History of Russia

The Founding of Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhist Academic Studies The earliest translations into Russian from Tibetan were made toward the end of the 17th century by Pavel Kulvinsky from the Russian Ministry of External Affairs. He had learned Tibetan during his visits to the...

The Three Buddhist Umbrella Organizations in the Buryat Regions The situation of Tibetan Buddhism in the Buryat regions has changed greatly in the last 30 years. Now in 2023, of the 334 local and 14 umbrella Buddhist societies throughout the Russian Federation, there are about...

A brief history of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism among the Oirat and Kalmyk Mongols in Russia prior to the founding of the Soviet Union

Lama Lubsan Sandan Tsydenov Bidiya Dandarovich Dandaron (1916–1974) is considered the successor of the Balagat movement, a peculiar tradition created by Lama Lubsan Sandan Tsydenov (1850–1922). Tsydenov was a disciple of the same Namnane Lama as was Agvan Dorzhiev (1853–1938)...

Altai under the Dzungarian Khanate The Altai Republic is situated in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia and borders Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. Its native inhabitants are presently known as Altaians, consisting of several peoples of Turkic ethnicity speaking...

Overview The revival of Buddhism in Kalmykia began in 1988, after having been forbidden during the Soviet period up until then. Since that first new Buddhist group was officially registered, many local Buddhist communities have sprung up. At present in 2023,...

A brief history of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism among the Buryat Mongols in Russia prior to the founding of the Soviet Union

The Revival of Buddhism during the 1990s Very soon after the April 1990 visit of Dr. Alexander Berzin to Tuva, the first “Tuvan Buddhist Society of Kyzyl,” chaired by Vladimir Kara-Sal, which was registered in 1989, started its activities, which were primarily fundraising to...

Already in the 1970s, a few other lamas besides Dandaron also began to teach people who came from the western part of Russia. These included Lama Buda and Lama Zhimba Zhamso Tsybenov (1904–1995) in the Aginsky Buryat National District but outside of Aginsky Datsan, as well as...

Dr. Alexander Berzin Buddhist groups began to officially register throughout the USSR only in 1988–1990. An important role in this was played by the visits and talks in 1987–90 by Dr. Alexander Berzin (1944– ), a Harvard PhD who had lived in Dharamsala, India for many years...