To the one who has managed to completely crush the forces of black and yellow fascism, thanks to the blessing of the venerable lamas, the Three Jewels, the Bhagavans, the sugatas, the truly liberated Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three times and ten directions, to the essence of the supreme good body, mind and virtuous actions, to the leader who has come for the benefit of the living beings of the six species who are [our] mothers before the great teacher Stalin, we bow down in obeisance, freed from the sorrowful suffering of mental obscuration and enjoying being in the human body, which is the highest stage [on the path to Enlightenment]!
From the address of Pandito Hambo Lama Lubsan-Nima Darmain to Buddhists in connection with the opening of the Ivolginsky datsan. 1946 [TSVRK SB RAS, M III-2242, f. 1 r].
The fragment given as an epigraph is part of a document that appeared in a historical period beyond the scope of this article. However, its tone and categories differ little from earlier works addressed to the Russian emperors. The obvious contradiction between the historical role of J. V. Stalin in the fate of Buddhism in Russia, the only world denomination whose institutions, by his will, ceased to exist in the country for several years, and the enthusiastic pathos in which his name is clothed in this fragment, leads us to one important observation. An analysis of Buddhist sources clearly shows that since the beginning of the history of Buddhist contacts with the Russian government, the empire and the emperor have always been described by Buddhist historiographers in the same flattering terms, regardless of all the restrictions, discrimination, and even repressions carried out by this government in relation to Buddhist institutions. What is the reason for this seemingly unprincipled position of subordination and loyalty? Is it part of an overall strategy? In this article, we will attempt to understand the conceptualization of religious identity, which is manif ...
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