Buddhism in Russia: History and Modernity

By Rustam Sabirov | | Buddhistdoor Global

This article is also available in Russian (Эта статья также доступна на русском языке здесь).

Buddhism is not the largest religion in Russia: only about 1 per cent of Russians identified as Buddhists as of the mid-2000s. However, Buddhism has long occupied an important place in Russian culture, which has contributed a number of outstanding Buddhist figures to the world. Buddhism appeared in the Russian empire early in the 17th century, when some Kalmyk tribes, who followed the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, adopted Russian citizenship. However, the main center of Buddhism would become Buryatia, where Buddhism entered Russia from Mongolia. At first people gathered in prayer tents, but in the 18th century the first permanent monasteries, Tsongolsky and Gusinoozersky, were built. It is noteworthy that the first Buryat temple buildings were constructed with the help of Russian carpenters and therefore resembled Christian churches. Buddhism spread in Russia in a unique fashion because the government actively united disparate communities into a single sangha,beleiving that it would be easier to deal with one key figure (given the title khambo lama) than with dozens of rival abbots. In addition, given Buryatia’s position on the border with Qing dynasty China, it was important for the government to control the foreign religious ties of the Buryats.

Another important feature in Russia was that Buddhism encountered another major world religion: Christianity. It is interesting to note that government policy toward Buddhists in the regions of Kalmykia, pre-Baikal, and Transbaikalia differed. In the first two cases, it was tougher, while in Transbaikalia, the tsarist government acted more cautiously because it was a border area where any unrest was undesirable. The authorities had to support the Buddhist sangha, sometimes even to the detriment of the interests of Russian Orthodox Church missionaries, who sought to Christianize the Buryats. In 1853, the “Law on the Lama Clergy” was adopted, a legislative act regulating the activities of Buddhists in the Russian empire. Buddhism has had a great influence on prominent Russian scientists, philosophers, writers, and artists, notably: Vladimir Soloviev, Nikolai Berdyaev, Nikolay Lossky, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Bunin, Velimir Khlebnikov, Maximilian Voloshin, Nikolay Gumilev, Nicholas Roerich, and others. Through their works and others, the Buddha’s teachings became part of Russian culture. An important stage in the further spread of Buddhism in Russia was the construction of a Buddhist temple in St. Petersburg in 1915. One of the initiators of the construction and its first abbot was Buryat Agvan Dorzhiev (1854–1938), a prominent public figure and diplomat, and one of the teachers of the 13th Dalai Lama.

Aghvan Dorjiev was one of the ideologists of the Renovationist movement (obnovlentsy), which advocated the modernization of the sangha. After the 1917 revolution, reformers tried to draw parallels between the ideas of Marxism and early Buddhism in order to save it. A little earlier, another famous Buryat, Lubsan Sandan Tsydenov, tried to revive the tantric tradition in Russia. Together with several disciples, he went into the forest to found a community engaged in Buddhist practice. In 1919, he proclaimed the creation of the Kudun theocratic state. Interestingly, although it was an Eastern Buddhist theocracy it nevertheless featured a kind of parliament of the European sort.

During the anti-religious campaign of the 1930s, almost all of the Buddhist temples in the country were closed and many lamas arrested. In 1946, Ivolginsky and Aginsky monasteries were opened for political reasons—aiming to show that there was freedom of religion in the USSR. However, the authorities closely monitored all religious activities. Despite this, Buddhism did not completely disappear. One of the brightest personalities of this period was Bidiya Dandaron (1913–74), a follower of Tsydenov, a famous Buddhologist and thinker. Dandaron tried to revive the tantric tradition in an atheist state. His students were from all over the Soviet Union. Dandaron also developed the concept of Neo-Buddism, a synthesis of Buddhist teachings with Western philosophy and the latest scientific theories. However, he was eventually arrested for creating a religious community, and died in a prison camp. Yet his disciples played an important role in the revival of Russian Buddhism in the 1990s.