'A State Of Siege': Russian Buddhists, Mining Company In Mountaintop Showdown, 14 January 2021

A land dispute between a band of Buddhists and a mining company part-owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is coming to a head following years of stalemate... Meanwhile, the Buddhists decry what they say are underhanded tactics to force them off the disputed land...

[London-based mining company] Evraz claims the land [monastery founder Mikhail Sannikov] chose to build on sits atop a vast deposit of iron ore, which the mine needs to expand their business and keep thousands of locals employed. Sannikov and his followers never received a permit to build on the isolated mountaintop and have no legal recourse to stop Evraz taking over the site...

After talks with local authorities broke down in 2020, the Kachkanar Buddhists say a step-by-step campaign to remove them suddenly intensified over the past two months...

Semyon Zagorodny, one of the Kachkanar Buddhists, told RFE/RL that it's "impossible" to relocate any of the monuments in the monastery. "Religious structures can't be moved -- they have to remain in place." In an apparent reference to Roman Abramovich, who has Israeli citizenship, he added, "It's our land, not the land of those people sitting in London and Israel making money from Russian resources."

[incl. company comments]