Buddhism in Russia

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Ivolginsky Datsan

Historically, Buddhism was incorporated into Siberia in the early 17th century.[1][2] Buddhism is considered to be one of Russia's traditional religions and is legally a part of Russian historical heritage.[3] Besides the historical monastic traditions of Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (the latter being the only Buddhist-majority republic in Europe), the religion of Buddhism is now spreading all over Russia, with many ethnic Russian converts.[4][5]

The main form of Buddhism in Russia is the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, informally known as the "yellow hat" tradition,[6] with other Tibetan and non-Tibetan schools as minorities. Although Tibetan Buddhism is most often associated with Tibet, it spread into Mongolia, and via Mongolia into Siberia before spreading to the rest of Russia.[1]

Datsan Gunzechoinei in Saint Petersburg is the northernmost Buddhist temple in Russia.

  1. ^ a b "Buddhism in Russia". buddhist.ru. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Troyanovsky, Igor. "Buddhism in Russia". www.buddhismtoday.com. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Bell, I (2002). Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-85743-137-7. Retrieved 27 Dec 2007.
  4. ^ "Research Article- Ostrovskaya - JGB Volume 5". Archived from the original on July 17, 2007.
  5. ^ Terentyev, Andrey (1996). "Tibetan Buddhism in Russia". The Tibet Journal. 21 (3): 60–70. ISSN 0970-5368. JSTOR 43300586.
  6. ^ Holland, Edward C. (Dec 2014). "Buddhism in Russia: challenges and choices in the post-Soviet period". Religion, State and Society. 42 (4): 389–402. doi:10.1080/09637494.2014.980603. S2CID 145460994.