Dalai Lama in Russia

ARSHAN, Russia – The Dalai Lama thrilled thousands of Buddhist pilgrims, consecrating a temple and stopping at a Russian Orthodox church during his first visit to Russia in a decade, a trip that has angered China.

Thousands of Buddhists trekked to a temple complex at the Khurul Monastery in the southern republic of Kalmykia on Tuesday to join prayers led by the spiritual leader. He consecrated a temple built at the monastery in 1996.

The Buddhist leader lives in exile in India and leads Tibetans who have resisted half a century of Chinese rule. Russia had denied him entry since 1994 because of its ties with China. Russia admitted him this time on condition he refrain from political meetings. China was still dismayed, however.

“There is a link of many generations between your people and Tibet,” the Dalai Lama told his followers through an interpreter.

Believers set up small stools outside the ornate temple to await morning prayers, while the Dalai Lama sat inside on a raised platform, under a gold statue of Buddha, amid chrysanthemums and roses and monks seated on carpets.

Pilgrims walked more than a mile, passing through seven police checks, to reach the monastery about four miles northeast of Elista, Kalmykia. Many pilgrims waved small silk scarves each time they saw the Dalai Lama to show purity of heart and soul. They also brought pictures of loved ones for blessings.

The Dalai Lama arrived Monday in Kalmykia, some 1,000 miles southeast of Moscow. About half the region’s 300,000 residents are Buddhists.

Russia, wary of upsetting China, had rejected visa requests for the Dalai Lama at least three times since a 1994 visit.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this week that the Dalai Lama’s visit doesn’t reflect any change in the Russian position on Tibet, which he called an inalienable part of China.

China occupied Tibet in 1951, and claims that the Himalayan region has been Chinese territory for centuries. Russia has refrained from any official contacts with the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama fled into exile after an aborted uprising in 1959.

After the 1991 Soviet collapse, China became the No. 1 customer for Russian arms manufacturers.