The Buddhist clergy of Tuva and Kalmykia have applied to the Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to keep the Stupa of Three Jewels in the centre of Moscow, stressing that its destruction "could not be justified by any cause," as it is "the unique and sacred heritage of the multinational Russian people."In December 2015, the Federal Property Management Agency has transferred the estate to authority of the State Museum of Oriental Art, whose leadership, in May 2016, considered Stupa to be an unauthorized construction and due to be demolished.
In an interview to the National News Service the former head of Kalmykia, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said he did not understand why this story has popped up now, when it had already been decided not to demolish Stupa with the relics of the Buddha.
"I just called my Moscow friends from the Buddhist community. They said that they met with the management of the Museum, and as a result, it was agreed that there would be no demolition," said Ilyumzhinov.
"Stupa will remain in the same place. This issue has been resolved for quite a long time. As for the appeal to Putin, I am not sure what’s happened: perhaps, it is the result of newsmongering," suggested the head of FIDE.
