AHC: Buddhist Russia

MarioLuigi

Banned
I put this in post-1900 AH because it would be interesting to see what impact a Buddhist Russia would have on the 20th and 21st centuries.
 
I think the POD decides where the thread goes. Anyway, if the Mongols stayed Buddhist that might do it.
 
Through whatever means, Ivan establishes contact with the Ming Dynasty China and expresses an interest in fighting against a common enemy. Emperor Chenghua is convinced by his eunuchs to send one of his concubines off to marry Ivan, who consciously copies Chinese culture, religion, and society into his empire.

Ivan and his successors are too obsessed with internal stability across a vast empire to bother conquering Siberia, which remains ruled by various nomadic Khanates which are at war with each other more than they care about plundering rich civilizations.

To this day Russia mostly stays west of the Urals, Russian is written and spoken rather like Japanese, and Russia generally isn't considered European. Its relations with the west will be run much differently.
 
Early Buddhist (Ashoka Era) India sent lots of missionaries in all directions. At least a few of these ended up converting groups of Siberian tribesmen. Just have one of these go further to the North-East, and convert proto-Slavic tribes to the faith. Then, it can stay as one of the main faiths of the groups in the area for a thousand years and more. After the Rus get set up in the area, have a nobleman from a Buddhist family get into power, and persecute people who aren't Buddhist. Keep this up for a while, and you'll have a Buddhist Russia. It will be interesting to see how this effects Russia's relations with the Eastern Roman Empire and Europe...
 

MarioLuigi

Banned
Early Buddhist (Ashoka Era) India sent lots of missionaries in all directions. At least a few of these ended up converting groups of Siberian tribesmen. Just have one of these go further to the North-East, and convert proto-Slavic tribes to the faith. Then, it can stay as one of the main faiths of the groups in the area for a thousand years and more. After the Rus get set up in the area, have a nobleman from a Buddhist family get into power, and persecute people who aren't Buddhist. Keep this up for a while, and you'll have a Buddhist Russia. It will be interesting to see how this effects Russia's relations with the Eastern Roman Empire and Europe...

I said a PoD post 1500.
 
I also believe there was a thread about a Russia that became Militant Buddhist, under an Order of Militant Buddhists. It's actually called 20th Century Khan, in a Russia ruled by a nutjob named Ungern Von Sternberg.
 
Ah, von Sternberg. The crazy White warlord who holed himself up in Mongolia IOTL. I think he took up Mongolian religious beliefs to court the local factions. Not sure if he included Buddhism with that.
 

Tsao

Banned
Ah, von Sternberg. The crazy White warlord who holed himself up in Mongolia IOTL. I think he took up Mongolian religious beliefs to court the local factions. Not sure if he included Buddhism with that.

He himself was a Buddhist, though of the Mongolian type. That said, he wasn't so stable; he rode into battle on a black horse half naked with Buddhist symbols covering his chest.:eek:

On the OP, I don't think it's possible.
 

birdboy2000

Banned
1500 is too late. Heck, any time after 1313 is probably too late - you need an aggressively Buddhist Golden Horde. *maybe* you can do something with the Oirats, if they migrate west earlier (say, right around the earliest possible PoD) and in larger numbers. But it's still very hard to pull off; Even Crimea and Kazan didn't conquer and convert Russia, after all - if anything, it was the opposite. And Kalmykia would have a heck of a lot more trouble doing so.
 
Top