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Historically, Buddhism was incorporated into Russian lands as early as the late 15th century, when Russian explorers travelled to and settled in Siberia and what is now the Russian Far East. It is also supposed that Indian King Ashoka had sent monks to spread Buddhism all over the world including Siberia.citation needed
The main form of Buddhism in Russia is Tibetan Buddhism. Although Tibetan Buddhism is most often associated with Tibet, it spread into Mongolia, and via Mongolia into Russia.
It spread into the Russian constituent regions geographically and /or culturally adjacent to Mongolia: Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Tuva Republic, and Kalmykia, the latter being the only Buddhist region in Europe, located to the north of the Caucasus.
Tibetan Buddhism is primarily practiced by the indigenous peoples in these regions of central and eastern Russia, except for a few Russian converts based mainly in the larger cities as St. Petersburg and Moscow, where there is greater access to urban Buddhist centers or facilities of the like.
The other major forms of Buddhism found in Russia are traditions practiced by immigrant communities, among them the Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese, and others, based mainly in the large cities.
There are several Tibetan Buddhist university-monasteries throughout Russia, concentrated in Siberia, known as Datsans.
Adherents to Buddhism account for approximately 700,000 in the Russian Federation, about 0.5% of the total population.citation needed
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