Jeffrey Sachs: Europe, do not provoke Russia

(Times of India) "I warn you: Do not provoke Russia": American Prof. Jeffrey Sachs roars at EU and US at European Parliament | VIRAL

Were Mud Flood Tartars from Russia?

(Eli from Russia) What languages and "dialects" do we speak in Tartarstan (Tartarian Empire, Tartaria, Тартария, Tartariya, Tartary in Central Asia) and Russia's many republics?

Who are the Tatars? | The largest ethnic minority in Russia

What is a "Russian" and what does s/he look like? It is hard to say because there are 11 time zones, 85 regions, and more than 190 ethnic groups with their own languages, the largest of these being the [often redheaded] Tartars.

(Eli from Russia) Is this Russia's third capital? Kazan City and Tartars

Russia's Putin blackmailed Jeffrey Epstein?

Moment grinning Jeffrey Epstein quizzed about being ‘sexual predator’ in bombshell new video

Russian redhead treks top secret Siberia

(Eli from Russia, Jan. 31, 2026) Inside Siberia's secret mountain range that Russia kept off maps: the Taiga. Two years earlier, Eli EXPOSED Russia: Did you know this about Russia?

• Buddhism in Russia and Siberia?

Solo female travel: Russia, India, Sri Lanka

(Eli from Russia) How journey on Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway (USSR) changed my life

• Original "Israel" in Russia: Jewish Autonomous Oblast
• USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics): Soviet Union

• (Isha Branderhorst) What I learned from living in holy Rishikesh, India, for yoga and meditation practice in the Himalayas as a solo female traveler.

Is Sri Lanka the new Thailand?

• Isha Branderhorst; Eli from Russia; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Why is Russia so doggone BIG? (video)

Why is Russia so darn BIG?
(Johnny Harris) March 24, 2021: The story of moving east and just...not stopping.

Korea in Asia is beautiful and close by

Ways to support: Patreon (johnnyharris). Custom presets and LUTs: https://store.dftba.com/products/john... Where to find JH: Instagram (johnny.harris), Tiktok (johnny.harris), Facebook (johnnyharrisvox). Iz's (Johnny’s wife’s) channel (iz-harris). How Johnny makes videos: Tom Fox makes his music. Work with him here: https://tfbeats.com/. He makes maps using this AE Plugin: aescripts.com/geolayers/?aff=77. All the gear he uses: izharris.com/gear-guide. His courses: Learn a language (brighttrip.com/course/language). Visual storytelling: https://www.brighttrip.com/courses/vi...

SPONSOR: The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a free trial of Skillshare premium membership: skl.sh/johnnyharris03211. 

ABOUT: Johnny Harris is a filmmaker and journalist. He is currently based in Washington, DC, reporting on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the world. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. He holds a B.A. in international relations from Brigham Young University and an M.A. in international peace and conflict resolution from American University. Press: NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/op... NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion... Vox Borders: • Inside Hong Kong’s cage homes Finding Founders: https://findingfounders.co/episodes/j... NPR Planet Money: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/10721...

Soviet Union, empire, Russia, Central Asia, Far East, Vlad Putin, Czar, communist regime, capitalism, European, country, size, largest, Canada, Moscow, Mongols, Turkey, Korea, China

Life in Russia: Sami, comedy, sanctions

(Eli from Russia) Things people don't understand about Russia: 7 weird Russian habits

(Eli from Russia) Life in the most sanctioned country in the world

(Eli from Russia) I stayed with Sami (formerly referred to as Laplander) reindeer herders in a village in the Russian Arctic | Expedition to the Far North

• Sámi people: Indigenous whites (Nordics) of the North

(Stand Up Europe) I escaped Putin's regime...just to meet Trump voters @standup_europe

Dagestan fighters; Buddhist Kalmykia

(History Leaks) How Dagestan became a land of fighters

My life in most sanctioned country in world. American Khalil Rountree Jr., mixed martial artist

Southernmost republic of Russia | Makhachkala, abandoned villages, sand dune, mountains, Khabib's

(Eli from Russia) Nov. 26, 2021: Dagestan is named a hidden gem of the Caucasus in Russia, formerly the USSR. It is also the most multi-national republic in the country. Let's discover its beautiful mountain villages and canyons and get to know the local traditions.

