Elista, or "sandy city" in the Kalmyk language, is the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia and is located in the central part of the steppe zone. Elista's distance from Moscow is 1250 kilometers. According to 2014 data, 108 608 people live in the city. The capital of Kalmykia is perhaps the largest Buddhist center in Russia, so it is definitely worth a visit.
Religious sites of Elista
Buddhist architecture is very widely represented in the capital of Kalmykia. And the most interesting religious monuments of the city are the Main Stupa of Enlightenment, built in 1999, the Small Stupa of Enlightenment, erected in 2012, the Stupas of Harmony and Concord, as well as the Syakusn-Syume Temple.
The latter was opened on October 5, 1996 with funds collected as donations from not only residents of the Republic, but also followers of Buddhism from all over the world. The architect of this project was V. Gilyandikov, and the sculptors were V. Vaskin and P. Usuntsynov. The ensemble of the temple was supplemented with cult attributes of the artists-carvers N. Galushkin and V. Kuberlinov.
The temple with the name "The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni", which houses the tallest statue of Buddha in the entire European territory, may also be interesting for tourists. The Dalai Lama also visited the monastery several times, for whom there is a specially designated residence in the temple. In addition to her, there are two prayer halls and a large library in the monastery.
By the way, the 14th Dalai Lama blessed the construction of the Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni, when the project was conceived on the site of an old factory that produced reinforced concrete products.
Secular sights of Elista
Quite picturesque and located on the city square named after Lenin, the fountain "Three Lotus", as well as a chessboard with an area of 25 square meters.
Near the building of the Government of Kalmykia, in the park, there is another statue of Buddha, one and a half meters high. The material of its manufacture was white marble quarried in the Urals, the authors were V. Vaskin and Usuntsynov, and the date of the grand opening was June 6, 1995, when the 60th anniversary of the 14th Dalai Lama was celebrated.
In the same square as the statue, there is an interesting fountain "Boy and Dragon", as well as the famous Golden Gate "Altn Bosch".
The latter should be given special attention. The gate was built in 1998 according to the project of the artist N. Borisov. The height of this "golden" structure is 15 meters. There are also 28 interesting paintings on the gate that illustrate the past and modern history of Kalmykia.
There are also many sculptures in Elista located in various parts of the city. The most interesting of them are "The White Elder", "Echo", "The Golden Horseman in Armor" and "Alexander Pushkin". The monument to the famous Kalmyk storyteller Eelian Ovla, the author of the epic "Dzhangar", is also a cult monument for the inhabitants of the Republic.
