The thesis focuses on the consecration of stupas in contemporary Kalmykia and discusses the position of a stupa in Kalmyk religious life. The Kalmyks became acquainted with Buddhism around the 13th century A.D. At that time they inhabited the south part of Siberia and were known as Oirats. The name Kalmyk was applied to the Oirats in the 17th century, when a substantial part of the Oirat tribes migrated to the Volga steppe in Russia and became a subject of the Russian Empire. Until the beginning of the 20th century the Kalmyks followed the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism; however, after the Bolshevik revolution Buddhism was prohibited in Russia, including the Kalmyk republic. Since the end of the 1980s religious institutions and practices are being restored in Kalmykia. The construction of stupas is a conspicuous manifestation of the reestablishment of Buddhism in Kalmykia. A stupa (Tib. mchod rten, Mon. suburgan) is a Buddhist commemorative monument, containing relics. Being perceived as the reminder of the Buddha’s enlightenment and the symbol of the Dharma, a stupa became the object of deep religious veneration. In Tibetan Buddhism a stupa receives its sacred character after it has been consecrated. The consecration consists of the deposition of relics and the final consecration (rab gnas). The thesis discusses the concept of relics and their deposition within a receptacle in contemporary Kalmykia. Special attention is paid to the role of Tibetan religious scriptures in the consecration of stupas and statues. In Tibetan Buddhism the concept of relics comprises not only parts of body and ashes of saints or objects associated with holy persons and places, but also books. The installation of Tibetan religious texts serves as the main means of sacralizing stupas and statues in contemporary Kalmykia. The thesis surveys the particular texts installed, analyses the importance of these Tibetan texts for Kalmyk Buddhism and describes the process of their installation. The final chapter discusses the main consecration rituals that accompany the construction of a stupa in Kalmykia. These rituals are the preliminary ‘ground ritual’ (sa blang) for obtaining and blessing the site, the empowerment of the items to be installed in the receptacle (gzungs sgrub), the ‘offering bath’ (khrus gsol) and the final consecration (rab gnas). The thesis is mainly based on data collected through fieldwork, carried out in June and July 2008 in Elista (the capital of Kalmykia) and smaller settlements around the capital.