TIMECODES

• 0:00 Welcome to Dagestan!
• 1:36 Local cuisine and payment for breaking the dishes
• 3:30 Dagestan - hidden gem of the Caucasus
• 4:17 Makhachkala's beaches
• 6:50 Crazy drivers
• 9:40 Natural beauty of the Sulak Canyon
• 11:02 Khabib's Restaurant
• 12:56 Russian Machu Picchu - abandoned village Gamsutl in the mountains
• 18:09 Sarykum strange sand dune near the capital
• 19:19 Why do Dagestanis love their region?

Russia's only Buddhist republic in Europe

(Eli from Russia) Traveling through Eastern Europe's only Buddhist republic...on a camel

• 

  Lhasa's Emissary (J. Snelling)

  Kalmykia has many groups: Kalmykia is the only indigenously Buddhist part of Europe (Buddhism in Kalmykia)
• Bactrian camels of Bactria
• Buddhism in Central Asia (The Stans)
• Buddhism in Russia
• Buddhism in Russia: The Story of Agvan Dorzhiev: Lhasa's Emissary to the Tsar (John Snelling)

📌 ABOUT: Elinabakunova.com/russianclub: Russian Speaking Club where participants can practice the Russian language. Join us at any level! ;) 🔸What can be found on this channel? 👉🏻 Explanation of the Russian culture and facts about Russia that can't be found on Google 👉🏻 Interviews with people on the streets on controversial topics 👉🏻 Opportunities for education for international students and learning the Russian language 👉🏻 Travel vlogs from the Big Country.

• Where is Dagestan? Steppe nomad mountain people
• Sasanian Empire (Sassanid)
• Caspian Sea
• History Leaks; Eli from Russia; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Eli from Russia: 70 parts of Soviet Union

(Eli from Russia) One redhead, an adventure traveler, sees the former USSR through 70 regions

• Buddhism in Russia (Where?)
• Buddhism in Kalmykia
• Buddhism in Buryatia
• Buddhism in Europe
• Buddhism in Central Asia

Buddhism in Russia: Zen (PunkMonk)

(PunkMonk)

• Kalmykia: Europe's only Buddhist region | Europe To The Maxx
• Eli from Russia: Is this Europe?! Celebrating the Native Russian Buddhist New Year in Kalmykia
• Lost In Kalmykia | Europe's Weirdest Republic

Russia is BIG and full of native Asians

There are Asian Russians, Russian Asians?

What it's like being Asian Russian in 2025 and why you've never heard about us 🤨

(Chimka Travels) Dec. 2, 2025: Most people think all Russians look Slavic…until they meet me or others like me. I’m an Asian Russian, specifically a Buryat-Mongolian. My video about Asian Russians blew up with over 10 million views. So in this episode, I’m finally explaining: 💬

(This is Guzel) What it's like being non-Slavic Asian Russian

• Who Asian Russians actually are 🌏
• Why you’ve never seen us in Western (or Russian) media 📍
• Where we live inside Russia 💬
• Why English language creates confusion (“Russian,” one word = two meanings) 🏔️
• The Indigenous peoples of Siberia and the Far East 🇲🇳
• My Buryat-Mongol identity
• And comments like, “We got Chinese Russians before GTA6.”

