Origin and history of the development of Chinese religious movement Falungun in Russia (on materials of the Republic of Buryatia)

The article analyzes the issues of formation and the activities of the Chinese Falungun movement. The Falungun movement originated in the 1990s in China, initially as a combination of various healing practices, however, then the popularity of the movement contributed to its evolution into a new religious movement. The territorial proximity of Russia’s borders with Asian countries leads to such phenomenon as «religious expansion», which causes the necessity of studying the activities of such religious movements conducting their activities in the territory of our country. The features of the emergence and functioning of religious associations in every region have individual nature, which is determined by traditions, cultural heritage and mentality of its inhabitants. In this regard the Republic of Buryatia is the platform for accumulation of foreign preachers’ activities from the Asian countries - China, Korea, Mongolia, primarily due to the weak position of the ROC, and also historical and cultural, geopolitical features of the region. The necessity of determining the nature of Falungun, the problems concerning with regional and legal identification of the movement will allow to respond adequately to the facts of distribution and revitalization of followers in the region.