Kalmykia, a Russian Republic has called on the Russian government in Moscow to provide to the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama to visit the republic. Kalmykia Buddhists are fighting against a tough stand taken by Moscow as the spiritual leader has not been issued the visa for a visit to the region in the last 14 years.
“The Buddhists of Kalmykia, one of the three predominantly Buddhist republics in the Russian Federation (the others are Buryatia and Tuva), have appealed to Moscow to permit the Dalai Lama to visit their republic again.” said the report in the journal Eurasia Review on Tuesday.
Kalmykia which has a population of more than two hundred thousand is the only region in Europe where Buddhism is the most practiced religion. His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited there in 1992 and 2004 yet again visiting Tuva in 1992. However, over the past 14 years, the spiritual has not been able to visit region as the Russian government is not ready to issue him a visa at China’s pressure. Therefore the Buddhists of the Russian republic are not optimistic that the Moscow would change their mind.
The Russian Buddhists are furious about the decision of the government, “Other countries without fuss invite [him],” Viktor Sarangov, a Kalmyk official says. “And has Chinese declared war on them or crushed their economies? China even maintains normal ties with India where the Dalai Lama maintains his residence.”
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is set to visit three European nations i.e., the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland in September where he will be giving religious teachings, public talks as well as to take part in conferences and other public events. This visit will be the second foreign trip for the Tibetan spiritual in 2018 after his recently concluded visit to the Baltic States.