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A former Eurasian statesman and a rising American thinker trace a measured path through Vatican halls, Balkan spiritual centers and discreet Eurasian capitals, signaling a subtle re-entry into international, intellectual and religious diplomacy.
In late October, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov — the former president of the Russian republic of Kalmykia and one of the more unconventional diplomatic figures of the post-Soviet era — quietly re-entered public view. His latest journey took him from the Vatican to the hills of Tirana, a route aligned with long-standing personal terrain in which religion, culture and political symbolism intersect.
This time, however, the return unfolded alongside — and in key moments, through the guidance of — Jesse Michels, the American venture investor and rising intellectual voice whose work spans philosophy, geopolitics and frontier scientific questions. Michels brought Ilyumzhinov to both Rome and Albania, filming extended conversations for a forthcoming American Alchemy series set to air later this year — positioning Ilyumzhinov’s worldview within a wider inquiry into institutions, metaphysics and the shifting nature of global legitimacy.
Billionaires.Africa has followed the celebrated Africaphile Ilyumzhinov for years, including through our most recent interview with him. What occurred across these days was not spectacle, but signal — a quiet re-emergence into corridors where faith, soft power and ideas converge.
Rome: A return to symbolic ground
The visit began at the Vatican, where Michels, an investor with Thiel Capital and the Thiel Family Office, accompanied Ilyumzhinov to the 60th-anniversary commemoration of Nostra Aetate, the landmark Second Vatican Council declaration reshaping Catholic relations with other faith traditions.
A few hours before the ceremony, Michels filmed the first part of his interview with Ilyumzhinov in Rome — an in-depth conversation on faith, politics and the metaphysical undercurrents of modern diplomacy, which also touched on Ilyumzhinov’s 1997 account of being abducted by extraterrestrials, an experience he has long described as formative to his views on non-human intelligence, consciousness and humanity’s place in a wider cosmos.
Following the ceremony, Ilyumzhinov presented Vatican Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin with a chess set carved from amber and a Buddhist thangka intended for His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. The Vatican later conveyed appreciation through Father Marco Billeri, the Holy Father’s second private secretary.
The exchange recalled Ilyumzhinov’s long history of interfaith engagement: he once played chess with Pope John Paul II, built a Catholic cathedral in largely Buddhist Kalmykia, and maintains close personal ties with the Dalai Lama. At a moment when religious institutions reconsider their role in a rapidly shifting world, the encounter struck a note of continuity.
Michels, meanwhile, filmed actively — not as a documentarian of nostalgia but as an interpreter of context, tying spiritual history to evolving discussions about non-human intelligence and the future of governance.
Mongolia: A quiet detour east
After Rome, Ilyumzhinov briefly stepped aside from the joint itinerary and traveled to Mongolia, where he met with Prime Minister Gombojavy Zandanshatar.
For Ilyumzhinov, the trip held personal resonance: the Kalmyks are a Mongolic people whose ancestors migrated west from the Oirat tribes, and he has long maintained close cultural and spiritual ties with Mongolia. Portions of the visit appeared in local press, while other discussions remained private, underscoring both ceremonial and strategic dimensions. He rejoined Michels in Albania immediately afterward.
“Mongolia has always been a bridge between worlds,” Ilyumzhinov said. “The Gobi carries an energy that is both ancient and prophetic; every civilization that touched the steppe left a layer of spirit there. Today, Mongolia blends spirituality, democracy and openness in a way few nations manage. It reminds us that development need not break from the sacred.”
Tirana: Faith, sovereignty and a private lunch with the prime minister
Several days later, Michels took Ilyumzhinov for a private lunch in Albania with Prime Minister Edi Rama. Before the meeting, they visited the international headquarters of the Bektashi Order. There, Michels recorded the second part of his interview with Ilyumzhinov against the backdrop of the future Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order. Known as the Bektashi Microstate, for short, upon gaining sovereignty, it will have a similar status to that of the Vatican within Italy, media report.
After filming, the Kalmyk president and the U.S. media pioneer met with Baba Mondi, the Bektashi spiritual leader. Their conversation turned to theology, cosmology and the nature of creation — ancient themes now intersecting with mainstream debates about consciousness and non-human life.
Baba Mondi reiterated a tenet of Bektashi mysticism: that creation is not confined to a singular experience and that humility demands openness to vastness. The line between mystical insight and scientific possibility, once rigid, appears to be softening at the margins of global discourse. “Creation is vast and layered,” Baba Mondi said. “Humanity may be only one expression of it.”
“It's fascinating to see how different religions view non-human intelligence and are able to incorporate new realities into their traditional theology,” Michels noted. “As the horizon widens again — technologically, spiritually, cosmologically — these voices matter.”
Africa: Memory and momentum
Africa has long been threaded into Ilyumzhinov’s work. As Kalmykia’s leader and later as FIDE president, he championed chess initiatives across the continent, framing them as engines of discipline, intellectual development and opportunity for youth. He spent tens of millions of dollars of his own personal funds to support these activities.
Looking back at his trip, he told Billionaires.Africa:
“There is vast potential for deeper ties linking Africa with both Albania and Mongolia. Albania’s successful reform journey and its commitment to religious harmony offer valuable reference points. Mongolia shows how a nation rooted in spiritual heritage can pursue open markets and international partnerships. And the emerging Bektashi Microstate — with its message of tolerance, humility and service — could inspire conversations in regions facing extremism by highlighting a peaceful, values-based expression of Islam.”
Quiet movements, widening horizons
There were no press conferences, no staged optics. Instead, there was a Eurasian statesman in Vatican corridors, a discreet stop in Ulaanbaatar, a Sufi compound above Tirana, and a philosopher-investor arranging meetings, recording reflections and listening.
Movements of consequence often begin in quiet places.
The conversations between Ilyumzhinov and Michels — and those soon to be aired on American Alchemy — suggest that themes long dormant in public life are returning: spiritual authority alongside statecraft, new sovereign ambitions, ancient cosmologies, and emerging questions about intelligence and meaning.
As always, Billionaires.Africa will continue to observe. History does not always announce itself loudly; sometimes it enters softly, through monasteries, private dining rooms and narrow diplomatic corridors, before stepping into the light.
