The political situation among the Kalmyks had become unstable after the death of Ayuka Khan in 1724, as various factions sought to be recognized as Khan.

The Tsarist government has also gradually chipped away at the autonomy of the Kalmyk Khanate.

These policies, for instance, have encouraged the establishment of Russian and German settlements on pastures the Kalmyks use  to roam and feed their livestock.

In addition, the Tsarist government had imposed a council on the Kalmyk Khan, thereby diluting his authority, while continuing to expect the Kalmyk Khan to provide cavalry units to fight on behalf of Russia.

The Russian Orthodox church, by contrast, has pressured many Kalmyks to adopt Orthodoxy.

By the mid-seventeenth century, Kalmyks are increasingly disillusioned with settler encroachment and interference in their internal affairs.

In the winter of 1770-1771, Ubashi Khan, the great-grandson Ayuka Khan and the last Kalmyk Khan, decides to return his people to their ancestral homeland, Dzungaria, now under control of the Qing dynasty.

The Dalai Lama is contacted to request his blessing and to set the date of departure.

After consulting the astrological chart, the Dalai Lama sets the return date, but at the moment of departure, the weakening of the ice on the Volga River permits only those Kalmyks who roam on the left or eastern bank to leave.

Those on the right bank are forced to stay behind.

Catherine the Great, after failing to stop the flight, abolishes the Kalmyk Khanate, transferring all governmental powers to the Governor of Astrakhan.

The title of Khan is abolished.

The highest native governing office remaining is the Vice-Khan, who also is recognized by the government as the highest ranking Kalmyk prince.

By appointing the Vice-Khan, the Tsarist government is now permanently the decisive force in Kalmyk government and affairs.