Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume

The Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume 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, with only the 10 m tall Miró Buddha in Paris and the 12.5 m tall Buddha in Lagan being bigger.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…