By the end of this video, viewers will understand a part of Russia almost nobody talks about.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:37 Who are Asian Russians?
• 02:34 Russian federal subjects
• 03:23 Identity: Russian or Buryat?
• 03:45 Why people get confused
• 04:18 Why they’ve never heard of Asian Russians
• 04:37 Buryat-Mongolian or Buryat?
• 05:36 Erasure of the “-Mongolian” part during USSR phase
• 06:29 Why I don’t look Russian
• 06:50 Why I started talking about this
• 07:18 Taiwan’s “Russian Girl” stereotype — storytime
• 08:56 Future content and upcoming Mongolia vlogs
• 09:25 Ending and goodbye

Follow me: 👉 Instagram: chimka_travel 👉 TikTok: chimka_travels ❤️Support: paypal.me/Chimkas, coff.ee/chimka_travel 📩 For business inquiries: chimka.travel@gmail.com #AsianRussian #Asian #Russian #Russia #Sakha #Yakut# Yakutia# Buryat# Buryatia #BuryatMongol #Indigenous

Why is Russia so darn BIG?
(Johnny Harris) March 24, 2021: The story of moving east and just...not stopping.

• (Eli from Russia) Former USSR (Soviet Union) Russia's hidden gem in Far East: the Kuril Islands

Ways to support: Patreon (johnnyharris). Custom presets and LUTs: https://store.dftba.com/products/john... Where to find JH: Instagram (johnny.harris), Tiktok (johnny.harris), Facebook (johnnyharrisvox). Iz's (Johnny’s wife’s) channel (iz-harris). How Johnny makes videos: Tom Fox makes his music. Work with him here: https://tfbeats.com/. He makes maps using this AE Plugin: aescripts.com/geolayers/?aff=77. All the gear he uses: izharris.com/gear-guide. His courses: Learn a language (brighttrip.com/course/language). Visual storytelling: https://www.brighttrip.com/courses/vi...

SPONSOR: The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a free trial of Skillshare premium membership: skl.sh/johnnyharris03211. 

ABOUT: Johnny Harris is a filmmaker and journalist. He is currently based in Washington, DC, reporting on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the world. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. He holds a B.A. in international relations from Brigham Young University and an M.A. in international peace and conflict resolution from American University. Press: NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/op... NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion... Vox Borders: • Inside Hong Kong’s cage homes Finding Founders: https://findingfounders.co/episodes/j... NPR Planet Money: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/10721...

Soviet Union, empire, Russia, Central Asia, Far East, Vlad Putin, Czar, communist regime, capitalism, European, country, size, largest, Alaska, Canada, Arctic Circle, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ukraine, Mongolia, Turkey, Korea, China

• Eli from Russia, Dec. 13, 2025; Johnny Harris, March 24, 2021; Guzel; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Redhead visits Russian Pacific island

Russia's most disputed region in the Pacific: Sakhalin Island

(Eli from Russia) Nov. 22, 2025: SAKHALIN. This is the biggest island of Russia – Sakhalin. Throughout centuries the island has passed hands many times between the Soviet Union (USSR) and Japan (Nippon), yet a formal peace treaty has still never been signed.

Join me as we explore the island’s Japanese heritage, meet a unique community of Korean Russians, and dive into the rich untamed nature of Sakhalin.

Time codes for this video:

• 00:00 Arrival in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
• 03:50 Russian Koreans: history, culture...and fight!
• 07:55 Visiting an abandoned Japanese lighthouse
• 11:40 Exploring hidden bays of the island
• 13:30 Russians love Celentano!
• 14:20 Tanti auguri! Birthday in the Far East of Russia
• 18:07 Giant Kamchatka crab for birthday party

📌learn.lingopie.com/elinafromrussia... - Master a new foreign language while watching TV shows on Lingopie 📍 elinabakunova.com - Check out my projects here. 🔸 What can be found on my channel? 👉🏻 Life in different republics and regions of Russia 👉🏻 Discovering ethnic groups of Russia 👉🏻 Russian culture explained (with facts that won't be found on Google).

