Author: Delphine Thouvenot in Moscow
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: March 24, 2004
URL: http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/mar/24russia.htm
Plans to construct a Hare Krishna
temple in Moscow have sparked off a controversy in Russia where the Orthodox
Church dominates and many regard Krishna followers as dangerous sectarians.
For Vadim Tuneyev, chief of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Russia (referred to
as AICK in Russia), the temple is a point of pride. "It will be able to
welcome 2,000 believers on festivals," said the former biochemist who prefers
to be called B S Goswami, the spiritual name that he took after joining
AICK.
But for many Russians, a Krishna
temple in the Russian capital would be an affront to the country's main
faiths.
In January, Orthodox, Muslim and
Jewish religious authorities in Moscow spoke out against construction,
saying it is against Russian tradition.
Construction is set to begin by
the end of the year but Tuneyev is yet to receive authorization to build
the temple.
The AICK was recognized as a religion
in Russia in 1988 when the Soviet Union and decades of official atheism
began to crumble. Today, it claims to have up to 100,000 followers spread
across the country.
Tuneyev greets visitors at his office
in a small rose-brick building in northwest Moscow, with a portrait of
Krishna as a backdrop, dressed in an orange robe.
Tanned from a recent trip to India,
where he sought to raise money for the temple, whose construction cost
is projected at $10million, he laughed off a demonstration this week by
2,000 people.
The protestors had rallied in Pushkin
Square in the centre of the capital, brandishing icons, flags and banners
reading Friends, Defend Your Faith, We Oppose the Expansion of Sects and
Beware! Krishna followers go in for brainwashing.
Tuneyev described them as 'extremists'
and on Wednesday said the group would file a lawsuit against the demonstration's
organisers.
"This is an attack on our right
to practice our religion," he told a press conference in Moscow. "We are
worried about the increasing hatred."
Earlier in the week, he proudly
showed off the architectural plans for the huge building, which is due
to feature three cupolas and be nestled on the two acres that the Krishna
movement received free from the Moscow authorities due to its religious
status.
The gleaming white temple, flanked
by a cultural centre, will be called Sri Sri Radha Krishna Mandir and be
'open to all Hindus' though administered by AICK members.
Tuneyev dismissed rumors that the
structure would surpass the imposing Orthodox Christ the Savior cathedral
saying the temple's height would not reach 40metres (130 feet).
Tuneyev said that Russia's Indian
community supports the project since numerous Hindu believers are now forced
to pray in a little room with a 200-person capacity, housed in a building
that is due to be demolished in a month.
"When we heard that some Russians
are against the construction of a Hindu temple in Moscow, we (students)
were very surprised," Rajesh Rajan, president of the Indian Student Association
in Moscow, told a press conference on Wednesday.
"Without our temple in Russia, we
will forget our culture. The construction of this temple will be a good
sign of friendship between India and Russia."
Rajan had earlier told AFP that
although he was not a Krishna follower, he would come to the new temple
to pray.
AFP
