The Reception of Buddhism in Russia and the “Russian Asiaphiles” in the Late 19th — early 20th Century

Abstract

The article discusses the main factors and trends of Buddhism's reception in Russia. The author highlights both internal sociocultural and religious interest within the Russian intelligentsia, and the interest to cultures of India, Tibet and China in the context of the political events of the time. The author shows how the perception of Buddhism was influenced by the Orthodox mission and theology, the growth of Oriental studies, the formation of the intelligentsia and of the national elites, as well as the appropriation of Oriental material in Russian philosophy and literature. The author analyzes the phenomenon of "Russian Asiaphiles;" the ideas of Prince Esper Ukhtomsky, a representative of "vostochnichestvo" (Russian Orientalism); the studies of a brilliant galaxy of academic Orientalists from the school of Fyodor Shcherbatsky; works by esoteric thinkers like Elena Blavatsky, Nikolai and Elena Roerich; authors like Ivan Bunin, Konstantin Balmont, Innokenty Annensky and others. The article shows that a specific image of Buddhism, within the context of intercultural interaction, was created both by the interest for the "other" as different and, at the same time, as something that can possess a typological similarity.