• RUSSIAN CULTURE EXPLAINED 👉🏻 off-the-beaten-path places and raw adventures in Russia, ex-Soviet countries and elsewhere 📍 Life in the capital of Russia's Far East | Unforgettable experience on Kamchatka Peninsula • Life in the World's COLDEST CITY: How to stay healthy in Buddhist Yakutsk, Russia?

📸 Instagram.com/elibakunova... - More content about Russia, traveling, and my daily life 🤍 elifromrussia has  more content, one-on-one connections, and to support my channel through Patreon.

To the edge: Magadan (Eli from Russia)

(Eli from Russia) Nov. 8, 2025: Russia's region with darkest history: Magadan, Russian Far East

Visiting Russia's weirdest capital, meeting Mari people, Mari El Republic

Welcome to the Mari El Republic of Russia. The Mari are Finno-Ugric people, one of the most ancient peoples of Central Russia. For centuries, the Mari have preserved their original pagan religion and, in this regard, they can be considered the last true pagans in Europe.

The fate of Ukraine in 30 seconds

We're running out of bombs. Please, NATO, stop!

“Ukraine has turned the world upside down!” – Jeffrey Sachs. The right wingers have become the peaceniks? Yes. The left wingers are calling for war? The CIA is so good at doing what David Icke calls setting up a so-called problem to make the public demand a prefabricated "solution" that with psyops/propaganda that Pres. Dictator Putin must be stopped to save the EU and Ukraine is just the proxy-warfront to do it in, with a phony "hero" in Pres. Puppet Vlad Zelenski, gathering members for NATO while fending off the superpowers Russia and China to build up U.S. power. Trump is smarter than everyone? Or are other forces just stringing him along by his narcissistic ego?

• Jeffrey Sachs, Jimmy Dore, Kurt Metzger, Chris Keene (TJDS); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Too cold, Wim Hof? Eli from Russia

The mysterious sounds of Lake Baikal talking - Climbing ice mountain the American way

BRUTAL COLD resistance race in Russia

(Eli from Russia) March 8, 2025: YAROSLAVL OBLAST. "ICEMAN RUSSIA" is a cold resistance competition that includes weightlifting, running, and swimming in ice water. In Russia, a cold-resistant person is called a "walrus." These people rub snow on their bodies, dive in ice holes, swim short or long distances in icy water. This is why they’re compared to animals that are well adapted to cold weather and accustomed to swimming in freezing water. Swimming in ice water is considered the mastery of cold resistance, so I decided to try it!

📌 To support Eli from Russia on Patreon: elifromrussia

TIMECODES

• 00:00 Welcome to Yaroslavl region
• 01:06 Winter swimming competitions in Russia
• 03:35 Why do Russians train for cold resistance?
• 06:50 Iceman weightlifting contest
• 08:35 My turn to suffer! Iceman run and swim
• 11:50 Heading to Siberia for more freezing challenges

📍 More wideos

• Facing the COLDEST WINTER in Moscow (I joined a Walrus Club)
• Experiencing snowstorm and traditional epiphany bathing in the Extreme North of Russia
• Life at the edge of Russian North on Kola Peninsula | Murmansk & Teriberka

📸 Instagram.com/elibakunova... for more content about Russia, traveling, and my daily life

Help, Iceman Wim Hof! We want to do it, too!

Wim Hof Method Guided Breathing for Beginners (three rounds at slow pace)

Vagus nerve reset - most effective way to destress the body

• Eli from Russia; Wim Hof; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Eli's Russia; Trump's Ukraine (BBC)

Eli visits Buddhist Russia in Europe: Kalmykia

Peace between the superpowers, an end to American imperialism and proxy wars in the guise of NATO membership, installing CIA puppets like comedian Vlad, bringing down three dictators? We'll take it. In the interest of cross-cultural understanding, here is our redheaded travel guide Eli taking us through the former Soviet Union and USSR and Czar's Empire, massive modern Russia. Traditionally, according to Russians, that always included Ukraine as the heart and breadbasket. 

