The author in this article analyzes the scientific activities of professor N. N. Palmov, who made a significant contribution to the formation and development of the historical science of Kalmykia. The article is presented biographical information showing the formation of N. N. Palmov as a historian-researcher. There are given characteristic of his works devoted to the developing of the archaeological heritage, ethnographic studies of the Kalmyk ethnos, the study of the political history of the Kalmyk Khanate and its relations with the Dzungars, Kirghiz Kaisaks, etc. There are shown the value N. N. Palmov for the popularization of historical local history in Kalmykia and his role in creating the national local history museum in the city of Elista, in preserving, generalizing and classifying the values of the material culture of the Kalmyks. There are marked the source study contribution of N. N. Palmov. He analyzed a large reservoir of historical sources, both regional and extracted from central archives, and systematized and published them. Based on the analysis of sources N. N. Palmov made conclusions about the preservation and development of local industries and the traditional economic structure of the Kalmyks, about the problems of the settlement of Kalmyks in the 17-19 centuries and about the reasons of migrate the part of the Kalmyk people to in 1771. In conclusion, there are ascertained, that professor N. N. Palmov, being the founder of Kalmyk studies, gave start to the formation and development of historical science in Kalmykia.
