Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; RT (InstitutulHermetic.ro/Scoalamisterelor)
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Shamanism/Buddhism in Russia, Part II
(RT) Faces of Russia: Russian Far East above Central Asia, home of the Buddha and his relatives' "Shakya Land" (ancient Scythia/Bactria), near Mongolia, still thrives in Kalmykia and Buryatia.
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Far East Russia: rural Buryatia |
In 1722 the border was delineated between Mongolia and Russia. Buryat tribes living nomadically in the northern part of Mongolia then became part of Russia. The Russian government closed off the border, induced the Buryat nomads to take on a relatively settled lifestyle, and made itself the authority on the region's religious matters.
Buddhism in Russia (Snelling) |
In 1741 Empress Elizabeth (Yelizaveta Petrovna) adopted a decree recognizing the existence of a "lamaist faith": She legally recognized the existence of eleven datsans, and with them 150 lamas. Buddhism was formally accepted as an official religion in the Russian Empire.
Kalmykia, indigenous-Buddhism in Europe |
- Buddhist Revival in Buriatia: Recent Perspectives (Anna Bernstein, Mongolian Studies, Vol. 25, 2002, pp. 1-11, Mongolia Society)
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