Vajrayana Russian Buddhists in Russia

Ukraine is a corrupt place, the most corrupt in Europe, with real Nazis and so many shenanigans as to not be a serious PR campaign to advance American interests. If Trump pulls us out, when we should never have entered, we support peace. And we oppose the Left's disgraceful war mongering, flipping the world upside down when we, the Left, had always been the ones crying and suing for peace. The Left still opposes genocide and Gaza, war in the West Bank, and dictators like Netanyahu. And if takes a fool like Trump to pull it off and pull us out of our imperial adventures (with the silly ambitions of taking Greenland, Panama, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, and Mexico, let him try). What's next? Will he insult the pope by holding his hand or fail to give enough deference to Bernie by not touching his?

• VIDEO: Eli in Buddhist Russia: Kalmykia

My winter in Russia: with family and friends in Bashkortostan

(Eli from Russia) Feb. 22, 2025: UFA. This year I brought my friend from Australia to spend winter with me in Russia. In this video, we celebrate New Year's Eve and Christmas in Ufa and travel through the Bashkortostan Republic.

TIMECODES

• 00:00 Welcome to Ufa!
• 01:18 Winter swimming challenge for my mate
• 02:13 Salavat Yulaev hockey game!
• 03:19 How we celebrate the New Year in Russia
• 06:36 Heading to explore Bashkortostan!
• 08:24 Challenge for my mate: climbing Aigir rocks
• 12:44 Another challenge: climbing the stone guardian
• 17:22 Center of the World - Beloretsk City!
• 20:11 My mate's impressions of Bashkortostan

📍 More videos

• A week with my family in Ufa, Russia | Bashkortostan - the land of Bashkirs and Tatars 
• Who are the Tatars? | Largest ethnic minority in Russia
• ULTI... - Life in Russia after sanctions - Traveling in Russia through the East to the West 

📸 See instagram.com/elibakunova... for more content about Russia, traveling, and my daily life. To support channel through Patreon: elifromrussia 🤍.

Trump calls Ukrainian comedian Vlad Zelensky a 'dictator' as he hits back at 'disinformation' criticism

Hilarious American political cartoons: Breaking news, bold caricatures, and Trump satire!

(BBC News) Feb. 19, 2025: Pres. DJ Trump has described [US proxy] Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” after the unpopular Ukrainian leader said the US president had been taken in by "Russian disinformation." Russia’s Pres. Vladimir Putin has said it would be a pleasure to hold a meeting with Pres. Trump. This comes after talks between Russian and US officials in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday, in which Kyiv (Kiev, Ukraine) was excluded or refused to come because he was trying to stall such talks. Subscribe: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog for more news, analysis, and features from bbc.com/news. Or see rense.com for a more right-wing slant. #Russia #Ukraine #BBCNews

• Eli in Russia, Feb. 22, 2025; BBC News, Feb. 19, 2025; Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Eli in Buddhist Russia, RU Machu Picchu

Traveling in Eastern Europe's only indigenously Buddhist republic...on a camel

The camels of formerly Buddhist Central Asia

(Eli from Russia) REPUBLIC OF KALMYKIA. Four hundred years ago the descendants of Mongolian Oirats (Kalmyks) migrated to Europe. They created the Kalmyk Khanate, which lasted from 1635 to 1779, in the south of the European portion of Russia's massive territory. Today they form the majority in Kalmykia, located on the Kalmyk Steppe, on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. They are the only traditionally Buddhist people located in Europe, and they herd and ride Bactrian camels. This place, cold as it feels with the windchill, has burning water springs.

Time codes

• 

  Elista, capital of Russian Buddhist Kalmykia

  00:00 Welcome to the only Buddhist republic in Europe!
• 01:20 A day starts with Kalmyk/Mongolian salty tea
• 03:15 Let's find the Mongols!
• 05:10 Meeting the Bactrian camels
• 07:00 Being a guest in a Mongol yurt
• 09:50 Exploring Kalmyk steppes
• 12:20 Throat singing
• 14:15 A natural wonder in the steppe
• 15:28 Heading North!

