Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia

284 Pages·2011·3.32 MB·English

by  Andrei Znamenski

Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia
Andrei ZnAMenski
RED
SHAMBHALA

RED
SHAMBHALA
Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia
ANDREI ZNAMENSKI
Th eosophical Publishing House
Wheaton, Illinois * Chennai, India
Copyright © 2011 by Andrei Zmanenski
First Quest Edition 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without
written permission except for quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For
additional information write to
Quest Books
Th eosophical Publishing House
P. O. Box 270
Wheaton, IL 60187-0270
www.questbooks.net
Cover image: Sophia, the Wisdom of the Almighty, 1932, by Nicholas Roerich, repro-
duced by permission of the Nicholas Roerich Museum.
Cover design by Drew Stevens.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Znamenski, Andrei, A.
Red Shambhala: magic, prophecy, and geopolitics in the heart of Asia / Andrei
Znamenski.—1st Quest ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8356-0891-6
1. Soviet Union—Politics and government—1917–1936. 2. Geopolitics—Soviet
Union—History. 3. Shambhala—Political aspects—Soviet Union—History.
4. Prophecies—China—Tibet—History—20th century. 5. Prophecies—Political
aspects—Soviet Union—History. 6. Extremists—Soviet Union—Biography.
7. Communisim—Soviet Union—History. 8. Soviet Union—Foreign relations—1917–
1945. 9. Soviet Union—Foreign relations—Asia, Central. 10. Asia, Central—Foreign
relations—Soviet Union. I. Title.
DK266.5.Z58 2011
947.084'2—dc22 2010047136
5 4 3 2 1 * 11 12 13 14 15
Printed in the United States of America
Bodhisattvas have no attainment. Th ey depend on and
abide by the perfection of wisdom. Because their minds are
unobstructed, they are without fear. Having completely passed
beyond all error, they go to the fulfi llment of nirvana.
—Th e Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sutra
v

Contents
List of Illustrations viii
Preface xi
List of Major Characters xxi
1: Shambhala, Kalachakra Tantra, and Avenging Gods of
Tibetan Buddhism 1
2: Power for the Powerless: Th e Mongol-Tibetan World and
Its Prophecies 19
3: Alexander Barchenko: Budding Red Merlin and His
Ancient Science 43
4: Engineer of Human Souls: Bolshevik Cryptographer Gleb
Bokii 69
5: Prophecies Draped in Red: Blood and Soil in the Heart
of Asia 101
6: Red Prophecy on the March: Mongolia to Tibet 127
7: Th e Great Plan: Nicholas and Helena Roerich 155
8: Shambhala Warrior in a Western Body: Nicholas Roerich’s
Asian Ventures 181
Epilogue: Th e End of Red Shambhala 217
Notes 237
Illustration Credits 257
vii
Illustrations
Maps
Inner Asia and Environs
Figures
1.1. Rudra Chakrin (Rigden Djapo), the king of Shambhala 4
1.2. Black Mahakala, one of the wrathful deities in Tibetan
Buddhism 13
1.3. Palden Lhamo, protector of the Dalai Lama and the city
of Lhasa 14
2.1. Geser the Lion, epic hero-liberator in Mongol-Tibetan
folklore 25
2.2. A shrine devoted to Maitreya 26
2.3. Th e thirteenth Dalai Lama 31
2.4. Th e Panchen Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet 34
2.5. Th e Tashilumpho monastery, headquarters of the
Panchen Lama 35
2.6. Th e notorious Ja-Lama 37
2.7. Mongol warriors during liberation war against the
Chinese, 1911–13 38
2.8. A Mongol commander during the liberation war against
the Chinese 39
3.1. “Red Merlin” Alexander Barchenko 44
4.1. Gleb Bokii, master of codes 76
4.2. Former building of Commissariat for Foreign Aff airs 78
viii
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
4.3. Twelve chiefs of Bolshevik secret police and their boss,
Felix Dzerzhinsky 83
4.4. Projected main building of Institute for Experimental
Medicine 84
5.1. Boris Shumatsky and Elbek-Dorji Rinchino 106
5.2. Agvan Dorzhiev in his Buddhist Kalachakra temple in
St. Petersburg 109
5.3. Buryat pilgrims en route from Siberia to Mongolia 112
5.4. “Mad Baron” Roman von Ungern-Sternberg 118
5.5. Ragtag members of Ungern’s Asian Cavarly Division 119
5.6. Th e eighth Bogdo-gegen, leader of Mongol Tibetan
Buddhists 121
6.1. Sergei Borisov, head of the Mongol-Tibetan Section of
Comintern 128
6.2. Sukhe-Bator, a prominent Bolshevik fellow traveler in
Mongolia 132
6.3. Commissar for Foreign Aff airs Georgy Chicherin 134
6.4. “Red lama” commissar of new Mongolia with his scribe 137
6.5. Remains of Ja-Lama’s fortress in Gobi Desert 138
7.1. Nicholas Roerich’s inner circle 164
7.2. Nicholas Roerich with Buddhist monks 177
7.3. Nicholas Roerich, wearing his Dalai Lama robe 178
8.1. Nicholas Roerich holding tanka depicting Maitreya 197
8.2. Onward to Lhasa under the Stars and Stripes and the
sacred Maitreya banner 198
8.3. Nicholas Roerich with his Shambhala seekers 199
8.4. Th e Roerich expedition at the Mongolian border 200
8.5. English spy F. M. Bailey hosts his unsuspecting opponent
Nicholas Roerich 203
iixx