The Religious Policy of the Russian Government towards Buddhism at the End of the 19th and Beginning of the 20th Centuries

This paper will discuss the Russian government's policy toward religion in East Siberia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It will offer the conclusion that the relationship between high officials and Buddhism was defined in many ways by Russia's foreign policy as well as requirements for the economic development of Siberia and the Far East. At the same time, the religious interests of the Russian Buddhist population actually played an important role in state policy, both domestic and foreign.