The Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume ("The Golden Abode of the Buddha Shakyamuni", xal, Бурхн Багшин алтн сүм, translit=Burxn Bagşin altn süm, ) is a

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...

Buddhist monastery Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Elista Elista (russian: Элиста́, (common during the Soviet era) or (most common pronunciation used after 1992 and in Kalmykia itself);"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. ...

, the capital of the

Republic of Kalmykia he official languages of the Republic of Kalmykia are the Kalmyk and Russian languages./ref> , official_lang_list= Kalmyk , official_lang_ref=Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article 17: he official languages of the ...

, a federal subject of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The temple contains the largest Buddha statue in Europe (63 m). 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 Republic of Kalmykia President

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (russian: link=no, Кирса́н Никола́евич Илюмжи́нов, ; Kalmyk: Үлмҗин Кирсән, ''Ülmcin Kirsən'', ; born 5 April 1962) is a Russian business oligarch, administrator and po ...

dedicated the temple to

Kalmyks The Kalmyks ( Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, ''Xaľmgud'', Mongolian: Халимагууд, ''Halimaguud''; russian: Калмыки, translit=Kalmyki, archaically anglicised as ''Calmucks'') are a Mongolic ethnic group living mainly in Russia, w ...

who died during and after their sudden and forced

exile to Siberia ''Exile to Siberia'' (Polish: ''Na Sybir'') is a Polish historical film directed by Henryk Szaro and starring Adam Brodzisz, Jadwiga Smosarska and Mieczysław Frenkiel. It was released in 1930. The film's art direction was by Józef Galewski ...

. The date corresponded with Zul, the Kalmyk New Year, and the anniversary of the 1943 deportations (December 27, 1943).

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume (Elista)
Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume (The Golden Abode of the Buddha Shakyamuni)
Buddhist monasteries in Russia Gelug monasteries Buddhism in Kalmykia 2005 establishments in Russia Buildings and structures in Elista Religious buildings and structures completed in 2005