On October 5, 1996, the first in the region, built in accordance with all the canons of a Buddhist temple, the largest khurul of the republic at that time, Syakusn-Syume, was solemnly opened six kilometres from the capital of Kalmykia, not far from the village of Arshan.The first President of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, congratulating his fellow countrymen on the 25th anniversary of the Khurul, said: “I am sure that this day was one of the most important for the revival of Buddhism in our republic and the spiritual renewal of the nation. Now, 25 years later, one may wonder what was more important for the people at that time: whether to build several new roads or a khurul. But for me it was always clear that once we revive spirituality and traditions, we will eventually build everything else. And so today, we have built many roads. The main ones lead to the temples, the first of which is Syakusn-Syume.”
