Kristina Jonutytė, "Between the Buddha and the New Tsar: Urban Religion and Minority Politics at the Asian Borderlands of Russia" (Cornell UP, 2026)

About this episode

The episode features an interview with Dr. Kristina Jonutytė discussing her ethnography on urban Buddhism and minority politics in Buryatia, Russia.

Between the Buddha and the New Tsar: Urban Religion and Minority Politics at the Asian Borderlands of Russia (Cornell UP, 2026) by Dr. Kristina Jonutytė is an ethnography of contemporary urban Buddhism in Buryatia, a republic within the Russian Federation. Kristina Jonutytė shows how—in this ethnically and religiously diverse borderland region—Buryat Buddhists are caught between an oppressive, militant Russian regime and the tenacity of local religious and cultural forms. As Dr. Jonutytė narrates, historically Buryat Buddhism has been tightly linked with the Russian state ever since the imperial period, a relationship with mutual interest and benefits. Yet everyday Buddhist practices point to a more complex picture, shedding light on precarity, minoritization, struggles for cultural sovereignty, and infrapolitical religious forms. Between the Buddha and the New Tsar reveals the important ways in which the urban setting is not just a backdrop to Buddhism, but that religion and the city are intertwined and mutually impactful. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher

Guest: Kristina Jonutytė

Topics covered

• urban religion
• Buddhism
• minority politics
• Buryatia
• cultural sovereignty
• ethnography

Keywords

• Buddhism
• Buryatia
• urban religion
• minority politics
• cultural sovereignty
• ethnography
• Russia

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cornell UP

Places: Buryatia, Russia

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