Buddhism in Eastern Europe
Reawakening Spirit in a Post-Soviet Landscape
Eastern Europe may not be the first region that comes to mind when thinking about Buddhism. Yet, from the Baltics to the Balkans, a quiet spiritual reawakening has been underway. In countries once under strict communist regimes, where religion was suppressed for decades, Buddhism is emerging as a meaningful path for people searching for inner peace, ethical living, and contemplative depth.
A Brief History
Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, organized religion in many Eastern European nations was heavily monitored or restricted. While Christianity—particularly Orthodoxy and Catholicism—remained culturally significant, spiritual plurality was minimal. Buddhism, with its lack of dogma and institutional power, was virtually unknown or confined to small academic circles.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the political changes that swept across Eastern Europe opened the door to new spiritual exploration. Young people in particular, disillusioned by consumerism and political instability, began turning toward Eastern philosophies.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia: Northern Echoes of the Dharma
In the Baltic states, Buddhism began to spread in the 1990s through books, university lectures, and visiting teachers. Today, in Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn, one can find Zen groups, Vipassanā communities, and Tibetan Buddhist centers. Estonian practitioners were among the first in the region to organize Goenka-style 10-day retreats. The Karma Kagyu and Nyingma Tibetan traditions have also established study groups and temples.
Poland: A Hub of Buddhist Activity
Poland has become a significant center for Buddhism in Eastern Europe. The Karma Kagyu school is particularly active, with numerous centers, a monastery, and even a retreat center near Warsaw. The Zen Buddhist Association of Poland has offered regular zazen sessions and sesshin retreats since the 1980s. Teachers like Dennis Genpo Merzel and Ole Nydahl have been influential in the country.
Buddhism in Poland often appeals to intellectuals, artists, and students seeking spiritual depth outside of traditional Catholic frameworks. Events like the Kraków Buddhist Film Festival highlight this growing cultural interest.
The Balkans: Healing Through Mindfulness
In countries like Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, and Slovenia, Buddhism is helping people process the trauma of war and social fragmentation. While numbers are still small, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programs and Vipassanā meditation have begun to find relevance in therapeutic and community-building contexts.
In Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Belgrade, Theravāda and Tibetan groups gather for meditation, chanting, and Dhamma talks. Local practitioners often emphasize the healing aspect of Buddhism, focusing on forgiveness, compassion, and emotional resilience. An example is this Forest Buddhist Monastery.
Russia and Ukraine: A Complex Landscape
Russia has its own historic Buddhist regions, such as Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva, where Tibetan Buddhism has been practiced for centuries. These areas—home to ethnic groups who converted to Buddhism as early as the 17th century—experienced repression during the Soviet era but have seen a revival since the 1990s.
In Moscow and St. Petersburg, urban intellectuals have gravitated toward Zen and Vipassanā traditions. Similarly, in Kyiv and Lviv, Ukraine's Buddhist communities are active, though recent war conditions have disrupted many spiritual activities. Yet meditation groups continue, sometimes in underground shelters or online, showing the resilience of the practice even amid crisis.
A Dharma for the New Era
What unites many of these emerging Buddhist groups is a strong emphasis on practice over belief, ethics over theology, and experience over ideology. This resonates deeply in post-Soviet societies, where skepticism toward institutional religion is high. Buddhism’s emphasis on impermanence, mindfulness, and compassion offers a compelling alternative in a region still healing from historical wounds.
Challenges and Possibilities
Eastern Europe’s Buddhist future is promising but modest. Infrastructure remains thin, access to qualified teachers is limited, and translations of core texts are still ongoing in many languages. Yet the internet, international retreats, and the dedication of local sanghas are helping the Dharma take root.
More importantly, Buddhism in Eastern Europe is evolving with local sensibilities—embracing simplicity, grappling with trauma, and offering a space for silent reflection in a fast-changing world.
Countries with Notable Buddhist Activity:
Poland
Lithuania
Estonia
Russia (Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tuva)
Croatia
Ukraine
Slovenia
Latvia
Serbia