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| | Asia Times: Buddhist revival tangles with politics |
 | | MOSCOW - Russia's eastern region of Buryatia is witnessing a revival of Buddhism, once brutally persecuted under the Soviet regime, but this is being undermined by the priests' growing involvement in regional politics. |
 | | Roughly one-third of Buryatia's one million population are Buddhists, Nikolai Ilyin, representative of Buryat Buddhist Church in Moscow, said in an interview. |
 | | In many ways, the religious conflict is surprising for Buryatia, where Buddhism is amalgamated with animistic Shamanist beliefs.Local officials say that Buryatia's tradition of religious tolerance, where Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, and Shamanists worship peacefully alongside each other, has contributed to the political stability in the region. |
| www.atimes.com /c-asia/AH26Ag01.html (709 words) |
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