Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume
The Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume ("The Golden Abode of the Buddha Sakyamuni", Kalmyk: Бурхн Багшин алтн сүм, romanized: Burxn Bagşin altn süm, [burxən bɑkʃin ɑltən symə]; Russian: Золотая обитель Будды Шакьямуни, romanized: Zolotaya obitel Buddy Shakyamuni) is a Gelug Buddhist monastery in Elista, the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. The temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Russia and Europe, and it contains the third largest Buddha statue in Europe — 9 m (30 ft), with only the 10 m (33 ft) tall Miró Buddha in Paris and the 12.5 m (41 ft) tall Buddha in Lagan being bigger.
Бурхн Багшин алтн сүм | |
Golden Monastery in Elista | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Russian: Калмыцкий Центральный Буддийский монастырь, romanized: Kalmytsky Tsentralny Buddiysky Monastyr |
| Order | Gelug |
| Denomination | Buddhism |
| Established | December 27, 2005 |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | 14th Dalai Lama |
| Abbot | Mutl Vladimirovich Ovyanov (Мутл Владимирович Овьянов) |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Central Khurul of Kalmykia |
| Architect | S.E. Kurneyev (С.Е. Курнеев), V.B. Gilyandikov (В.Б. Гиляндиков), L.D. Amninov (Л.Д. Амнинов) |
| Groundbreaking | December 2, 2004 |
| Completion date | December 27, 2005 |
| Site | |
| Location | Elista, Republic of Kalmykia |
| Country | Russia |
| Coordinates | 46°18′35″N 44°17′2″E |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | khurul |
It was opened on December 27, 2005, at the site of a former factory. More than 5,000 people attended the opening ceremony, including representatives of Tibetan Buddhist communities from Moscow, Volgograd and Saratov.
The 14th Dalai Lama blessed the site of the future temple just before he left Elista during his November 2004 visit to the Republic and gave it its name on March 11, 2006.
During the opening ceremony, the president of the Republic of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov dedicated the monastery to Kalmyks who died during and after their sudden and forced exile to Siberia. The date corresponded with Zul-Khural, the Kalmyk New Year (similar to Galdan Namchot), and the anniversary of the 1943 deportations (December 27, 1943).