Tibetan govt-in-exile has a Russian headache

Chandigarh: As the churn in international geopolitics continues, the Tibetan govt-in-exile has its own tightrope to walk. More specifically, the Russia-Ukraine war has put the Tibetan govt-in-exile, officially known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), in a tight spot. The CTA's representative for Russia has been declared a ‘foreign agent' by Russia, while it struggles to find a replacement.
Though the Tibetan govt-in-exile does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with any country in the conventional sense, it engages in informal interactions with various countries and has offices across the world. Its representative for Russia, Mongolia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS countries), Telo Tulku Rinpoche, was designated as a ‘foreign agent' by Russia in Jan 2023 after he spoke about Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russia's invasion.
During the ongoing parliamentary session, lawmakers debated continuing the services of Telo Tulku Rinpoche. Speaking in the House, MP Juchen Kunchok Chodon suggested that he should resign to allow for the appointment of a new representative as his continuous absence might be creating distance between devotees and the Dalai Lama. In response, minister for the department of information and international relations Norzin Dolma informed the house that the department was facing challenges in finding a suitable replacement and that Telo Tulku Rinpoche's tenure had been extended by one year rather than the customary two-year extension granted to representatives. He is currently working virtually from Mongolia and faces potential imprisonment in Russia.
On earlier occasions, the Dalai Lama, as well as CTA political head Penpa Tsering have condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, comparing it with the invasion of Tibet by China. When contacted, MP Juchen Kunchok Chodon did not wish to speak about the matter.
‘Reincarnation' of Indian saint
Telo Tulku Rinpoche was born in the US in 1972 to a Kalmyk immigrant family from Russia and was recognised by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of Telopa, a revered Indian Buddhist tantric mahasiddha who lived in the 10th-11th century of the Common Era. He studied Buddhism in India for 13 years at Drepung Gomang Monastery and was elected as the head lama of Kalmykia Buddhists in 1992 before resigning from the post in January 2023 after being declared a ‘foreign agent' by Russia. Kalmyk is the only Buddhist-dominated province in Europe. He was appointed as the new honorary representative of the Dalai Lama to Russia, Mongolia and CIS countries at the Tibet Culture & Information Centre (Office of Tibet) in Moscow in 2014.