Buddhism in Russia Buddhism in Russia Historically, Buddhism was incorporated into Russian lands in the early 17th century. Buddhism is considered as one of Russia's traditional religions, legally a part of Russian historical heritage. Besides the historical monastic traditions of Buryatia, Kalmykia and Tuva, Buddhism is now widespread all over Russia, with many ethnic Russian converts. The main form of Buddhism in Russia is the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, informally known as the "yellow hat" tradition, with other Tibetan and non-Tibetan schools as minorities. Although Tibetan Buddhism is most often associated with Tibet, it spread into Mongolia, and via Mongolia into Russia.
Southern, Eastern and Northern Buddhism provides additional evidence that the form of Buddhism practiced in the "Northern" territories likely retains many non-Mahayana influences. Furthermore, in certain regions of China and East Asia (notably in Southern China), non-Mahayana forms were sometimes dominant. Vietnam represents an interesting case of a country lying in the liminal region between the Northern and Southern Buddhist schools. As might be expected, Vietnamese Buddhism shows both a strong Mahayana and Theravada influence. Southern, Eastern and Northern Buddhism "Southern Buddhism", "Eastern Buddhism" and "Northern Buddhism" are geographical terms sometimes used to describe the styles of Buddhism practiced in Asia. "Southern Buddhism" represents Buddhism