Let's go to the Buddhist temple

Is this Europe?! Celebrating New Year in Buddhist Kalmykia

Southernmost republic of Russia | Makhachkala, abandoned villages, Khabib's, Machu Picchu

(Eli from Russia) Redheaded correspondent travels the length of a nation so big, it might as well be many countries called Europe 2.0. Dagestan is named the "hidden gem of the Caucasus in Russia." It is also the most multinational republic in the country. Let's discover its beautiful mountain villages, canyons (deeper than the Grand Canyon, USA), and get to know the local traditions.

Time codes

• 

  Russian redheads blend in well in Soviet Union

  0:00 Welcome to Dagestan!
• 1:36 Local cuisine and payment for breaking the dishes
• 3:30 Dagestan - hidden gem of the Caucasus
• 4:17 Makhachkala's beaches
• 6:50 Crazy drivers?
• 9:40 Natural beauties. The Sulak Canyon
• 11:02 Khabib's restaurant
• 12:56 Russian Machu Picchu - abandoned village of Gamsutl in the mountains
• 18:09 Sary-Kum sand dune near the capital
• 19:19 Why do Dagestanis love this region?

📌Videos from Chechnya: • The real life in Grozny | Is Chechnya...

- Real life in Grozny. Is the Chechen Republic of Russia safe for traveling? • The Chechen wedding isn't what you'd... - Visiting the Chechen wedding | Code of honor, traditions, and life of the Chechens

📌elinabakunova.com/russianclub: Russian Speaking Club where participants can practice the Russian language. Join at any level ;)

🔸What can be found on this channel? 👉🏻 Explanations of Russian culture and facts about Russia that are not found on Google 👉🏻interviews with people on the streets talking about controversial topics 👉🏻opportunities for education for international students learning Russian 👉🏻travel vlogs from the Big Country 📍

More videos: • Life in a provincial Russian town in... - Life in a provincial Russian town in the Urals | Perm • Russian culture | Habits you should a... - Russian culture | Habits you should adopt in Russia • Slavic languages | Are they similar a... - Slavic languages | Are they similar and can you learn all of them?

📸 elibakunova - on Instagram sharing more content about Russia, its cultures, traveling through, and daily life 🤍 elifromrussia - for those who feel like supporting this channel through Patreon

• Adopted WQ Russian Correspondent Eli Bakunova ("Eli from Russia"), YouTube, Jan. 20, 2024, Nov. 26, 2021; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Eli from Russia: solo female traveler

Solo in Russia’s most dying region: Pskov

(Eli from Russia) PSKOV, Russia (former USSR) - Hi, I’m Eli! I travel in Russia, and my goal is to visit all its many regions. So far I’ve visited 47 of them, and the next one is the Pskov region. This region is one of the most ancient Russian lands. It’s a real treasure trove of historical and cultural knowledge, with an amazing legacy and unspoiled nature. At the same time, it’s considered to be one of the most depressing regions with a record of population decline across the entire country (as everyone rushes to modernize and live in the big city, preferably crowded Moscow). Let’s explore Pskov City and the village life for which this region is famous.

TIMECODES

• 00:00 Pskov region: the most cultural or the most depressing?
• 01:15 History of Pskov city
• 03:52 Heading to Talab Islands on Pskov Lake
• 05:30 Exploring Zalita and Talabsk Island
• 07:05 Belov (Upper) Island
• 11:09 Should you visit this place?

