This article deals with the state policy of the Russian Empire in the XIX century on the territory of the Kalmyk steppe that resulted in changing the social status of traditional estates. The authors having examined big factual material gave a detailed analysis of the estate structure of the Kalmyk society in the XIX century, taking into account the changes that occurred as a result of the reform of the legal status of estates groups in the Kalmyk steppe. At the same time, despite the state»s active policy to integrate the Kalmyks into the Russian state administration system, imperial decrees had little influence on Kalmyk social relations, confirming mainly the privileged position of the Kalmyk aristocracy, fixed by common law. In the course of the nineteenth century individual»s legal status was transformed in accordance with the Russian legislation, gradually providing parity with Russian civil status. Finally the authors concluded that the social structure of the Kalmyk society was used to improve administration efficiency and to strengthen the administrative hierarchy until 1892, when traditional estates institutions of the Kalmyks were destroyed.