The Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume ("The Golden Abode of the Buddha Sakyamuni", Kalmyk: Бурхн Багшин алтн сүм, romanized: Burxn Bagşin altn süm, [burˈxən baxˈʃin aɫˈtən syˈmə]; Russian: Золотая обитель Будды Шакьямуни, romanized: Zolotaya obitel Buddy Shakyamuni) is a Gelug Buddhist monastery in Elista, the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. The temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Russia and Europe, and it contains the third largest Buddha statue in Europe — 9 m (30 ft), with only the 10 m (33 ft) tall Miró Buddha in Paris and the 12.5 m (41 ft) tall Buddha in Lagan being bigger.
It was opened on December 27, 2005, at the site of a former factory. More than 5,000 people attended the opening ceremony, including representatives of Tibetan Buddhist communities from Moscow, Volgograd and Saratov.
