Indian monks to carry Buddhist relics to Russia’s Kalmykia Republic for exposition

New Delhi: Sacred Buddhist relics will travel to Russia’s Kalmykia Republic for an exposition, accompanied by a high-level delegation of 11 senior Indian monks who will bless the local devotees and conduct religious service for the Buddhist population in Russia, the ministry of culture announced on Friday.

The relics, now housed at the National Museum, will be received by the Head of the Buddhists of Kalmykia, which has a predominantly Buddhist population.

The exposition, which will take place in Russia for the first time, is organised by the ministry in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), the National Museum, and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), and will take place in the city of Elista from October 11 to 18.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is likely to be signed between the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhist and the International Buddhist Confederation, the ministry said. The Holy Relics will be transported with religious rites and protocol to Kalmykia by a special Indian Air Force aircraft.

The 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, a revered Buddhist monk and diplomat from Ladakh, had played a pivotal role in reviving Buddhism in Mongolia and subsequently, in the three regions of Russia, namely Buryatia, Kalmykia, and Tuva. Kalmykia is located southwestern part of the European territory of Russia, bordering the Caspian Sea.

The holy relics of the Buddha have, till now, been sent to Mongolia, Thailand, and Vietnam in the recent past. The Piprahwa relics at the National Museum were taken to Mongolia in 2022 whereas the holy relics of the Buddha and his two disciples enshrined at Sanchi were taken for exposition to Thailand in 2024. This year in 2025, the holy relics of the Buddha from Sarnath were taken to Vietnam.