U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained Baldan Bazarov, a Russian Buddhist lama and former abbot of the Kyrensky datsan in the Tunkinsky District of Buryatia, the Russian news outlet People of Baikal reports. The detention took place on April 29. Bazarov may face deportation, the outlet said.
No further details about the circumstances of his detention have been made available.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Bazarov spoke out openly against the war. “Buddha said: you cannot kill even a mosquito, even a bedbug. Every living creature is sacred. All the more so — [you cannot kill] a person,” People of Baikal quoted the lama as saying.
Bazarov emigrated to the United States because of his position and applied for political asylum, according to the outlet. In the United States he worked odd jobs — as a hotel cleaner, a courier, and in a laundry. In the past year he had been living in California and working as a driver.
During Donald Trump’s second presidential term, the United States has tightened its immigration policies. Among those being expelled in large numbers are anti-war Russians who have been denied asylum — many of whom face persecution if returned to Russia.
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