The conference "Heritage and Reality of Northern Buddhism. On the 110th Anniversary of the St. Petersburg Buddhist Temple 'Datsan Gunzechoyney'" was held from November 24 to 25 by the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the St. Petersburg Buddhist Temple.
It is significant that the conference opened in the Imperial Hall of the Kunstkamera, which, according to the Director of the MAE RAS, Academician Andrey Vladimirovich Golovnyov, is the place where the idea of Russia as a multi-ethnic state was born. The numerous peoples of Russia profess different religions, including Buddhism. It should be emphasized that the St. Petersburg Buddhist Temple was founded by order of Nicholas II, who allocated significant funds from the treasury for its construction.
In her presentation, Professor Lyubov Chetyrova substantiated that the prototype for the Temple of Victory – the Khosheutovsky Khurul, erected by the Kalmyk prince Serbedzhab Tyumen in honor of Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1818 – was the bell tower of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Krestovozdvizhensky Cathedral) in St. Petersburg. The architect of the Buddhist temple, Lieutenant of the Life Guards Cossack Regiment Batur-Ubashi Tyumen (younger brother of S. Tyumen), drew inspiration from the architectural image of the Empire-style bell tower of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, long associated with the Cossacks, and, using elements of Buddhist architecture, created a masterpiece.
Lyubov Chetyrova considered this Buddhist temple as a "site of memory," highlighting its various aspects that have changed over different times. The presentation sparked great interest among the conference participants.
Researchers from various regions of Russia, museum specialists, and representatives of the St. Petersburg Buddhist community took part in the conference.
The material and photographs were prepared by the Department of Philosophy.
