out in the interests of the government, the clergy loyal to the regional authorities became the heads of the Buddhist church. The article examines the participation of Astrakhan governors A.P. Degas, E.O. Yankovsky, N.N. Tevyashova, M.A. Gazenkampf in the drafting of bills on reforming the status of the Buddhist church of the Kalmyk steppe, in carrying out restrictive policies regarding the system of Buddhist monastic education, the missionary activity of Buddhist preachers in the Kalmyk uluses.
