Exhibition on Buddhism in Russia Signal Start of Bhutan-Russian Relations

KUENSE ONLINE | BHUTAN DAILY NEWS
By Samten Yeshi

Current day Dratsang Monastery. Courtesy of AllPosters.com

RUSSIA - An exhibition on Buddhism in Russia that opened yesterday at the Nehru-Wangchuck cultural centre in the capital marked the beginning of Bhutan-Russia relations. The exhibits are high quality technological reproductions of the 19th century Buddhist art works of Russia. Arts from the collection of Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia, 19th century photographs from the Russian museum of ethnography, the national museum of Buryat republic, Tuva republic, Kalmkia republic, and the works of contemporary artists, used in the decoration of Buddhist temples in Russia, are on display. What the exhibition showcased and which surprised many were the similarities between the Buddhist arts in Russia and Bhutan. To see the black and white photographs of monasteries known as Dratsan, similar to Bhutan’s “dratsang,” that were destroyed during the Russian revolution, was admirable, said the home minister Minjur Dorji, who opened the exhibition. [link]