Comprising the Khoshut (Хошууд Hošuud), Choros or Ölöt (Өөлд Ööld), Torghut (Торгууд Torguud), and Dörbet (Дөрвөд Dörvöd) tribes, they were dubbed Kalmyk or Kalmak, which means "remnant" or "to remain", by their western Turkic neighbors.
In 1937 he was arrested on charges of counterrevolution, accused of heading the "Badrakh Group" along with Zolbingiin Shijee that sought to create a breakaway autonomous Dörvöd region in present day Uvs Province.
It was also during this period that Shijee first met Badrakh,and the two discussed the possibility of creating an autonomous republic of non-Khalkh Mongol regions of Dörvöd (present day Uvs Province, Tannu Uriankhai, and Xinjiang.