Buddhism in Russia

The first evidence of the existence of Buddhism in the territory of modern Russia (more specifically Siberia, the region nearest East Asia) belongs to the 8th century AD and is associated with the state of Balhae, which in 698–926 occupied part of today's Primorye and Amur. The Mohe, a people whose culture was greatly influenced by neighboring China, Korea and Manchuria, practiced a form of Mahayana Buddhism. It initially spread into those constituent regions of Russia that are geographically or culturally adjacent to Mongolia (the area known as the Mongolian Steppe) or are inhabited by Mongolian ethnic groups: Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Tuva, and Kalmykia. The last of these was the only Buddhist region in Europe, located to the north of the Caucasus. By 1887, there were 29 publishing houses and numerous datsans. In 1917 these ethnic regions had among them approximately 20,000 Buddhists and 175 temples.[6] When the Soviet Union came into being, all religions including Buddhism began to be viewed as "tools of oppression", and Buddhists in positions of authority were looked upon unfavourably.[7] By 1917, Joseph Stalin had ensured that no datsans remained open in the country.[8] The USSR sought to remove Buddhism and other religions, as they believed that a lack of religion combined with urbanization would result in an increase in production.[9] In 1929 many monasteries were closed down and monks were arrested and exiled.[10] By the 1930s, Buddhists were suffering more than any other religious community in the Soviet Union[2] with lamas being expelled and accused of being "Japanese spies" and "the people's enemies".[1] In 1943 all Kalmykians were forcibly exiled to Siberia due to government suspicions that they were collaborating with Nazi Germany when it had occupied part of Kalmykia.[11] About 40% of the Kalmykian population died while in exile and those who did survive were not able to return to their homeland until 1956.[12]

However, Buddhism did not disappear from Russia as a result of the efforts of Bidia Dandaron, a follower of Tsydenov and a famous Buddhologist and thinker. Dandaron attempted to revive Buddhism in the atheist state by introducing the concept of Neo-Buddhism, a combination of Buddhist teachings and contemporary Western philosophy with scientific theories. Dandaron was later arrested for creating a religious community and eventually died in a prison camp. Nevertheless his disciples played a key role in the 1990s with the revival of Russian Buddhism.[13]

Golden Gate in Elista, Republic of Kalmykia

After the fall of the Soviet Union, a Buddhist revival began in Kalmykia with the election of President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.[14] It was also revived in Buryatia and Tuva and began to spread to Russians in other regions.

In 1992, the Dalai Lama made his first visit to Tuva in Russia.[15]

There are several Tibetan Buddhist university-monasteries throughout Russia,[16] concentrated in Siberia, known as datsans.

Fyodor Shcherbatskoy, a renowned Russian Indologist who traveled to India and Mongolia during the time of the Russian Empire, is widely considered by many to be responsible for laying the foundations for the study of Buddhism in the Western world.

There are now between 700,000 and 1.5 million Buddhists in Russia, mainly in the republics of Buryatia, Kalmykia and Tuva.[17]

Regions with large Buddhist populations

Federal subject	Buddhists (2012)[18]	Buddhists (2016)[19]
Tuva	61.8%	52.2%
Kalmykia	37.6%	53.4%
Buryatia	19.8%	19.8%
Zabaykalsky Krai	6.3%	14.6%
Russian Federation	0.5%	0.6%

Datsan Gunzechoinei Face

Buddhism in Russia

In 2012 Buddhism was the religion of 62% of the total population of Tuva, 38% of Kalmykia and 20% of Buryatia.[18] Buddhism also has believers amounting to 6% in Zabaykalsky Krai, primarily ethnic Buryats, and 0.5% to 0.9% in Tomsk Oblast and Yakutia. Buddhist communities may be found in other federal subjects of Russia, between 0.1% and 0.5% in Sakhalin Oblast, Khabarovsk Krai, Amur Oblast, Irkutsk Oblast, Altay, Khakassia, Novosibirsk Oblast, Tomsk Oblast, Tyumen Oblast, Orenburg Oblast, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Moscow and Moscow Oblast, Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, and in Kaliningrad Oblast.[18] In cities like Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Samara, often up to 1% of the population identify as Buddhists.[20]

• Buddhism in Buryatia
• Buddhism in Kalmykia
• Datsan - Buddhist temples in Russia
• Datsan Gunzechoinei

• Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 309–310. ISBN 978-0-19-972761-2.
• Ulanov, Mergen; Badmaev, Valeriy and Holland, Edward (2017). Buddhism and Kalmyk Secular Law in the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries, Inner Asia 19(2), 297–314
• Terentyev, Andrey (Autumn 1996).Tibetan Buddhism in Russia, The Tibet Journal 21 (3), pp. 60–70

• The Buddhist hordes of Kalmykia, The Guardian September 19, 2006
• Buddhactivity Dharma Centres database
• Gusinoye Ozero, seat of imperial Russia's Buddhists
• Buddhist Paintings in Buryatia
• History of Tibetan Buddhism in Inner Asia in the 20th Century
• Buryats culture and traditions
• Pandito Khambo Lama Itigelov's Most Precious Body 10/9/05)