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Abstract

The paper examines Buryat lama Galsan Gomboev, the 19th-century Buddhist monk integrated into European scholarship, who bridged Buddhist knowledge and Russian Orientology. Despite lacking formal European education, he became a translator, author, and cultural mediator. Drawing on postcolonial theory, the paper explores his hybrid scholarly identity and contributions to Mongolian studies, emphasizing how Gomboev’s work challenged Eurocentric epistemologies and illuminated alternative modernities within nineteenth-century Russian academic and imperial contexts. I draw parallels with other indigenous intellectuals who received traditional education and, with varying degrees of success, integrated into the Russian academic system, in order to situate Gomboev’s case within a broader context.

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Abstract

A rich scholarship exists on Buryat Buddhism and its history; however, it mostly provides the reader with socio-historical context, leaving a gap in understanding the role of women within the religious community. This gap is observable in Buryatia, a region with a significant Buddhist population. This research project attempts to fill this gap by studying the agency of laywomen within the Buryat Buddhist sangha by exploring their roles, contributions, and motivations. Studies on female religiosity and opportunities for women in Buddhism, such as nun ordination and Tantric practices, used to overlook the experiences and voices of secular women.

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and over 30 interviews with laity, clergy, and experts, this paper examines how female Buryat Buddhist activists locate themselves within the contemporary sangha. Employing theories of desecularization and post-secular hybridity, I argue that their faith-based activism reshapes the boundaries of the sangha in multiple ways, blurring the distinction between religious and secular domains, as well as reconfiguring gendered attitudes. Their projects can be religious or secular, yet remain religiously motivated, as many activists see their efforts as a Buddhist duty or a way to accumulate good karma.

This activism gives rise to a paradoxical form of gendered activism without an explicitly articulated gendered agenda: although activists are aware of their unique position, they demonstrate neither support nor rejection of existing gender hierarchies. A case study method allows for insights into the diverse roles and motivations of lay female religious activists in Buryatia, while at the same time contributing to broader discussions on religion and gender, lived religious tradition, and post-socialist religious transformations in Central Eurasia.

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This paper examines the reconstruction of social memory in post-Soviet Uzbekistan through a literary analysis of Tog'ay Murod’s novel Bu Dunyoda O'lib Bo'lmaydi. The transition period marked by perestroika and glasnost brought profound transformations to Uzbek society, particularly in relation to religion, identity, and collective consciousness. This study explores how these shifts are reflected and reinterpreted in literary discourse.

Drawing on theories of cultural and social memory, the paper analyzes how the novel represents changing attitudes toward religion during the late Soviet period and in the aftermath of independence. It focuses on the tension between ideological structures imposed by the Soviet regime and individual conscience, as depicted through the characters and narrative structure. The analysis also considers how the re-emergence of religious discourse functions as a key element in the reconstruction of social memory.

Special attention is given to the language of the text and its role in representing societal transformation. The linguistic choices and narrative strategies employed by Tog'ay Murod are examined as mechanisms through which shifts in values, beliefs, and identities are articulated. The novel’s fictional structure is analyzed in relation to historical realities in order to reveal how literature mediates between lived experience and collective memory.

The paper argues that Bu Dunyoda O'lib Bo'lmaydi does not merely depict social change but actively participates in the reconfiguration of memory by foregrounding the moral and ideological dilemmas experienced by individuals. By situating literary analysis within broader socio-political transformations, this study contributes to discussions on memory, religion, and identity in Central Eurasia.