The head of the Buddhist community in Kalmykia, who spoke out against the war, was deprived of a Russian residence permit

The head of Kalmyk and Astrakhan Buddhists, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, was deprived of his residence permit in Russia. He must leave the country within two weeks. The decision to terminate the residence permit of a religious figure was made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kalmykia.

Since 2022 Telo Tulku Rinpoche has not lived in Russia. In October, he traveled to Mongolia and denounced the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine, becoming the country's first anti-war religious leader.

The Russian Ministry of Justice added Rinpoche to the “foreign agent_k” register on January 27, 2023. Among the reasons, the department indicated anti-war statements, “open support for Ukraine” and US citizenship.