🔸 What can you find on my channel? 👉🏻visiting different republics and regions of Russia 👉🏻travel vlogs to off-the-beaten-path and remote places of Russia, expeditions to the Far North and Russian Arctic 📍 More videos: • Visiting the Soul of Russia’s Far North - Vologda Region • Life in Russia's COLDEST CITY - Yakutsk | [Buddhist] Yakutia habits, heatwave (-35 C°) • Heading to Russia’s Extreme North Bey... - Life in Provincial Russian towns in the Far North | Murmansk region ___ 📸https://instagram.com/elibakunova?igs... - more content about Russia, traveling, and my daily life

• Eli from Russia, Nov. 30, 2024; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

History of Afghan Bamiyan Buddhas

Westerners visit Afghanistan, marvel at its ancient Buddhist past (Morse Collection/Gado/Getty)

.

The History of Afghanistan's Bamiyan Buddhas

Redhaired giants surviving in nearby Kandahar

The two colossal Bamiyan Buddhas stood as arguably the most important archeological site in Afghanistan for well over 1,000 years. They were the largest standing Buddha figures in the world.

Then, in a matter of days in the spring of 2001, members of the Taliban [urged on by the CIA and Pakistan's ISI] destroyed the images carved into a cliff face in the Bamiyan Valley. What comes next for Bamiyan?

• Buddhism in Afghanistan (Gandhara)

Big man stands at foot of statue

The smaller Buddha stood about 125 feet (38 meters) tall. It is thought to have been carved from the mountainside around 550 CE, according to radiocarbon dating [of organic matter, which seems very unreliable and based on the assumption that any portion of it is when it was all built].

To the east, the larger Buddha stood some 180 feet (55 meters) high, and was [thought to have been] carved a bit later, likely around 615 CE.

Each Buddha stood in a niche, attached to the back wall along their robes, but with free-standing feet and legs so pilgrims could circumambulate them.

Gandhara Greco-Buddhist art

The stone cores of the statues were originally covered with clay then with a brightly covered clay slip. When the region was actively Buddhist [by the Hazara tribe and earlier the Scythians/Indo-Sakas/Shakyians], visitors' reports suggest that at least the smaller Buddha was decorated with gemstones and enough bronze plating to make it seem as if it were made entirely of bronze or gold, rather than stone and clay.

Both faces were likely rendered in clay attached to wooden scaffolding; the blank, featureless stone core underneath was all that remained by the 19th century, giving the Bamiyan Buddhas an unsettling appearance to foreign travelers who encountered them.

The Buddhas appear to have been the work of the Gandhara civilization, showing some Greco-Roman artistic influence in the clinging drape of the [toga like] monastic robes.

Small cave niches around the statues hosted pilgrims and monastics; many of them feature brightly-painted wall and ceiling oil painted art, illustrating scenes from the life and teachings of the historical Buddha.

In addition to the two tall standing figures, numerous smaller seated Buddhas are carved into the cliff.

In 2008, archeologists rediscovered a buried reclining Buddha figure, 62 feet (19 meters) long, at the foot of the mountainside.

• Cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
• PHOTO GALLERY (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

The Bamiyan region remained predominantly Buddhist up until the 9th century. Islam gradually displaced Buddhism in the area because it offered easier trading relations with surrounding Muslim states.

Hazaras relocated to Pakistan

In 1221, Genghis Khan invaded the Bamiyan Valley, wiping out the population, but leaving the Buddhas undamaged. Genetic testing confirms that the Hazara people who now live in Bamiyan are descended from the Mongols.

Most Muslim rulers and travelers in the area either expressed wonder at the statues or paid them little heed. For example, Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, passed through the Bamiyan Valley in 1506-7 but did not even mention the Buddhas in his journal.

Band-e Amir National Park, Afghanistan (Wiki)

The later Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707) reportedly tried to destroy the Buddhas using artillery; he was famously conservative, and even banned music during his reign, in a foreshadowing of Taliban rule. Aurangzeb's reaction was the exception, however, not the rule among Muslim observers of the Bamiyan Buddhas. More

• Archaeologists find giant 'sleeping' [reclining] Buddha in Afghanistan
• Kallie Szczepanski, May 23, 2018 (Thoughtco.com, The History of Afghanistan's Bamiyan Buddhas); Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly