The community of the Society for Krishna Consciousness near Almaty expects its destiny to be settled

The only settlement of the followers of god Krishna in Central Asia located near Almaty remains in the state of nervous expectation. And though the krishnaits' farm Sri Vrindavan Dham operates in the usual mode, nobody can exclude the possibility of new attempts to demolish their buildings (first attempt took place in April of 2006).

Last week they conducted a festival dedicated to Krishna's birth. There was no excesses. About half a thousand "devotees" (followers of this religion) and simply curious folks gathered near a small lake in 50 meters from the houses of the Kazakhstani krishnaites. Lectures on a small stage were followed by Indian dance, theatrical performances and music. Fireworks and free vegetarian meals attracted local people. A young man of twenty with a bottle of beer commented on behalf of the entire group of villagers attracted by the sounds of traditional Indian instruments and mantras, "They are strange but normal." The festival organizers did not divide visitors on "our own people" and "strangers," only tactfully suggesting not to smoke and drink alcohol on the territory of the farm. This time the police did not interfere or bother , except they checked documents of Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami, US citizen (who is responsible for the project).

The original project of the settlement of the followers of Vedic culture was realized seven years ago. At the place where these days one can see a small temple, gardens and fields, there was only a little summer village, a destroyed farm, a foundation ditch of long-term construction that remained from the Soviet times, and a dirty lake favored by locals who came here for their simple recreation.

With the advent of strange inhabitants a new page was opened in the history of the village. During the economic crisis delapidated summer cottags could be purchased for a few hundred dollars, the lease of land was even cheaper. As a result, this little part of India located near the southern capital of Kazakhstan attracted several hundreds of devotees from all the parts of the former Soviet Union, who began to realize the idea of establishing communism on a particular piece of territory, even though some Indian religious particularities were mixed in. Somehow or other, till now every Sunday believers and tourists from Almaty come to the farm to rest on the lake shore to the sound of Indian musical instruments, to practice yoga, sit in the vegetarian cafe and get spiritual purification. The local residents, despite of insignificant disagreements, do not mind the presence of strange neighbors: they often come for the feasts or to simply speak with the people dressed in traditional Indian clothes.

Problems arose several years ago, when prices for real estate drastically went up and the local authorities decided to confiscate the property of krishnaites, - at the time when the farm and the cottages were completely renovated, and the fields and gardens started to yield good crops. The go-ahead hakims (district and village heads) found a solution: to postpone under all possible excuses the privatization of the property of the religious community. The court supported the district authorities and ordered the krishnaites to clear the area. It should be noted that only those who confirmed in writing that they did not belong to Krishna faith were given a chance to privatize their cottages. This humiliating offer of the hakim Mr. Kutpanov was left unanswered.

Struggle for land in this small village soon reached the level of religious intolerance. Mass media controlled by government started information war against the krishnaites who were accused of different sins: as if they forcibly converted Muslims to their faith, intimidated locals, opened underground confectionaries. The attempt of the krishnaites to build a new big temple at the place of the old ditch (also located on the land leased by them) was quickly nipped in the bud. The migration police became a frequent visitor in the village, taking genuine interest in all the religious foreigners.

"We know about the existence of the district hakim only from papers. For the last five years all our attempts to meet him and establish a dialoge with him have failed. It is even impossible to enter the office building where the chief district officials are sitting. The guards will do anything to stop us, as soon as they see our outfits," - says Olga, formerly a journalist, who has come from Russia and lived in the settlement for several years.

However the desire of the local administration to smoothly and silently get rid of the unusual neighbors was not satisfied. Their attempt to demolish the first two-storied cottage in the row of more than 20 cottages ordered for destruction by the court met with passive but effective resistance of the krishaites who were ready to lie down in front of the excavator. This religious conflict very soon became a topic of discussion in the international organizations and mass media. In the light of Kazakhstan's aspiration to show tolerance towards any world religion, such a conflict could quickly singe the international image that was being created for such a long time.

Considering this, the krishnaites have a little chance of saving their unique colony settlement. There is only one "but." As one of the devotees responsible for contacts with the officials explained, in Astana, in the office of the President's Religious Advisor, who is empowered to settle the destiny of the settlement, they were openly and clearly told, "What does such a small religious group need so much land for?" Another official from Astana said that the settlement should be destroyed only because it is situated on "the sacred land of our ancestors."

We do not know whether it was a kind of revenge upon the uncompliant krishnaites or the continuation of the state policy, but the idea of having Central Asian festival on the territory of the farm was strictly disallowed by the governmetal officials.

It is most likely that the krishnaites will not be touched before the Second Congress of World and Traditional Religious which is planned for the second half of September. However they are now going to take the offensive and rise this question during the congress in Astana (if it will not be clearly answered by the authorities till then). And this will again affect the image of the country. Representatives of the Society for Krishna consciousness took part in the recent conference on tolerance organized by OSCE in Almaty and attended by the President. At that time they did not reveal their problems in public, they only had private discussions with the governmental officials and the members of international organizations. But now they believe that the congress is their last chance, and this chance must be used.

Govinda Swami in his lecture on the lake shore emphasized that on the day of the congress communities all over the world will ask god Krishna to settle the problems of their Kazakh brothers. To some extent the Kazakh krishnaites are grateful to the local authorities: from the moment the difficulties started Govinda Swami has always been with them, which is a great honor.

And the official Astana should really think it over: instead of erecting strange and expensive projects like the Palace of Peace and Harmony or Baiterek Tower, which only receive offensive but precise bynames from people, will it not be easier to organize visits of foreign delegations to the places like Sri Vrindavan Dham? All the more so it will cost nothing to the government. Actually, demonstration of everyday life of the small religious community instead of "Potemkin's villages" created by the government of Kazakhstan will make much better impression on the world community.

Andrei Grishin, Almaty